HPX170 with CINEMEK G35

All this thead was for, was to show g35 footage and show what it can do. Also to encourage people to shoot in optimal situations to really show all the adapters strengths and weaknesses. That's all
 
filmer1001 said:
Hello 35mm techy adapter world.

I just purchased a HPX170 with the CINEMEK G35 adapter. I come from the film world and I have to say that my results with the adapter are GREAT. No moving parts, no batteries (unlike Letus, Redrock, SGPRO and Brevis). This system is hands down the best out there in my opinion. I have been reading other message boards that talk about adapters and what they think works and what doesn't. But I have discovered that no one talks about LIGHTING. How are you suppose to judge the quality of an adapter and try and compare it to FILM if you are not going to Light Properly??? There is no reason to use the adapter unless you are going to shoot in good light, or any other system. If you have great light your stuff is going to look good no matter what. The G35 is just another tool to help achieve a better look. I keep seeing all these postings on the "Bokeh" and which adapter achieves the best one but who cares about the "Bokeh if the light is shi*? the "Bokeh" cant make bad lit footage look nice. Also, good "Bokeh" relies heavily on LENS choice. If everyone goes out there and shoots great lit stuff people will clearly see that the G35 Adapter is the best choice hands down.

So unless you want to show up on set and have your $2 motor inside of your $1,200 adapter break and piss off the whole set, save yourself the time and get the G35. Easy setup, great feel, amazing manufacturing and an all around great system.

TEST footage. all my settings and codecs are messed up so it kind of strobes in some parts in HD, but the SD version is clean.

http://vimeo.com/1959100

Thanks,

Dana

www.danamorrisphoto.com
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Then, this probably wasn't the way to open the thread. Just for future reference.
 
It's times like these I think back to what my dad use to say to me as a kid, "Boy, I like my women like I like my scotch, fifteen years old and mixed up in coke".
 
filmer1001 said:
of course if you have a deal on the RED it is cheaper. But the going rate for a full red package not including lenses is around $1200 a day. Regardless, if you have the money the RED the better choice than any adapter.
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Full adaptor package and lenses/accessories 800 or so with PL mounts 1200.
Red Package with PL mount primes about 1600.00 - 2000.00

200 ASA or with Cinemek after lenses is about 100 ASA or so

A key at 4.0 from 12 feet away on RED would now have to be on the adaptor package about 7 feet away or 2k is now a 5k.

Now, perhaps in your eyes, like everyone on this board, don't know squat about lighting, but to double the wattage on lighting can in many cases offset any budgetary benefits of a low cost adaptor.

Regarding bokeh being overrated, I don't think it is. Many of these low cost adaptor degrade the bokeh to the point of losing much of what makes good glass good glass


My two cents,

Tim Naylor - DP
www.timnaylor.com
 
Low cost daptors are for low budget. Any budget that can afford a full crew and G&E package should be able to afford a better system. So the guy trying to make something cinematic from a small kit is relevant here. Most can't afford to lose as much light as the G35 does.

It's the difference between shooting fast film or slow film. Even on big shows, choice of ASA has a profound effect on how you work. I've spent time in the trenches as an electric (working union and non) and as a DP on many film gigs. The difference between 100 and 400 ASA can be the difference between two guys heading up a 10 k or one guy heading up a 2 K. And let's not get started on cabling. Or it can be the difference between lighting a street with Maxi's or just augmenting natural light with a China ball.

So I'm sure the G35 can give some great images (though everything I've seen from it is a bit soft) but the light penalty puts it in bigger league G&E wise - which begs to ask, should I drop half the lights and rent a varicam/PS tech or a RED? Based on what you've actually used (as PS and an LE), you don't have much experience with adaptors to make honest comparative claims. I've owned all of them at one time or another (except the G35). At the end of it, I find anything that loses anymore than 1/2 stop over the course of different budgets isn't worth it.

The old it's the cameraman and not the camera is true. The experienced cameraman will know when his choices on gear can make or break or show if he's really trying to maximize the budget.
 
Tim,

I know that adapters are for low budget films. I have said this in previous posts that I would never use an adapter if I had a budget that would let me do otherwise. For me, the G35 has a great quality to it and better than the PS i think. It also seems that most people on this site own there own rigs and aren't working on stuff that has a budget. So of course if you are shooting night time interiors with no budget then the G35 is not the right choice. But for me and what I am working on right now the G35 is perfect and produces a great image. 1.4 stops of light loss will not turn me away from the g35 if i feel it looks the best. i wil make it work. all personal preference. you shoot great stuff, i suggest you give it a try.

dana

danamorrisphoto.com
 
You definitely have me interested. Just a few questions: do you know anyone in NYC area who owns one? Would like to take one for a test drive. What's your workflow for flipped images? I used to own an SG. It was the last adaptor I had that gave me flipped images. In FCP, flipping the image with motion or in FX, especially with multiclip (a music video must), was a real pain for a host of reasons. Raylight at the time couldn't flip on ingest, which would've solved a lot of the issues. So what is your workflow for flipping? Another concern I have is every thing I've seen with the G35 looks a bit soft. Your images are too small for me to judge that. Do you have any full size from grabs or links I can view that really show it's sharp? Don't need to see charts or anything just images on good lenses full size. Sharpness has always been an issue with adaptors. I ended up getting an Ultimate because I feel it's the sharpest of the lot.

I do agree with you about motor paranoia. I've had mechanical failure with all but one of the adaptors I owned (the Ultimate). The motor itself is always fine - the issues have been with connections or out of true discs. If it weren't for a network of "back up" owners or my handiwork with a soldering kit I would've been screwed. I'll pay for better build. I think the low cost adaptor builders must either get better at soldering or incorporate a screw or clip on connection. I've yet to have a film camera motor fail on me - and that's after shooting film for over 20 years.

The last question are the shutter and f stop parameters - at what point does it show grain?

Thanks
 
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whoa

whoa

Hey all, It's getting hot in here. :I It's not like we are talking about the presidential debates or the financial collapse of the global economy. Personally I think comparing the image quality of any current camera or adapter to that of the RED One is an argument tough to defend. However, as we know there is more than just image quality at stake when working on a project. As great as it is, the RED is not an extremely versatile tool from a usability standpoint. I imagine Jim Jannard never really intended it to be the every man's camera. It requires quite a bit of support and current versions have small issues which are to be expected from a new product of such caliber. I am not going to get into a RED camera debate on here. There are plenty of those on Reduser.com and such. It is a sweet product.

It's very difficult to build a high quality reliable adapter for under $1500. When I say reliable I mean never going to fail on you. You can rely on it. My #1 priority when designing the G35 was image rendition. #2 was reliability. That is why I've shot footage of me putting it under water. http://www.virb.com/cinemek/videos/39477 I know what it is like to get a gig that you are getting paid for and get knots in my stomach because of fear of equipment failure or batteries that were not charged. I am determined that NO products that I produce will add to your already difficult taxing job of relaying an idea to image. You shouldn't have to worry about whether or not your equipment received too big of a blow during shipping or whether or not the wires will fail. Although it is a wonderful resource you should not have to rely on an online forum to walk you through fixing a product you paid over $1000 for. I know that I cannot afford to lose the confidence of people who hired me or even worse loose the next gig if my gear fails. You wouldn't worry about that with your HVX200's or your EX1's why should it be different with any other gear. The G35 is not a tinkerers device. It is easy enough for your dad to use but reliable enough for ANY professional shooter to use. It reduces the light by 1.4 stops. For some people, that is a deal breaker. That is a choice we have made to get what we see as the best dynamic range and out of focus rendition. Our personal preference. That coupled with the reliability and ridiculously easy setup of a static device is what we believe in.

You have tons of options for adapters. Some will work for some people in every situation. Some won't. Your options are to either buy the one that will work in the most amount of situations you care about or purchase a different unit that will cover the remaining situations.

This is not a mine is better than yours post.
Quyen Le
Wayne Kinney
Dennis Wood
Jamie Hurd
forgive me if I forgot your name maker of brand X adapter

These gentlemen Have all worked incredibly hard to produce from the ground up companies that deliver products with wonderful results. Forgive me if I am wrong, but I don't think any of the above designers made optical devices before jumping into the adapter realm with exception to Quyen. We are all very fortunate to live in a time where technology is so readily available. The days are getting shorter (because of winter not because of Armageddon) Go shoot.

Tim, Here is some footage I shot stopping down to I think 8.0 with the G35. You can shoot at any shutter speed with it. http://staff.washington.edu/gdmj100/hd_footage/clips/ The clip you want is called (Jon's_feet_HD.mov) It's about 178mb so you'll want to save it to you hard drive.

Thanks!
 
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Very nice images. Clears up any doubts about sharpness. I love the no moving parts. Good to know about the shutter speed as I often do high shutter speed stuff. The aspect I find most attractive is the small footprint and working with a camera that has a built in flip. Can you shoot up to a 5.6? Do you have any suggested workflow for flipped images? So is production/shipping full up and running?
 
Tim,

I will be out in NYC on a gig second week of november. we can try and link up there and you can give it a try. i will try and post some frame grabs for you later. adios

dana
 
filmer1001 said:
Tim,

I will be out in NYC on a gig second week of november. we can try and link up there and you can give it a try. i will try and post some frame grabs for you later. adios

dana
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Call me (number's on my website). If it goes on a 72mm front we can throw it on an EX1 as well. I got a bunch of Nikon primes, a car and know all the great spots to shoot NYC. This should be very cool. I know a few people who are interested in the adaptor who'd can help out.
 
can somebody name some cameras that flip internally please ? I guess the DVX100BE wont?
I found the philly footage of dana quite nice ! not for the adaptor but for the images, colours and feel.
 
the hpx170 can flip the image (for viewing only, it gets recorded non flipped). As far as I know, the jvc GY-HD250 does the same thing...
 
JHouser said:
You have tons of options for adapters. Some will work for some people in every situation. Some won't. Your options are to either buy the one that will work in the most amount of situations you care about or purchase a different unit that will cover the remaining situations.


Thanks!
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That pretty much sums it up, right there! Can't wait to shoot some G35.
 
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