Movietube jr tested
Movietube jr tested
I'm new to this forum stuff but being a movietube jr user is a good reason to start.
First off: I'm a switcher. I used the Letus extreme and I was rather disappointed by the vignetting and the (in my opinion) rather low quality of the image. The screen itself had shades in it that wouldn't go away even if the screen vibrated. Furthermore I was totally unnerved by the rather complex focus adjusting.
In comes the movietube jr: Ruggedly manufactured (same as the Letus, which was one of the reason I switched, since I acquired a Zacuto rig adapted to the Letus), the jr is a purely optical system. People seem to forget that its prize is so high because of the high precision optical innerings!
The first thing that struck me is that the image output by the adapter is in circle shape. My camera is set to 33.8 Zoom, the circle covers the whole image and there is no, and i mean noone whatsoever vignetting!!!
Apparently the optics of the hvx200 are not always well centered, so that might require more zoom to cover the whole sensor area... I hear a zoom of 36 is normal.
Next thing: the Canon lens mount. Not as neatly resolved as on the letus and the Canon choice seemed odd and annoying, since I looooove my Nikon lenses, I tried a Nikon adapter and it worked perfectly well. I guess for future improvements a modular lens mount system might be a good idea. But for now this little workaround works.
The handling: Imagine switching your camera to infinity focus and you're all set, no fussing around. That's what I call easy to use! Losing focus on the Letus adapter on set was a real pain and waste of time.
Not to forget: No mechanical & electronic parts that can break or even be forgotten to be switched on!
Finally: The image quality
No comparing to the letus extreme. The image quality is superb. I'm using Nikon 35mm prime lenses and I'll be shooting a test video in the near future where anyone can check out the quality themselves.
The bouquet is unique, very soft but you'll see....
Sometimes I'd like to remove the adapter (for steadicam use in tight spaces e.g.) and keep the same image quality, not a problem with the movietube jr but try that with the Letus Extreme....
One last thing that almost never gets mentionned in these kinds of forums is customer service:
Kinomatik was very responsive and helpful when it came to adjusting the adapter.
Letus was too, once I got a hold of Hien, which is not an easy task...I'm not sure if my emails got lost or if he's just too busy. (Once I had Zacuto get him to contact me back)
My conclusion: Both adapters have their advantages but are not in the same league. My comparing them might not seem fair, since now Letus has its Ultimate model. Back when I switched (mid-may) I only had that choice. I have absolutely no regrets. My letus is available on ebay....
Movietube jr tested
I'm new to this forum stuff but being a movietube jr user is a good reason to start.
First off: I'm a switcher. I used the Letus extreme and I was rather disappointed by the vignetting and the (in my opinion) rather low quality of the image. The screen itself had shades in it that wouldn't go away even if the screen vibrated. Furthermore I was totally unnerved by the rather complex focus adjusting.
In comes the movietube jr: Ruggedly manufactured (same as the Letus, which was one of the reason I switched, since I acquired a Zacuto rig adapted to the Letus), the jr is a purely optical system. People seem to forget that its prize is so high because of the high precision optical innerings!
The first thing that struck me is that the image output by the adapter is in circle shape. My camera is set to 33.8 Zoom, the circle covers the whole image and there is no, and i mean noone whatsoever vignetting!!!
Apparently the optics of the hvx200 are not always well centered, so that might require more zoom to cover the whole sensor area... I hear a zoom of 36 is normal.
Next thing: the Canon lens mount. Not as neatly resolved as on the letus and the Canon choice seemed odd and annoying, since I looooove my Nikon lenses, I tried a Nikon adapter and it worked perfectly well. I guess for future improvements a modular lens mount system might be a good idea. But for now this little workaround works.
The handling: Imagine switching your camera to infinity focus and you're all set, no fussing around. That's what I call easy to use! Losing focus on the Letus adapter on set was a real pain and waste of time.
Not to forget: No mechanical & electronic parts that can break or even be forgotten to be switched on!
Finally: The image quality
No comparing to the letus extreme. The image quality is superb. I'm using Nikon 35mm prime lenses and I'll be shooting a test video in the near future where anyone can check out the quality themselves.
The bouquet is unique, very soft but you'll see....
Sometimes I'd like to remove the adapter (for steadicam use in tight spaces e.g.) and keep the same image quality, not a problem with the movietube jr but try that with the Letus Extreme....
One last thing that almost never gets mentionned in these kinds of forums is customer service:
Kinomatik was very responsive and helpful when it came to adjusting the adapter.
Letus was too, once I got a hold of Hien, which is not an easy task...I'm not sure if my emails got lost or if he's just too busy. (Once I had Zacuto get him to contact me back)
My conclusion: Both adapters have their advantages but are not in the same league. My comparing them might not seem fair, since now Letus has its Ultimate model. Back when I switched (mid-may) I only had that choice. I have absolutely no regrets. My letus is available on ebay....
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