My take on 35mm Lens adaptors such as the Letus!

J

jujufactory

Carbonite Member
So I read and watched all the reviews on the Letus Extreme. Wow! I had to have one. But before spending the 2000-3000 Euros I decided to try the product for a day on my EX1.

I'm relieved I did because there are things they don't tell you on the web.

Here is what I think:

Backfocus, price, f-stops, front focus, adaptor rings.... we've heard all the issues. Their secondery issues. One problem dominates all the others. I'm surprised nobody mentioned it... it is a real problem: WEIGHT! The Letus adaptor alone weighs almost as much as the camera.

This thing weighs a ton. Once you put a Letus on your EX1, the rods and a lens on top you can forget hand held. You can, forget the cheap rigs. The Letus and its rods will turn your leighweight EX1 into a full weight motion picture camera and that to me is a major step back because now you have to either dispense with tracking shots or go back to rails. Things would be alright is the EX1 were a shoulder mount camera but it isn't. Even the heavy Sony 900 is easier to handle than this mutant rig. The EX1 is totally misdesigned for any heavy configuration. Unless you can put counterweights behind your back you will never be able handle a Letus rig for more than 4 minutes. Yesterday I did some tests using various rigs. Forget it. This morning I have back pain, neck pain, and you name it.

When you get a Letus Extreme you better think in terms of rails, dolly tracks and the works if you want tracking shots. Otherwise it's static on a tripod.

This leads me to the real follow up: Isn't the entire idea behind small cameras their portability and versatility? The Letus will turn a lightweight easy to handle camera into a Mitchell heavyweight. Start hiring grips because just transfering the rig from the tripod to some sort of shoulder mount will require an assistant.

This is definitely something worth thinking about. Plus, I'm not even sure the top handle on the EX1 is designed to bear the weight a full Letus Rig. I did it and now get a cringing sound of bent plastic when I pick up the camera. (And I only used the rig for a day).

I dare not imagine what this setup would weigh with an EX3 but it would definitely be unusuable hand held.

Given the price, given the weight... given all the extra rigs you'll have to get just to handle such a heavy camera, one can truly question the bottom line usefullness of a Letus. My feeling is that it undermines the very idea of a lightweight camera. Without a shoulder mount camera the Letus sticks out like an unwanted guest.

Does the picture look so much better? Well it looks different. Less saturation, more grain... less depth of field.... organic look? I suppose so if you like super 8 film... but in purely subjective. The original EX1 lens will still give you the best resolution, the strongest colors.... but of course you have that video perfect large depth of field look... so now a decision has to be made between driving a jeep or driving a tank. It depends on your war I guess but don't even think or using the Tank as you would a jeep. The Letus Rig belongs on a tripod.
 
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The letus is easy hell to run hand held. Many of us do it all the time without shoulder mounts let alone counter weights.

Weight is simply a non issue for me as well as many others that is probably why it is not discussed too much.

Plus many of us researched the product before we bought it so we knew how much it weighed.
 
So what if you can't handhold it? I've been directing commercials for a couple of years now and I've only used handheld shots in one commercial. You'd have to decide how much of what you're shooting requires handheld.

By the way, do you have any idea what cameras documentary producers use? They use those big *ss Sony shoulder-mounted cameras. They're definitely much heavier than the Sony EX1-Letus combo. If you want a light handheld cam, just buy a Canon HV30 cuz the EX1 by itself is a monster to handhold.
 
The worst thing for me was that the whole rig, even on rails and with counter weight, was too cumbersome. Because of the flip, the camera had to sit way too high on my shoulders to make it practical. I like the simple straight design of a non-flipped Brevis 35 or a Cinemek G35. Plus they are lighter...
 
jujufactory said:
You do it all the time? Who are you? The incredible Hulk? How do you go about doing it?
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1233004931.jpg

Yes. All the time. And I'm no Hulk But My camera weighs in at the gargantuan weight of 12 pounds. My 4 year daughter can carry 12 pounds. Not saying it aint cumbersome but it's not hard. AT ALL. But i am 6'6 250 and can bench 305. :Drogar-Evil(DBG):
 
You're a big guy. But I don't have time to bench press 350 pounds every day just to use my camera. It's also possible the HVX 200 is somewhat lighter than the EX1. One must remember that the EX1 is a half-inch camcorder, which means a half-inch lens, which in turn means more glass and more weight too. I can carry 6-7 kilos. But I can't aim a 6 or 7 kilo rig at an object for more than 2 minutes without trembling. If you add to that the need to adjust focus every so often and press the record button, you can bet this is anything but practical. Bottom line, the rig needs to go on a shoulder mounted camera which the EX1 is not. If I shoot without tripod I may not go through a day without breaking your back.
 
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Hey Juju,

I currently use the EX1 and letus with shoulder mount setup. And I definitely agree it weighs a lot. It's also a bit hard to balance at times. However, with that being said it is still a usable method just have to work up those arm and shoulder muscles with use and obviously if you go handheld all the time an adapter may not be the best choice anyways, or maybe a brevis with no flip as mentioned may be the better lighter choice but then you'll still need to add the weight of a monitor or flip to have it right side up. Bottom line is, it's a trade off, great control over depth of field or ease of use handheld. Probably one day we'll have 4k res in a 3 lb camera and built in PL Mount, but not for a long time :)
 
Juju, check out some of the more balanced rigs like what Zacuto offers. You can carry alot more than you think if its distributed right. I've also found that holding it more like a rifle as filthrich is doing above helps a bit. I'm not a big guy (5'6" 160lbs, I can bench the bar!) at all and I can handle a 12lb (if not alot more rig) if its balanced and the weight is on my shoulder and not on my hands. I've tried to shoot like it sounds like you are with the weight in your arms and I dont last long at all. Want to go forever with a rig (my shoulder gets tired after 30 minutes or so usually) - look at a steadicam flyer or similar rig. I can wear mine a few hours with no pain and 15lbs of camera. Sure I'm a little tired but if I'm working I dont really even notice it. During practice sessions and stuff I routinely do 30 minutes 5-6 times a day and never notice i'm in the rig. Almost feel naked without it on. Of course 35mm adapters on steadicams make for some interesting focusing issues...

Anyways its all about balance. Personally I like the extra weight of a 35mm adapter rig handheld (if its balanced!). Smooths things out and makes it nice and solid feeling. If you still want to trim the weight, perhaps a non flipped brevis is right for you.
 
I noticed the Letus will give you a lot of grain and lose a lot of colour saturation, sharpness and resolution.


With Letus:

1.jpg




Without Letus:
2.jpg



I don't know but my feeling is you lose a lot of quality for that smaller depth of field. Is it worth it?
 
I bought a Letus Mini and paired it with an HV20 to sidestep the weight issue.

That said, I'm still not sold on 35mm adapters. I like the organic look, but the PITAF (Pain-in-the-Ass Factor) is high. Maybe I just need a better selection of fast lenses (I typically have used a 50mm f1.4 prime) but it has always seemed like a lot of effort for a modest payoff.
 
I wonder if there's any payoff at all once you take into account the resolution and saturation loss. The EX1 has such a beautifully sharp image with such great resolution you wonder whether putting it through the adaptor grinder is really an improvement.
 
The EX1 is so sharp you can easily take the small hit on resolution. For me, anyone who isn't getting good images with the EX1 & Letus, just does not know how to use it or one of the components is broken.

And while I'm on a roll, anyone who is getting imagery from the set up which is 'too video' also doesn't know how to use it correctly. Either that or they want it to look like video as an artistic choice.

Weight? You can run and gun with this far easier than you can with the HVX/M2 for example. Or even the HVX/Letus, because focusing with the EX1 is really easy. I actually find hand-held with the EX1/Letus easier than the EX1 on its own because the EX1's ergonomics are terrible. It balanced the camera out a bit more with rails, camera support etc.

In the right hands it can look great, and compared to other set ups, you don't need a ton of light.

Super 8? Not sure if you're looking at the same camera/lens adapter combo that I am :huh:
 
Hey the pictures above speak for themselves. The resolution and saturation loss is clearly visible. This was shot with a Letus Extreme and a 50 mm F1.4 canon lens.
 
jujufactory said:
Hey the pictures above speak for themselves. The resolution and saturation loss is clearly visible. This was shot with a Letus Extreme and a 50 mm F1.4 canon lens.
Click to expand...

Edit: As the above poster as written, the ground glass doesn't look to be switched on.

Also, this isn't a good example of what you can do with this set up.

My latest humble attempts are yielding pretty good results. Here's a heavily jpeg compressed screen grab...

240_0299_01.jpg
 
I like the look that 35mm adapters give, but I agree that they are overall not worth the pain-in-the-ass factor. Especially the added weight issue and the flip problem. I also am not a huge fan of too much super shallow depth of field, except on a shot here or there when it is necessary. That's just me though. No ill will towards anyone who uses adapters.

Although, if I end up switching to an HMC150 this year, then I would have the flip problem solved. And that is also part of why the flipped adapters like the Letus are heavier. So I think that if you can knock out those two factors, you will have an easier time with it.
 
The main problem I found with the extreme, and the reason I got shot of it, was not the weight so much as the image completely ruined with mottled effect with anything above 4.5. This is caused by the vibrating glass. Spinning glass doesn't have this problem. I thought I was seeing things when I first noticed it but it ruins the image and causes mayhem. The Ultimate or the SG Blade both have spinning glass so don't have this particular problem.
 
I'm a walking stick and I run n'gun RED ONE setups... an EX-1 + Letus Ultimate full grown rig is a cake walk... and trust me, I am NOT strong.

Weight really isn't an issue once you just get out and do it.
 
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