Letus Extreme or Ultimate???

C

cbagnall23

Member
Can someone tell me the major differences between the Extreme and the Ultimate? If I'm shooting mid-budget docs with a set of Zeiss lenses do I need the Ultimate? or will the Extreme do? Also, what about Letus Elite? I only ever hear about the Extreme and Ultimate. If someone can give me a pros/cons or why i should go with one or the other Id appreciate it. Thanks!
 
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I was just wondering these things as well. These exact same things. The Ultimate is just so much more expensive... is it worth it? (in your opinion)
 
Ultimate is in another class all together. The ability to use any shutterspeed, stop down at any point, adjust backfocus on the fly as well as amazing sharpness and incredible bokeh rendition simply leaves the Extreme in the dust. I rented it for one shoot and found it hard to go back my Extreme after.
 
If you want the easy backfocus adjustment I'd go for the Elite. It's the best of both worlds. Priced closer to the Extreme and enables that sweet backfocus ability. It won't get you high shutter speeds and stoping down the lens, but I don't really use those features in my daily cinematography. Use the tools you have. Content is king! So go for the Extreme or Elite my friend.



Also be wary of these boards and asking "old" questions like that. That question has been asked around 43 times already on DVXuser. I did a google search to check! Try to search for the answers before you ask a question. Read the stickies on each forum and sub-forum if needed. Search using the built in search or the google "site:dvxuser.com" feature. Google is your friend! I'
 
This question always surprises me. This is like asking should I get a Ford Taurus or a Ford Mustang? The ultimate adapters is nearly 4x more expensive. If the Ultimate fits into your budget then do it! I don't really think you can compare these two adapters because they are in completely different classes.
The extreme IMHO is one of the best adapters for the money. The Ultimate is even better, but you will pay for all those upgrades.

Something to consider is that many of your camera accessories will out live your camera. If you can make an investment on the ultimate and turn that around into profit then get the ultimate.

I chose the Extreme because it paid for itself the 2nd time I used it. I have to see a profit return on a gear purchase. It is very easy to get caught up in Gear Lust. The Ultimate is a better adapter, but at 4 times the cost you need to calculate a true ROI and see what fits your needs. You can not go wrong with either of them.

Good Luck.
 
Why does it surprise you? If your Ford Taurus gets you to the same place in the same amount of time but it has leather interior, $4000 rims, and drop top, it seems to be style over substance. So with that said, my question was to simplify the need of a DOH adapter. I have a job in 3 weeks that will pay for the Ultimate in one week. But is it really worth it? If I can get the same style/function of the Extreme then it might be best to go with the Extreme. Or maybe the question would be, the Elite or the Extreme? The Mustang may be cooler, but the Taurus is a reliable car that can last to 150,000 miles... ;) Thanks for everyone's help. And yes I did look that question up but I wanted a fresh answer. Always upgrading.
 
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After being on a shoot with an Ultimate, It kills me not being able to afford one. BUT, the extreme is still one hell an adapter and produces beautiful images in capable hands. Just get what you can afford. that is the bottom line for me. You can always sell a LEX in great condition down the road if need be.
 
get the extreme! Look at the footage on here shot with both adapters. they both look good and most people will nerver tell the difference.

I use the sgpro for shots where i need to stop down past f5.6 but for the most part the majority of people use any of these adapters at that stop.
 
I find that F5.6 is really the limit with the extreme. Unless the batteries are fresh, i can sometimes see the GG. So i avoid 5.6 in certain situations, F4 or f2.8 for me.
 
I honestly don't see the difference between the new Blade and the Ultimate. The blade will cost you an arm and a leg less than the Ultimate.

Correct me if I am wrong, with vibrating adapters, it's not the stopping down that will get you in trouble with grain, it's the shutter speed. Keep the shutter speed at 1/48 and you should be able to stop down as far as you want.
 
When did the Blade get compared to the Ultimate? When did he ask about a Blade in this thread?

Stopping down will get you grain or grain pattern on most adapters, even spinning.

ON TOPIC ........................

Elite or Extreme, get the optimization kit with either if you do not step up to the Ultimate.
 
Kholi said:
When did the Blade get compared to the Ultimate? When did he ask about a Blade in this thread?

Stopping down will get you grain or grain pattern on most adapters, even spinning.

ON TOPIC ........................

Elite or Extreme, get the optimization kit with either if you do not step up to the Ultimate.
Click to expand...

I know what he asked about...I just wanted to offer an alternative to the Ultimate since the Ultimate and the Blade are very close in structure and function. That's all man.
 
JohnLeeFilms said:
I know what he asked about...I just wanted to offer an alternative to the Ultimate since the Ultimate and the Blade are very close in structure and function. That's all man.
Click to expand...

When did anyone compare the Blade or the Ultimate side by side? Did you? Can we see the results?
 
I've owned both the LEX and Ultimate. I got rid of the LEX because of the grain issues, lack of X/Y and back focus adjustment. With the Ultimate because the quality of the ground glass and the spinning over vibrating (as in the LEX), I can zoom in all the way and see no loss in quality. That's a big deal for me as it really broadens the range of your lenses. Almost like having variable primes. This also allows you to buy fewer lenses, helping to off set the price or take fewer with me (doc/run and gun work). I can't zoom in all the way with the LEX without a noticeable quality hit. In short, I can cover the same field of view with three primes on the Ultimate that would take five primes with the LEX.

The other feature rarely mentioned is the Ultimate uses a post supported by two bearings (fore and aft) rather than one. This is important as it better ensures the alignment of the ground glass. I've had on more than one occasion a spinning GG (by another manufacturer) come out of alignment and fail. The other item I like is the x/y alignment. Without it (LEX), you lose a good 10-15 percent extra field of view and experience uneven edge to edge sharpness.

You also have the benefits of a spinning GG over vibrating - grainless skies, higher stops and shutter speeds.

The only real issue I had with the Ultimate was with the lens mount, it had a slight shift in it. Hien had since improved it and got rid of any shift with his new mount. Work fine.

The Ultimate will cost you about four times as much. It does come with a PL mount and one still mount. You won't get four times the rental but you will get more work as well as work that looks better. The quality is noticeably different, even more so on a big screen TV. If you plan to use it for client work and/or rent it, the Ultimate I think is a better investment.

As far as the Blade is concerned, let's not hear about it unless you've used both extensively enough to have a competent opinion and comparison. Most of the comparisons on this site have been worthless spec sheet ranting. Lot of these adaptors look good on paper but until it's been field tested (and not one day on a focus chart) opinions mean little.
 
Kholi said:
When did the Blade get compared to the Ultimate? When did he ask about a Blade in this thread?

Stopping down will get you grain or grain pattern on most adapters, even spinning.

ON TOPIC ........................

Elite or Extreme, get the optimization kit with either if you do not step up to the Ultimate.
Click to expand...

Hi Kholi,

A little off topic but aside from the optimization kit, would you reccomend the back focus upgrade as well? I have a few letus systems and year end funds to spend.

Thanks,
 
So if the comparing the Ultimate to the Extreme is apples and oranges, how would the Elite stack up to the comparable in price Extreme? It seems like for my needs (web based documentaries and promos) the Extreme is more in line with what Im looking for. Also, is there a followfocus unit that someone could recommend?
 
I mean it really depends on what you're doing and how much you're willing to spend. The Elite will allow you to properly backfocus as will the Ultimate, the Extreme cannot do this easily.

As I said ealier, content is really king. So if you're doing web based stuff, then is an adapter, rails, follow focus, support setup really necessary? Don't forget lenses! That's thousands of dollars. Perhaps look into buying used items? I'm just saying.

This is really an age old argument. If you really want the best adapter and want to know which one is best for you, go check them out at a show or something. Everyone has their own personal preferences in regards to look, usability, price, weight, etc.
 
cbagnall23 said:
So if the comparing the Ultimate to the Extreme is apples and oranges, how would the Elite stack up to the comparable in price Extreme? It seems like for my needs (web based documentaries and promos) the Extreme is more in line with what Im looking for. Also, is there a followfocus unit that someone could recommend?
Click to expand...

The Elite is the same unit as the extreme except for the backfocus ring. Same optics, same performance.
 
Good point. Well it looks like the Elite is a happy medium between the Extreme and Ultimate. Since I'm not shooting features. I think the Elite is my choice with a set of Zeiss lenses: 28, 35, 50 85, & 100 as well as the optimization kit for the HVX and followfocus.
 
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