I think the M2 was a bad choice for me.

S

sbryan

Well-known member
I've been thinking it over, and I want to sell my M2 when I return to the states in December and purchase another 35mm adapter more suitable to the way I would use it.

I need to make the right choice this time, though.

I think the M2 produces the best images out there, but it comes with some trade-offs.

1) Light-Efficiency. I don't have a large lighting kit and probably won't for several months, so I can't flood indoor scenes with light to get the results I want.

2) Image Flipping. I'm already using a DVX and thinking about 16:9 framing. Having to flip an external LCD monitor with an arm in the sun is annoying and cumbersome, and it's hard to shield a monitor from the sun if the arm is in the way of a hood attachment.

3) Initial set-up and on-the-fly setup. Good God. I spend more time tinkering with the M2 than anything else.

Given those trade-offs, could you guys suggest an adapter that will fit the bill?

If I had to rank complaints in order of importance, it would go 2, 1, 3 -- in descending order.
 
I thought the monitor flipping would be a major hassle when I started using my M2, but it really isn't. Especially if you use an LCD monitor that has a flip function. I even modified my 27" Dell monitor to mount upside down on its stand. Onboard LCD screens are easy to mount upside down.

A few of the other vibrating adapters allow less light loss as far as I know and may be a little less time consuming to set up.

A lens adapter is definitely not the best tool when shooting run and gun style. I always avoid one when I know I need to get a lot of shots during a day. I had an M2 for 2 years and recently upgraded to the SG pro which I'd say is far superior.

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However, are you judging this based on Cinescreen I or II results? The M2 can flip the image with the addition of the microX accessory. It's a great addition to any setup. As to low light, I think that adapters have this conundrum. If you sacrifice light efficiency you get better bokeh. The same is true in reverse.

So I vote give the microX and Cinescreen II a try. But if you want another adapter, I would go for the Letus Elite (Zacuto resells it). It has the backfocus capabilities of the Letus Ultimate with the price range of the Letus Extreme.
 
if light loss is major important, then the Brevis is your guy. I run gun that all the time in both day and night situations.
 
Ive got the SGpro with flip, its great, but theres barely any left now. Having played with the the SGblade however, id wait afew weeks and get that. The blade builds on the last few years of SGpro development, and its very nice. The beta units have been sent out so should be some footage up soon.
 
Sbryan,

Before you sell the M2, consider the following:

1) Light efficiency - With the Cinescreen II upgrade, the M2 is competitive with the 'brightest' adapters out there. The M2 on its own loses about 1 stop of light, and with the new Cinescreen II it loses about 0.5 stops. More importantly, the Cinescreen II also features incredible low light performance, so you can stop down further to control your depth of field than you could before. Take a look: http://www.vimeo.com/2185396

2) Image flip - since April we've had the microX flip adapter, which reorients the image, and sharpens your edge to edge sharpness. It works with the DVX and also with HD cameras. No need to flip monitors or crane your neck around the LCD.

3) As far as calibration goes, it really depends what kind of calibration you're running into that you don't like. Calibration is a factor for every 35 adapter if you want truly great results. If you're using a soft mount with your DVX, you'll find the Hard Mount Kit we offer in the store makes setup vastly easier. The microX also uses all 'hard' connections.

Also, keep an eye out in the near future for more cool stuff...that I can't be more specific about. It's definitely related to the M2.

Cheers!
 
One thing I'd be sure and investigate is how the adapter responds as a lens is stopped down. You should also investigate the light claims in terms of what they mean. We always state and measure light loss with a 50mm f1.4 lens attached, the fastest most people own. We also tell you what happens at f 5.6 with light loss. Many of our shooters want both light efficiency and shallow DOF in their adapter which is why you can swap out no less than 8 imaging elements (with no setup after) and do this in about 3 minutes. This can be done fully rigged on rails, without even taking the adapter off the camera in about 2 minutes. Factor in the micro-collimation feature, large XY adjust and I think you'll agree we've covered just about everything.

As far as I know, we're the only company ever that's taken the time to publicly demonstrate using a waveform montitor "live" what happens as you stop your 35mm lens down on a video camera with our adapter attached. The clip is here: http://www.cinevate.com/website/index.php/videouniversity/
The Brevis MP.1 flip with CF1 or CF1le loses ~.5 stops with a 50mm f1.4 lens attached. Stop this lens down to f5.6 and you're still only losing 1 stop to the camera. This is as much as 400% more efficient than the existing adapter offerings.

A few more features that set us apart:

1. The MP.1 is the only microprocessor (firmware upgradeable) managed lens adapter on the planet, at any price.
2. The MP.1 is the only adapter system using a modular (non-toxic) onboard power supply with a 30 hour runtime, rapid recharge (20 minutes) and an automatic system shut-down if you forget to turn the unit off. Before that happens, our status LED flashes for about an hour as a reminder.
3. The system is modular to the point that even customers who purchased units 2 years ago have sent their units in and been updated to the latest MP.1 spec for under $200.
4. The use of carbon fiber in both our adapter and patent pending Proteus rails systems means at least 1 to 2 lbs less mass than the current offerings out there. The Proteus rails system is the only one in the world that becomes a shoulder mount system by adding our grips and velcro pad.

End of used-car salesmanish (but everything is true in this version) pitch :-)

Cheers,
Dennis Wood
 
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Hmmmm...

I may try the upgrades to the M2 before I sell it.

The SG Blade and the Brevis 35 look impressive, too.
 
I have seen great work with all of the adapters. I bought the Letus Extreme but if I were buying today, I would have a hard time choosing which one to get.

You should also check out the Cinemek. It is not the fastest adapter but has great bokeh and is the only static glass adapter in this price range. A nice product, simple to use, competitive cost, killer image but that lack of speed could trip you up.

Dan
 
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