35mm adapters add latitude.

moviemaker999

moviemaker999

Well-known member
It seems every time I watch a video shot with a 35mm adapter there is more latitude. I swear the highlights are just much better looking. Could it be that most people using 35mm adapters also outfit their rig with matte boxes and filters( which could aid in highlights) which other people that shoot clean may not use.
 
Using an adapter does not "add" latitude.

There is no way to magically add more dynamic range to what a sensor is capable of recording. The reason highlights look better, is because of the glass. This can also be the reason highlights look terrible. A standard stock camera lens is built to offer the best of the whole range in focal length and aperture, where a Nikon prime 50mm for example, is much more precisely engineered, with more elements, which results in a nicer rendition of clipping whites, and bokeh, etc.
 
Also, lets not forget the GG in these adapters are diffusing the image to a certain extent.
Blown highlights seem to be more acceptable if they feather out gradually - as oppossed to the hard edged blow outs you can see in stock lens footage.

Throw a 1/4 Promist on an HVX and it might look kind of similar - if you're going to for that sort of 'soft' highlights look.
Just a thought.
 
Ive read before that one does experience this increase in lattitude and now you say this is not true? Whatever it is, I use to be an expert in clipping my highlites, now the best I can do is bring it to the brink. Whatever it is... its saving me lots of time in post!
 
I agree that the highlights really look much better with an adaptor. However, what i don't understand is the fact that the DVX of HVX lens itself is still in the equation. Isn't it true then that no matter how good the glass you put in front of the camera is, you're still limited by the quality of the DVX/HVX glass? In this respect, the adaptors that plug directly into an XL2 would be way ahead in terms of image quality, and while we'er at it, lightloss as well.
 
as you said, it doesnt add latitude, but a diffusion GG allows the blowout to be somewhat more transitional as opposed to cutting to white. Especially when its out of focus.
 
MalcolmOng said:
Isn't it true then that no matter how good the glass you put in front of the camera is, you're still limited by the quality of the DVX/HVX glass?
Click to expand...

This may or may not be true, but I like the new personality of the dvx with the DOF-adapter. The sculpted look/depth I get from different lenses, the new colors, new contrast, bokeh, and character from my Nikkor AI's, Contax Zeiss's, and now I'm tracking the Meyer Trioplan 100 2.8. Yippee!!
 
I don't see what affect the quality of the glass would have on this issue. If anything cheap glass can sometimes lower contrast.

While I haven't actually tested or looked for lattitude differences it does not surprise me. I think PaPa and Zak have it right when they credit the GG as introducing a diffusing affect which probably lowers the contrast. It definitely scatters and softens the highlights - more in the denserscreens.

Anecdotally I think I have observed different contrast changes with different adapters and their diffusing screens.

Lenny Levy
 
Right. Different screens and different adapters offer different builds, with varying levels of diffusion, thickness of GG, etc. This all leads to a variable amount of softening and contrast between systems.
 
Lenny, you're a wise fellow. There is a difference for sure and it's clearly illustrated by those using our interchangeable imaging elements with CF3, or CF3Le appearing to increase latitude the most. If you consider that an adapter diffuses light at the focal plane, and highlights are often in out-of-focus areas, then the more diffuse the screen is, the greater the latitude stretch effect will seem. Focus on the highlight, and the effect will be far less apparent.
 
Luis Caffesse said:
Blown highlights seem to be more acceptable if they feather out gradually - as oppossed to the hard edged blow outs you can see in stock lens footage.
Click to expand...

I've been learning how to use Magic Bullet Looks and it seems to take away lot of the hard edges of clipped highlights. I dont know if its applying it to all the frame or just clipped parts but I do love the way it looks.
 
Essami said:
I've been learning how to use Magic Bullet Looks and it seems to take away lot of the hard edges of clipped highlights. I dont know if its applying it to all the frame or just clipped parts but I do love the way it looks.
Click to expand...

Not to hijack this thread - but you can set the IRE level in MB to only affect the parts of the image above or below that threshold
(for white and black diffusion respectively)
 
In a way it can seem like it adds lattitude as a GG can act like a low con filter, diffusing light into the shadows, reducing the contrast. I see this on my waveform monitor, essentially a flatter gamma.
 
Luis Caffesse said:
Not to hijack this thread - but you can set the IRE level in MB to only affect the parts of the image above or below that threshold
(for white and black diffusion respectively)
Click to expand...

what i've been trying to figure out for quite some time, is how to add a diffusion glow element to all areas of the image that are over exposed. I notice film sometimes reacts that way with highlights, while video just goes pure white.

Any ideas?
 
PaPa said:
what i've been trying to figure out for quite some time, is how to add a diffusion glow element to all areas of the image that are over exposed. I notice film sometimes reacts that way with highlights, while video just goes pure white.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Try White FX Filter by Tiffen or White Pro Mist.
 
Papa,
There are dozens of filters out there for exactly that purpose. The most commonly used is probably still a Tiffen black Promist. A 1/8 will barely do anything and a 1/4 will start to give you a subtle but noticeable glow. I think the white's will give you more effect.

Some of the filters will soften more than others and some will spread into the shadow areas more than others. I like to call them all variations on a "dirty windshield".

The heavier adapter screens like the SG and especially the Redrock will also begin to gve you that glow.

lenny
 
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