35mm Adapter for HMC?

S

shadowknight123

Active member
Hey everyone. I was originally gun hoe on the Redrock m2 Encore since the light loss is so minimal compared to its former models. But then after looking around these forums i noticed alot of people are against it and recomend something called the SGblade or letus?


What is the difference why is one better then the other ect? I have a budget of 2500 for one adapter. What would you guys recomend? This is for an indie film so it will need to be mounted on a shoulder rig system/or dolly/tri-pod of course.




PS. Does anyone know if this is a legit company or not? The product looks amazing for the $$. If not any where else i could look for somthing very similiar to this? Also how effective of a dolly system is it without a track?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Black-Bear-Stud...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item35a6096f78


Thanks!

Justin
 
Justin. I love my 150 but after shooting with a 7D I wouldn't think of spending money to put an adapter and the cumbersome ordeal involved to get a similar look. Even all of the workflow and quirks of the camera produce some amazing images. The 7D with the 1.2 85mm lens is simply awesome.. If you have your heart stuck on the adapter that's one thing... but 2500 bucks pays for the 550d and some nice glass..
 
Justyn said:
Justin. I love my 150 but after shooting with a 7D I wouldn't think of spending money to put an adapter and the cumbersome ordeal involved to get a similar look. Even all of the workflow and quirks of the camera produce some amazing images. The 7D with the 1.2 85mm lens is simply awesome.. If you have your heart stuck on the adapter that's one thing... but 2500 bucks pays for the 550d and some nice glass..
Click to expand...
im tempted on the 7d as that could truely give us that indie film look...

So it gets us the perfect "look" But when it comes to

A. Uploading/editing hows that do?
B. Storage on the card? how much can it hold how much are the cards?
C. Audio!?!?! How! We would want to use a boom..
D. Need a steady cam as handheld would be jerky?

Im not opposed to the 7d just seems like it could = out in price after buying the needed components.
 
I agree and I have both cameras. They are both good but right now if I need to film the HMC-150 is much easier to use for many of the reasons mentioned above.

Having said that, the quality of the Canon 7d is excellent and I look forward to using it more.

Simon
 
I am with Justyn on this one... I was going to ask if you are considering a DSLR - I went with the GH1 for now... imo a better live camera than the canon lineup. I don't need top quality and short record times but solid good video and long record times.

I would shoot the 7D/5D for sure if in controlled situations.

A. about the same
B. its about 10-12 min per 4 gb, google prices..(each cam has different types SDHC or CF)
C. You need a beachtech or zoom recorder... you can also go XLR to mini if you don't need phatom (or u can put a batt in it).
D. Got to get a Halo Rig mini or shoulder mount :)
 
Ill be shooting a feature film.. or shorts most the time but this summer comming up we are shooting a feature.

we have 5k to spend. So we are investing in a Matthews Roundy Round Doorway Dolly. Then after that it either goes to the 35 MM Adapter which I can not decide what to purchase so many different opinions around the court... Or purchase the 7d and cross my fingers all goes well..
 
used adaptor

used adaptor

So, that might be an interim solution for those of us who don't want to toss our new 150s and aren't ready to buy a new DSLR. Getting a used 35mm adaptor--which seem to be coming down in price. Speaking of which...how much do you want for yours?
 
By the 550D, A seperate audio recorder and a really nice fast zoom. You could get all of that for under 2500... Shoot, buy Two of the 550ds and you'll be golden. After my last project, I'll never shoot single camera again. Atleast 2 or possibly 3 will be rolling on the next project cause it just gives you so much creative choices in editing and when performances are shaky... I need all the help I can get.
 
The budget you specify won't pull it off. Go with the T2i/550. Better yet -- rent a real camera with real lenses.

A 35mm adapter at its best transfers the image from the lens to your camera. This means that if you've got the best adapter in the world connecting a crappy lens to your camera -- you're recording a perfect transfer of the crappy lens image.

The most important investment(s) in an adapter setup are the lenses.

You get these guys who think they can buy fifty dollar lenses from ebay -- and then they blame "light loss" and "detail loss" on their adapter.

To get the best from an adapter you want the highest quality and fastest lenses possible. Zeiss or high end Nikkor or Canon. These usually start around a thousand each. If you're going into the used marketplace -- go to reputable places like B&H who professionally evaluate the used lenses they sell. Want to discover the meaning of "haze" or "fungus" -- shop on Ebay.

So -- if you factor lens costs into the twenty-five hundred dollar budget you specified -- it doesn't work. Go with a video DSLR, create fake shallow focus in post (After Effects), or rent something truly capable. A cheap adapter with cheap lenses will result in crap. Guaranteed.
 
danny1280 said:
so, that might be an interim solution for those of us who don't want to toss our new 150s and aren't ready to buy a new dslr. Getting a used 35mm adaptor--which seem to be coming down in price. Speaking of which...how much do you want for yours?
Click to expand...

$550/$600?
 
Well our budget as of now has been raised to 6900. We are going with the 7D. We are staying away from the dolly for now may rent. But we are purcashing a glidecam hd4000 with the x-10 setup vest/arm.


Any lens you recomend? Were filming a feature, and i want our main lense to be wide. We have ALOT of up closing conversations in this movie (like any but the story is very dialogue driven) Im not looking for any crazy half inch depth of field and controlling that, maybe for a few takes. But mainly since we will be using a glidecam often i want the background to be out of focus, while our subject is in perfect clear focus, even if i stepped a tad bit to close or a lil to far as i followed them.



We also have one scene in the movie were we follow them going down a hill on bikes, few different angles but like here how would i control that DOF.. I'd need a large area in focus with the background out ect. Any lenses recomended?


PS. Anyone know of any good matte boxes for a good $
 
AGMedia said:
The budget you specify won't pull it off. Go with the T2i/550. Better yet -- rent a real camera with real lenses.

A 35mm adapter at its best transfers the image from the lens to your camera. This means that if you've got the best adapter in the world connecting a crappy lens to your camera -- you're recording a perfect transfer of the crappy lens image.

The most important investment(s) in an adapter setup are the lenses.

You get these guys who think they can buy fifty dollar lenses from ebay -- and then they blame "light loss" and "detail loss" on their adapter.

To get the best from an adapter you want the highest quality and fastest lenses possible. Zeiss or high end Nikkor or Canon. These usually start around a thousand each. If you're going into the used marketplace -- go to reputable places like B&H who professionally evaluate the used lenses they sell. Want to discover the meaning of "haze" or "fungus" -- shop on Ebay.

So -- if you factor lens costs into the twenty-five hundred dollar budget you specified -- it doesn't work. Go with a video DSLR, create fake shallow focus in post (After Effects), or rent something truly capable. A cheap adapter with cheap lenses will result in crap. Guaranteed.
Click to expand...

Well said. I learned this lesson the hard way.
 
I can vouch for the HMC 150 with a Letus Extreme...

I see what people are saying about the 7D, but unless you want to invest in a marker or shoot exclusively silent films (or music videos)... the sound issue just isn't worth it. You'll have more flexibility with a dedicated video rig anyways. [Should be noted that I'm considering a 7D, but only because I do a lot of music videos and want to get some photography going too]

Otherwise, everyone else is covering the bases. Doorway dolly is a good investment for a feature, plus you can rent it out when you're not doing it. Those things are sturdy as hell. But yeah, costs will go up with lens costs— but it's the same for either video DSLR or HMC/adapter. You can also try renting long term on LensRentals.com. They have Letus adapters and lens rentals (obviously) at good prices. Renting long term might be a better bet.

My best advice is to build a few different spreadsheets with different options:
1. HMC with adapter, lenses
2. 7D or another video DSLR, lenses, beachtek, fig rig
3. Renting (check lensrentals.com or whatever rental house, sometimes it's worth it to make a long drive to pick up at a cheaper place in another city)
 
dude, no offense—*but it doesn't sound like you have much experience with lenses/pulling focus.

if you're on a wide lens on either rig (HMC/adapter or 7D), depth of field is deeper, meaning you have more in focus. Visa versa on a telephoto lens. These are things that aren't going to change on either rig. These are choices you make based on the situation not on the rig you choose to buy.

IE: do I want a super flat, telephoto shot while these guys are zooming by on skateboards? if so, how do I do that? or how much does it compromise my plan to go a little bit wider and have a sharper, less buzzed, shot??
 
lalugela said:
dude, no offense—*but it doesn't sound like you have much experience with lenses/pulling focus.

if you're on a wide lens on either rig (HMC/adapter or 7D), depth of field is deeper, meaning you have more in focus. Visa versa on a telephoto lens. These are things that aren't going to change on either rig. These are choices you make based on the situation not on the rig you choose to buy.

IE: do I want a super flat, telephoto shot while these guys are zooming by on skateboards? if so, how do I do that? or how much does it compromise my plan to go a little bit wider and have a sharper, less buzzed, shot??
Click to expand...

No offence taken because i dont have any experience in it yet. Luckly I'm a fast hands on learner. (or if theres a thread really decribing this for dumbies point me there please!!)

I want to learn what lenses do which like you kind of gave a small example above. HMC150/adatper is not an option any more. We are going for the 7D. But now i need to figure out what type of lenses to purchase/invest in.

We wont be doing any skate videos ect, future will hold music videos. But as of now Indie Short films/features.
 
Before you spend a dime, I'd strongly suggest you to take some time and get to learn thing or two about lenses and their basic properties e.g. wide/normal/telephoto, dof and how to use/control it, field of view, what will you gain or lose with each kind of lens in terms of expression, basically which tools do you need to achieve what you want to achieve.
Somewhere in this forum there are few nice tutorials on these subjects, or just google it.
You'll feel much more comfortable buying gear if you invest some time in getting to know it.
Skating is usually shot using wider lenses since there's a lot movement going on, and wide angle emphasizes the perspective, motion towards and near the lens will seem much faster and more dramatic, but you'll get pretty sharp backgrounds, which is a thing that I would be going for with skating (streets, concrete, graffiti blah blah)
Movement on lens axis towards or from the lens when using telephoto is flattened and perceived as slower than it is, remember car races when car seems to stand still moving towards the camera (in reality it is moving 200mph).
These are just some general guides, in reality rules are there to break, you can shoot a film using a shoe box, but you need to know those rules to be able to break them.
And this is just to scratch the surface on the coating :)
 
Different adaptors

Different adaptors

I rented a Letus Extreme for my HMC150, and liked the results. I'm thinking of taking advantage of people selling their used adaptors and buying one, since I have access to free Nikon primes. What are people's takes on the various brands--Letus, Brevis, Red Rock, etc. Has anyone tried various brands and able to compare?

Thanks ...
 
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