Got my LEX & rods today...first impressions.

B

benandaim

Well-known member
Hi Guys,

Well i got my LEX & rods today, finally. I haven't checked yet whether my rods are exactly 15mm. Have to check that.

Anyway, my first impression was holy crap the adapter is heavy & really solid. It took me a while to work out the rod setup and i agree with the comments on the allan keys, they are a pain in the ass. I've never owned rods before but to me they seem like a lot of $$$ for what they are.

The setup of the actual adapter was soooo easy. I had that bad boy ready to shoot in no time once i worked out the fine tuning with the rods. I shot some stuff (outdoors/evening) with a Nikkor E series 50mm 1.8. HVX wide open, shutter 1/25th. I think the settings were: Focus 49 & Zoom 75-80ish. The footage looked nice except some edges on the out of focus stuff looked a bit furry (Yes the adapter was turned on) Has anyone else experienced this?? Maybe my HVX settings were wrong or maybe that lens isn't the best. Any advice on settings would be great!!!

Ah well i just thought i'd share my LEX experience so far, i'm really looking foward to using it for upcoming projects.

Regards,

Ben :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
 
benandaim said:
and i agree with the comments on the allan keys, they are a pain in the ass.
Click to expand...

I suppose this element is a matter of personal preference. I quite prefer the allan key adjustment over simple finger cranks, as you cannot 'bump' them accidently and can ensure tightness/safety of the rig.
Also another little bit of motivation to bring the small tool kit with you for the shoot, always comes in handy...when you remember to bring it :)

benandaim said:
The footage looked nice except some edges on the out of focus stuff looked a bit furry (Yes the adapter was turned on) Has anyone else experienced this??
Click to expand...

You said you shot with the HVX wide open, what was your aperture on the lens at when this occured? I've noticed, even with the vibration on, the grain is darker (more noticeable) at smaller apertures (eg: f.8) and when vibrating, it is lessened significantly but can come off as this furry like elements.

Like Roberto just requested, FOOTAGE! :)

And now for my mini pride:

hv20-letus-support.jpg


I can't wait till I get some decent sticks so I can do some proper shots with.
 
E Nikon lenses are not the pro lenses of the time. I use to sell cameras when they first came out. As I remember they were like $40 for the 50 mm f1.8. The Pro lens was 50 mm f1.7 real glass & metal.

Another thing to keep in mind is that at close distance if you measure from the film plane to center and then to the edge of the framed picture there is a difference.

That means that if you focus the middle, then the edge is soft.
 
Hey,

All my stuff was shot at 1.8 on the Nikkor.

The more i use the Letus rods the more they bother me. These are the issues i'm having:

- The mounting blocks sticking out of the bottom so you can't sit your camera on a bench or it'll topple over.

- I can't take my camera off the rods and use it on my tripod without changing base plates which won't even use the same base plate screw, you have change them around. CRAZY!

I'm going to stop bitching NOW...LOL

Regards,

Ben
 
It'll just connect on to the 3/8'' thread on your 503 QR plate, basically replacing it with the 3272 plate. The downside to this is that it will raise your entire setup, which might make it more unstable.
 
benandaim said:
- The mounting blocks sticking out of the bottom so you can't sit your camera on a bench or it'll topple over.

- I can't take my camera off the rods and use it on my tripod without changing base plates which won't even use the same base plate screw, you have change them around. CRAZY!
Click to expand...

easy = saw off the parts of the risers you won't need - the part sticking out at the bottom = flat base = :2vrolijk_08:

as for the 'fur', got any footage you can post up, to take better look.
 
I thought of sawing off the bottom of the risers, but then i went... if your screws become loose then your whole rig could fly off as there would be nothing to stop it! plus you would probably have trouble mounting a matte box due to not enough height...

The 503 head is ok i've had mine for nearly 2 years and it's been fairly robust. I'd just like a new Vinten..lol.

I'll post some footage after the weekend, i'm taking the LEX out then.
 
well now you've made me scared too. but by shortening them, how would that reduce the risk if the screws were to come loose? ahhh i'm getting paranoid :(

and haha yes a vinten would be nice, while you're at it get me an arrow head :D
which sticks do you use? i'm a bit dubious about these lightweight cf no-spreader (basically, 3 rods). any experience/views on them?
 
I have the Manfrotto 351 sticks, they have a low spreader, which annoys the crap outer me so i took it off straight away. I've had absolutely no issues working without the spreader.

By the way the lex allan bolts hold tight so don't be scared about your cam coming off, just don't cut the bottom of the riser tabs.

Just a side note, I can't get my LEX & rods to balance on my 503/351 setup. It's really back heavy. I've tried moving the cam foward but you can only go so far with the 30cm rods.
 
i got the 15cm couplers to allow for follow focus, but yes, i can predict this issue so may need them just for that. even with my hv20 and mini it is a craft to fit everything to an ideal position. and i can imagine it'll only get worse when i'll need to allow more space (underneath) to attach longer tripod plate.

and again, how would cutting the bottom of the riser tabs effect the connection...isn't it just 'dead' length? it doesn't serve as anything else, does it?
 
Hey Charles,

if you cut the bottom off the bolt could slide straight out the channel as it would have no horizontal metal anymore to stop it (hope this makes sense) I have my rig set up a little better now... took some fine tuning. Here are some pics of my LEX, the lenses i'm using and the offset of my GG.

http://s261.photobucket.com/albums/ii52/benandaim/

I'll post some footage & stills soon.

I'm seeing furry edges with my LEX attached whilst viewing the footgae on my 46" 1920x1080p LCD tv. Done tests and it doesn't matter what f-stop, shutter speed, ND filters or lens you use it's still there. the LEX is easy to setup so i'm sure my settings are correct. I just dunno what's causing this. The bare HVX lens yeilds clean edges.

Regards,

Ben
 
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