Letus Extreme : Dust and cleaning

Hi Guys,

I was waiting for the Brevis to come out with their flip unit. However, I think I'm moving over to the Letus35 Extreme. B and H in NYC is reselling them, and as a newbie, I just LOVE responsive technical support.

I will initially be using a DVX100B with NIkon lenses, with the HVX200 to followi in a few months. For those that have already taken the plunge, which Follow Focus and rails rods do you reccommend?

Hope to see some sample footage soon.
 
shortnstout said:
I just ordered a Letus EX. Part of the reason I ordered it was because the casing seemed so much more professional and dust resitant than the FE is.
If I don't take the EX appart at all am I still gonna get dust in it? Am I gonna have to go through this dust cleaning once at the beginning for sure? Is this just a process you have to do before ever shoot?
thanks,
sns
Click to expand...

You may have to clean it. Mine had a GIANT spec on the condenser when I took it out of the box :)
No worries though, just simply remove the 3 allen head screws holding the front tube on. Gently and evenly pull the tube away from the LEX body.
You will then see the GG and vibrating "pegs" that hold it. Behind it is the condenser.
I used a combination of compressed air and a q-tip, and im dust/spec/hair free.
Id imagine it will stay that way for the most part unless you are working in some dirty environment.
It wouldnt even take you 5 min to clean the thing before a shoot anyhow :/
 
WHat does the condensor look like? is it the glass under the ground glass? i was trying to clean mine and now i can see a smudge on it. i have had terrible problems with the motor which was not soldered properly from the factory soI have had to solder the wires on it myself. in the uk so cant send it back to canada ... no time.
i got dust everywhere and a smudge now.... I am awaiting a new motor with the wires ready soldered, but now i broke one of those rubber feet too. hope they will send me a new one, but maybe someone can suggest where i can get one of the rubber feet in the uk?
 
http://www.letusdirect.com/letus35-extreme/1075-loose-front-plate-on-letus35-extreme.html

This is from the letus forums in response to another question but it does address how to get the rubber feet back in if you pulled them out too far (as I did and had an "oh s**t" moment) The key here is removing the rubber feet from the posts once you have pulled them out of the holes. I would warn anyone against using canned air as it can and will at some point leave a residue on your glass. Also, if you are not mechanically minded, do not attempt this. There is a reason that these instructions are not included with the unit.
In reply to spencerdare, I also had to resolder the wires on my 2nd letus (not a replacement- I have 2). There was a cold solder joint which was making the unit run intermittently, however the red light stayed on.
Regards
Shane.
 
So I got a new motor from Quyen and some spare rubber feet. I soldered it and the joints look perfect, but I did get th emotor cutting out once.... I am now wondering if low batteries or another poor solder could be also affecting my unit??? Anyone know if half full batteries could cause the motor to cut out?
 
I had to crack mine open last Thursday. There were specks between the prism and the condenser. It was the most nerve-racking 50 minutes of my life. I was either going to break the LEX, or succeed.

...it's been working like a charm. There was one moment where the button was pressed in, but the light wasn't on and the GG wasn't spinning. I barely touched the button and it spun to life. Haven't had the problem since.
 
I found this at the 35mm adapters thread. It looks like it can be opened. This dude was crazy enought to do it. Mine has dust too and it seems that it is inside the unit. I am thinking of opening this baby and try to clean it rather than send it back. I just can't wait for it to go back and forth. I have projects on hold.

Super8 said:
ok here is the update.......

so I noticed when I put the Letus Extreme with my relay that I was catching some weird dust particles on the screen...when I would put the Letus Extreme in front of my DVX100A...the dust particles would almost dissapear. i could not figure for the life of me what was happening. Could it be that HDV is less forgiving on a relay type scenario rather than mounting it in front of a Fujinon lens or Pansonics stock lens?

I ended researching various forums to find out how to take the GG out of the LEX...very very carefully...the more I digged in..the more I noticed that the specs were coming from inside the unit...EEEK! I tuly do not have time to send the unit back.

I love the Letus guys and their products...but of the three Letus I've owned...all three had to be opened to clean...what a hazzle! Oh and by the way...do not use rubbing alcohol to clean your GG our even any part of the glass..it leaves a cloudy residue.

Well...I figured...WHAT THE HECK! I just have to open this darn thing and get it cleaned myself

***DISCLAIMER***DO NOT OPEN THE LETUS...YOU WILL PROBABLY VOID ALL WARRANTIES***

I felt comfortable opening the unit just because I have been making my own adapters since 2005 so I figured I could do as good a job as the Letus guys.

probably it took me around 4 hours to carefully open and clean everything...even the prism. The best way to clean the mirrors i found out is...soap and warm water...the only way in my opinion to clean glasses...then use a microfiber rag...like one made by Oakley.

I assembled everything and violá! Super clean..and i don't even live in a dust free enviroment. If any of you are brave enough to clean your own Letus...here are some pictures of what you might encounter inside the unit...if you got the time and are in need of a deepcleaning...JUST SEND THE UNIT BACK! If you are desperate with a shoot coming up and no alternatives (like me)...this might be your only solution...at YOUR OWN RISK! I DO NOT ADVOCATE OPENING YOUR UNIT...I WAS A FOOL TO EVEN ATTEMPT IT...but then again I am crazy!

AT ANY GIVEN TIME YOU MIGHT CRACK THE WHOLE THING! Wear some rubber gloves...have a new can of air...and get yourself a pair of cojones...cause it is a little nerve wrecking!

http://vivalavhs.com/1.jpg
http://vivalavhs.com/2.jpg
http://vivalavhs.com/3.jpg
http://vivalavhs.com/4.jpg
http://vivalavhs.com/5.jpg
http://vivalavhs.com/6.jpg
http://vivalavhs.com/7.jpg
http://vivalavhs.com/8.jpg


ok and now for the first test...I shot this just as I put the whole thing together. Just the camera presets since I got it back from JVC after completing service A.

The light was extreme...high noon light and low light shadow under a canopy...I wanted to test the camera and LEX to the limits of what is acceptable for my type of work. I do a lot of run and gun documentary work and these are the conditions I would find myself in. In my opinion...the JVC does not handle itself incredibly well in low light situations..so i was concerned with adding the LEX and losing more light. I am happy with the results....Ok enough mumble jumble...

here is my first test...raw...as is...no nothing added to it...not cropped...about 17MB

http://vivalavhs.com/LEXTEST2.mov
Click to expand...
 
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GuerillaCinema said:
I found this at the 35mm adapters thread. It looks like it can be opened. This dude was crazy enought to do it. Mine has dust too and it seems that it is inside the unit. I am thinking of opening this baby and try to clean it rather than send it back. I just can't wait for it to go back and forth. I have projects on hold.
Click to expand...

Yup. I didn't go so far as to take my prism out, but it sure is scary.

The biggest "oh sh*t" moment is when you pop out the first peg on the GG. Thought I was done for after that. Then I popped the other two off and decided I was fine!
 
GuerillaCinema said:
I found this at the 35mm adapters thread. It looks like it can be opened. This dude was crazy enought to do it. Mine has dust too and it seems that it is inside the unit. I am thinking of opening this baby and try to clean it rather than send it back. I just can't wait for it to go back and forth. I have projects on hold.
Click to expand...

me a crazy dude? ha too funny. Yes I am insane to do such a thing...you should have seen the face of my wife when she saw that "$1000 plus thingy" (as she calls it) totally dismantled...she wanted to rip me a new one!

All I can say (aside from not being a fool and opening it) is that now I have increible peace of mind with opening the LEX and cleaning it whenever I can. There is truly freedom when you are in control of your equipment...
 
trudd said:
Yup. I didn't go so far as to take my prism out, but it sure is scary.

The biggest "oh sh*t" moment is when you pop out the first peg on the GG. Thought I was done for after that. Then I popped the other two off and decided I was fine!
Click to expand...


How did you get the pegs of the gg back on to the letus?
 
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