SGPRO or Letus Extreme

SGPRO or Letus Extreme

  • SGPRO

    Votes: 56 60.2%

  • Letus Extreme

    Votes: 37 39.8%
  • Total voters
    93
  • Poll closed .
I would choose the SGpro purely because I love the way it looks, the footage that is. I currently own a DIY job that is far from perfect. Just made it to get the hang of an adapter before purchasing the SG.

Wait until the blade comes out. Should be interesting.
 
I sold my SG for a few reasons:
Light loss put me into a much bigger lighting package/crew that no longer made it a "low cost" adaptor. At that level, it was equally economical to trim down the crew / gear and rent a varicam / PS / Zeiss prime package for 1600.0.

Regarding durability, I've had two failures of the ground glass platter / spindle with the Sg both within about a month with eachother. It would go out of true, slow down and then stop. The customer service in getting it repaired was awesome and quick. But still it leaves an uneasiness to have a shoot rely on it. If I were to buy it again, I'd feel compelled to buy a back up housing/gglass.

The Extreme has decent build but I've had one dust issue where I had to dissect the whole thing. Never a dust issue with the SG. But it could happen. The dust I had on my LEX was in the prism setup. A royal pain in the ass to clean. I this happened on set I would've been sunk. I never liked either one's Nikon mount until LEX came out with a significantly improved mount.

Concerning pic. I like the Sg's bokeh better. Unlike the post above, the Gglass does have a direct effect on bokeh in addition to lenses. I did extensive A/B tests between the two and concluded: The LEX was sharper and lost less light. The SG has better Bokeh and loses more mlight, as well as perform a few tricks the LEX can't - such as higher shutter speeds.

If sharpness is a priority ( considering all adaptors degrade the image) get the LEX. Same goes for light loss. If shutter flexibility and bokeh gives you wood, go for the SG.

Both have faults with their build and QC. Having owned both, I'd give LEX a slight edge, mainly on account of SG's weak GG platter configuration. But the SG has a better lens mount to adaptor attachment. NO SET SCREWS.

That's my take.

Tim Naylor - DP
www.timnaylor.com
 
I chose the SGpro... not a hard choice for me cause I've given it a lot of thought, but the truth is that it is a very close call considering everything. The added speed of the LEX is so incredibly valuable, so much so that it comes in a very close second to me even though to me the SGpro looks a lot more like film and it has less limitations in terms of shutter and f-stop.

I am waiting to see what the Blade does with the new GGs!

EDIT: I just caught up with reading the thread and Tim made the main point to be made... I wanted to agree and touch on something he said.
You will end up spending much more for that stop and 1/2'ish difference between the SGpro and the LEX... im my opinion that is where the desition making lies... you go for the better image or you go for the most cost effective production. The only reasons why people might go with the SGpro over the LEX are because they think they want the look it gives over the look you'd get out of the 2/3" cameras or anything else you know about that would be attainable with the given budget. Other than that you only get the lower limitations, but LEX owners once they've had them for a while, know how to get what they want and manage to avoid the problem areas with ease... Still all adapters have limitations and the SGpro has it's own things to watch out for regardless of how small they may be. The LEX can make a project happen when it otherwise wouldn't have been possible... and those that will be unhappy with the image are very few... I personally wouldn't be upset at all if we had to shoot my projects on the LEX, not at all... On the contrary! I would LOVE to be able to shoot with the LEX. But I will try to get the SGpro again and again because, personally, I think it is worth the hassle and added budget if it is possible.

ALSO A DISCLAIMER: I have not shot with the LEX, so all of my points are based on footage comparison and info I gathered here and from friends... then again I didn't speak of usability build etc... just of specs and image preference.
 
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I'm very much interested in the SG Blade and hope it's glass GG is as sharp across the plain as the Ultimate. I worked with the Ultimate w/ Philip Bloom in Tokyo one day and helped take the Ultimate apart, so, I've seen the internals on the prototype. The main issue with me is the price! If the Blade can perform at controllable speeds in spin and is as silent as Ultimate, I may very well go with the Blade!!!
 
I do wish the SGpro were a little faster so I could stop down the lenses a bit more for sharpness, otherwise you end up with a softer image than you would with the LEX because of the light requirements and the gap between the images becomes even closer (for me at least). A slightly faster GG in the Blade with minimal change in the image might be the best place to be for me... then again it might be something I say now but when I see the change in the image I might say that I want it back the way it was.
 
Brandon Rice said:
I have used two adapters on shoots... the M2, and the SGPro. Never used the Letus, but the SGPro is the definite winner above the M2... we used two SGPro's for shooting a full length feature over 17 days, and they held up great!
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I concur. The SG pro is a better adapter than the M2. Gives less vignetting, less light loss, and is sharper. Not to mention the SG pro allows for exact lens alignment unlike the M2 without the hard mount.

.
 
I used an M2 too, its no where near up to the standard of the SG, in useability, build quality, deign, and end result, the SGpro is much better.
 
I opted for the Letus because its the only adapter I've used but the SGpro was my first choice. I couldn't get ahold of one in time so I had to opt for my 2nd choice, the Letus. I don't regret my decision really....it's been awesome to use.
 
its my understanding that the blade will spin the same speed as the pro at its fastest setting. The new GG will have far less light loss and be grainless but not the same bokeh as the old GG. However they will also be offering the old GG with better light performance as an option. Something about a new coating on the "glass" to make it perform better. They should have some tests up on shoot35 in the next couple weeks, and im sure Wayne will post them up here.
 
Used both. like both.

Still prefer SG. i have 2, no real problems. Love em both. Paid for themselves 20X over....
 
cinebuddy said:
These polls are lame.
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Agreed. It gets people into the mindset that one is "better" than the other. So what if one adapter gets more vote? All it tells you is that one has a more vocal fan base. Maybe all the owners of the other ones are off actually shooting.
 
I actually find them very interesting... just out of curiosity to see what the general members population think. It is more about DVXuser and less about the gear I guess. If someone will assume something like that then it is their own fault. Especially if they don't even the posts.
:)
 
USLatin said:
I actually find them very interesting... just out of curiosity to see what the general members population think.
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Except it's not really representative of what the general population thinks. Polls like this suffers from selective bias in that only people who are motivated to respond do. But somebody looking at the result at the moment can draw the conclusion that because "more" people use the SGpro that it must be better.
 
Hehe... I totally see your point, and yours too cinebuddy...
It is better than nothing though. I just love statistics.. :D
 
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