35mm Adapters... a necessity?

R

Redrapper

Member
So here is my situation.

I've recently spent a great deal of money on equipment to shoot this film I wrote. I've worked fairly hard on it to say the least.

I've been looking around the forums for about a month now, and tried to make sure I chose the right Camera, Mic, Stabalizer, and accessories I would need. However, I really didn't think 35mm was necessary.

I'm looking at things now, and I'm starting to have my doubts about my previous statement. I know that good lighting is what makes a shot look good, texture and composition certainly help as well... but I' don't want to work hard on lighting my scene, and proficiently doing everything and then ending up with something that looks amateurish.

So maybe I should put it into context... for those of you with more experience, will my HPX hold up without the 35mm for this shoot? Or should I just go out and buy one. The images will look good, but will they look professional? or ameature. Yes I know that all depends on lighting, but for a moment, assume my lighting is good. How important is a 35mm adapter like the letus35 to an indie film project(one shot primarily indoors), and if I choose NOT to get it, will my film suffer because of it? and how much?

Sorry for bothering you. Searched the forums. Couldn't find anything specifically for this. So... yeah.
 
if you are buying the gear for just this "film" you might should have gone with a DSLR.

but no. a 35mm adapter is not absolutely necessary. it WILL give you greater "film-looking" depth of field. but lots of good indie shorts have been made without one.

the thing i like to point out to new users about an adapter is that you will need a LOT more than just the adapter in order to use it properly. you will need a baseplate and rails, follow focus, mattebox, etc... not to mention LENSES! and that will QUICKLY get your costs up to $3000 or more
 
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depends on the shots and angles that are in your film. 35 adapters are for controlling dof. if your shots require a greater dof then you will need an adapter. look at almost any conversation between two people in almost any film. you will notice the fore,mid, and background differences in dof.
 
Look at some videos on Youtube and Vimeo and ask yourself is this the style and picture im out after? That helped me to decide to go for an adapter.
Now I can't imagine to work without one, because it makes my productions look better and more like a pro shot.

Allthough it will demand a lot more from you as a cameraman, it is so much more than just aiming and hitting the record button. You must maintain the relation between the lens, groundglass and camera by using the correct F stop with the right shutter/iris/ND.

You gotta love the challenge:grin:
 
wgzn said:
if you are buying the gear for just this "film" you might should have gone with a DSLR.

but no. a 35mm adapter is not absolutely necessary. it WILL give you greater "film-looking" depth of field. but lots of good indie shorts have been made without one.

the thing i like to point out to new users about an adapter is that you will need a LOT more than just the adapter in order to use it properly. you will need a baseplate and rails, follow focus, mattebox, etc... not to mention LENSES! and that will QUICKLY get your costs up to $3000 or more
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Well no, it's not just for this production alone. I've used my DVX for almost everything for years now, and it broke recently, and coupled with the fact I've been wanting to upgrade to an HD version of it, HPX seemed like the right choice.

I've been working on this thing for quite a while, and I thought I should scoop up what I need in one order. I have a lot of confidence in the work I've put in so far, and the last thing I want to do at this point is cut corners or skimp on necessity's.

One more question if you don't mind me asking: around December the AF-100's coming out. My question is... would it be a good idea to Ebay the HPX for the AF? Or buy the adapter instead.

Man. I feel like such a scrub asking these questions. Well, gotta start somewhere.
 
Use what you have and get better at your craft. Story and acting will carry your video and if shot well most general audiences could care less for bokeh and i bet 95% of them dont even know what bokeh or shallow DOF is.I see so many extreme shallow DOF videos these days with the low cost of DSLR's its ridiculous. Most everything is just a bunch of focus pulls for no reason other than than they can put their lens on 1.4 and focus pull their entire "test" video. I personally like to scen background scenes in the fram as I feel it adds a lot to the story. Why throw everything out of focus just because you can if not done well or weith the proper intentions it can become more distracting than the deep focus shot would have been.
 
well, as more cameras like the various red offerings, the af100, whatever dslrs, etc. come to the game, the whole adapter market is going to start falling off. it's already starting. youre finding more letus, sgpro and brevis rigs going up for sale than you would have 18 months ago.
and i think most of that is due simply to knee-jerk newbies being romanced by the lower priced units like the 7d and t2i

the longer people sit on their adapter rigs, the lower the market price is going to go. i dont think the market will die anytime soon. but its definitely taking a hit. and there are good deals to be found because of it!

what you should do depends on your budget and your timeline.
the af100 is still a question. will it drop in december? probably. but until that time comes, its still a variable. and i think the body alone is going to be $7000. and aside from the adapter itself, youre still going to need most if not all the accessories youd need with an adapter setup... you could get an hvx/hpx kit with a reasonably well rounded adapter setup for less than that right now. and unless some radical delivery paradigm shift appears. an hvx/hpx+adapter rig will be a viable production tool for the forseeable future.

matt is right on. if you need it now. get it now. and get accustomed to it.
if you dont, then wait. prices on existing items will only go down with time
 
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wgzn said:
well, as more cameras like the various red offerings, the af100, whatever dslrs, etc. come to the game, the whole adapter market is going to start falling off. it's already starting. youre finding more letus, sgpro and brevis rigs going up for sale than you would have 18 months ago.
and i think most of that is due simply to knee-jerk newbies being romanced by the lower priced units like the 7d and t2i

the longer people sit on their adapter rigs, the lower the market price is going to go. i dont think the market will die anytime soon. but its definitely taking a hit. and there are good deals to be found because of it!

what you should do depends on your budget and your timeline.
the af100 is still a question. will it drop in december? probably. but until that time comes, its still a variable. and i think the body alone is going to be $7000. and aside from the adapter itself, youre still going to need most if not all the accessories youd need with an adapter setup... you could get an hvx/hpx kit with a reasonably well rounded adapter setup for less than that right now. and unless some radical delivery paradigm shift appears. an hvx/hpx+adapter rig will be a viable production tool for the forseeable future.

matt is right on. if you need it now. get it now. and get accustomed to it.
if you dont, then wait. prices on existing items will only go down with time
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Thank you sirs. Just what I needed to know ;)
 
If it's just one thing and your thing, and you don't or don't want to have the means of making your money back on the equipment by shooting other stuff for money, or shooting a LOT of your own stuff, rent. RENT RENT RENT. People make the mistakes of spending so much money to buy their own gear and never using it. It's happened time and time again, and if you don't intend to sustain yourself off that gear there is really very little point in buying for a one time project. Unless your shoot days are so extensive renting will be more expensive, but in many cases that doesn't happen. Technology changes, the gear changes, it's a endless dog eat dog competition on who can stay on top with a better package. Just food for thought before you take the plunge. Price out how much rental would be first and maybe you might end up taking that 50% you might be saving into production, post, or distribution...
 
I would say all this is based on your story, and how you want to tell that story. Everything I'm gonna say is not a "rule."

So if your shooting a comedy, that usually going to have a high key, clean look, so a bare HPX might do it.

A thriller or scifi would probably benifit from a 35mm adaptor, just make it look slicker, give it a little softness.

If your technology is not enhancing your story, why bother! Content is king.

Also, there are a lot of new cameras comming out in the near future so you might want to hold out on purchases, find someone you can borrow from, a film buddy, offer to trade some gear for shoots. Or get a used 35mm adaptors, lots out their with all the DSLR craze.
 
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Jimmy Moss said:
I would say all this is based on your story, and how you want to tell that story. Everything I'm gonna say is not a "rule."

So if your shooting a comedy, that usually going to have a high key, clean look, so a bare HPX might do it.

A thriller or scifi would probably benifit from a 35mm adaptor, just make it look slicker, give it a little softness.

If your technology is not enhancing your story, why bother! Content is king.

Also, there are a lot of new cameras comming out in the near future so you might want to hold out on purchases, find someone you can borrow from, a film buddy, offer to trade some gear for shoots. Or get a used 35mm adaptors, lots out their with all the DSLR craze.
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Well that's the thing. I want my story to be key here... I don't want people to get distracted from the story I'm telling because the technology isn't up to snuff.

But I got my answer. Thanks :thumbsup:
 
Think of DOF as a way to steer your audience at what you want them to see. In other words, when you shoot with a shallow dof, your taking away the choice of what the audience can focus in on. It can be a great tool when used correctly, but it can be a distraction if not used properly. And you can still shoot with a deep depth of field using wider angles, and stopping the lens down.

I love my Handy35 xha1 setup. It sucks in low light though, so be ready to spend serious time lighting your scenes if you want them to look good. It's what I consider to be the closest thing to shooting film on digital video.(aside from the dynamic range) But exposing film can be a tedious long drawn out procedure too. I t will only make you a more versatile shooter in the end. good luck on your project.
 
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