Bare Minimum (while still functional) setup for HVX with Letus35

C

crookedpictures

Active member
I've searched through the forums...but I'm totally overwhelmed.

I'm a comfortable HVX user...but I'm at nowhere near the level of technical expertise that a lot people here have, so I'm not exactly sure wht I'm looking for, and how to word it. I do feel like I have an eye for shooting, though, which is why I'm willing to buy the 35mm adapter and experiment.

Basically, my situation is this:

I'm shooting low-bugdet short films, aiming for festival release, etc. Mostly shooting/directing myself, with little crew help.

I have little to no money...but enough to buy a Letus35 extreme...and little else.

Is it possible to use this, with my current setup of:

HVX200
Tripod
DV Rig Pro
Spider Brace
Boom Mic---I always shoot with a boom op...so the motor noise should not be an issue.


From the sounds of it, what I have right now won't cut it, so I'm wondering what else I'll need, bare minimum, to get it done. I can't get the nice Zacuto rig, or anything like that...and I'm not even sure if I need a matte box, or what kind of rods, if any, are necessary...

Any guidance is much appreciated.
 
Well, if your shooting HD, then a monitor will help alot. If the Letus is as sharp as they say it is, then you will have a tough time focusing on the hvx's onboard lcd. At least your image will be upright though :)

And don't forget your 35mm lenses. No point getting a LEX w/o those.

I suggest you sell the DV Rig Pro to help pay for some of this stuff. If you use it alot with your HVX bare then that might bother you. But as far as adapter rigs are concerned, the dv rig pro setup with adapter is too front heavy. If you absolutely must keep it, then at least sell it and get the HD version, which is made for adapter use.

GL.
 
If money's tight, consider the Letus Economy, which is like 97% of the visual quality of the Extreme but 25% less expensive.
 
I don't have an adapter (as of yet)....but wouldn't he need rails with that setup?
I dont' see that on the list of gear...and I can't imagine you would just hang a LetusExtreme off the front of the lens.

It doesn't come with rails, does it?
 
Luis Caffesse said:
and I can't imagine you would just hang a LetusExtreme off the front of the lens.
Click to expand...
Well, you can, it's just not a good idea. That's how we shot LMTF, and the lens was able to bear the weight, but it was really pushing the limit and I don't recommend someone try it.
 
I thought LMTF was shot with the HPX, not the HVX?

Regardless - it sounds like to have the 'bare minimum' setup he's looking for, what he should be looking at is a set of rails.
In which case your suggestion of looking into the Economy instead of the Extreme would make perfect sense to free up some money.
 
Cheap rails, according to your budget.

That = indirails, at little as $100, Cinevate @ $200, or wait for Letus rails. I think they are making a set. If you go with the ECO version, you will have enuff for a pair.
 
I've learned the hard way that it is a bad idea to go and buy a lot of cheaper stuff. It seems to ALWAYS work out better to at least get something above the least expensive item and just get fewer things. So get only the items you need and get quality items. Keep in mind that going for a 35mm adapter is a huge investment and there's all kinds of costs that you aren't expecting at first. Some of these costs are: lenses (that you'll always feel you need to add to), lights (because these adapters rob you of light), rails, monitor (focusing becomes a HUGE issue), follow focus (same reason), and a whole new set of issues if you want to go handheld.
Bare minimum though, IMHO, go for the Letus Economy, Cinevate rails, and a Nikon 50mm f1.4 lens, and if you don't have good lights plan on shooting outside (and get a reflector). Then ASAP get a wider and a longer lens.
 
shortnstout said:
I've learned the hard way that it is a bad idea to go and buy a lot of cheaper stuff. It seems to ALWAYS work out better to at least get something above the least expensive item and just get fewer things. So get only the items you need and get quality items. Keep in mind that going for a 35mm adapter is a huge investment and there's all kinds of costs that you aren't expecting at first. Some of these costs are: lenses (that you'll always feel you need to add to), lights (because these adapters rob you of light), rails, monitor (focusing becomes a HUGE issue), follow focus (same reason), and a whole new set of issues if you want to go handheld.
Bare minimum though, IMHO, go for the Letus Economy, Cinevate rails, and a Nikon 50mm f1.4 lens, and if you don't have good lights plan on shooting outside (and get a reflector). Then ASAP get a wider and a longer lens.
Click to expand...

Wow...This is what I was afraid of...

I might need to wait...

Thanks again for all the input.
 
Here's what I am in for so far...

1. LEX - $1,200.00
2. Cavision LEX extension rod base - $350.00
3. Red Rock Micro 24" rods - $119.00
4. Extra Cavision rod base for Anton Bauer Elipsz mount - $150.00
5. Nebtek HD monitor - $2,000.00
6. Nikon 28mm 2.8D, 50mm 1.4 AIS, 85mm 1.8 AIS, 105mm 2.8 D Micro - $,1400.00
7. Red Rock FF - $645.00
8. Cinevate Matte Box - $500.00
9. Formatt CP, ND Grads, Grad Set - $1,400.00
10. Storm 2975 Case - $200.00

And my setup is not even close to top of the line, it's just the basics to do it right. Remember, this is on top of $5,199.00 for the HVX and another $3,000.00 in P2 cards.

It's cracking me up seeing all of these new users who buy a 35mm adaptor without realizing that they are a HUGE investment. Then the financial reality hits.

I think a lot of new users also don't have a clue about shooting film style, they think you just attach an adaptor and voila! You are shooting a movie. What about setup time, follow focus with a manual lens, trying to track moving subjects with an extremely shallow depth of field, etc? I have even had clients wanting to know why we don't use it for BTS on TV shows? Wrong tool for that kind of work.

I am loving my setup but it's definitely not for run and gun, which I do a lot of. It essentially turns your camera into a film camera, which is great for filmmaking but not so great for a lot of other situations. Just like RED. Great movie camera, terrible EFP/ENG camera, the wrong tool.

Dan
 
puredrifting said:
Here's what I am in for so far...

1. LEX - $1,200.00
2. Cavision LEX extension rod base - $350.00
3. Red Rock Micro 24" rods - $119.00
4. Extra Cavision rod base for Anton Bauer Elipsz mount - $150.00
5. Nebtek HD monitor - $2,000.00
6. Nikon 28mm 2.8D, 50mm 1.4 AIS, 85mm 1.8 AIS, 105mm 2.8 D Micro - $,1400.00
7. Red Rock FF - $645.00
8. Cinevate Matte Box - $500.00
9. Formatt CP, ND Grads, Grad Set - $1,400.00
10. Storm 2975 Case - $200.00

And my setup is not even close to top of the line, it's just the basics to do it right. Remember, this is on top of $5,199.00 for the HVX and another $3,000.00 in P2 cards.

It's cracking me up seeing all of these new users who buy a 35mm adaptor without realizing that they are a HUGE investment. Then the financial reality hits.

I think a lot of new users also don't have a clue about shooting film style, they think you just attach an adaptor and voila! You are shooting a movie. What about setup time, follow focus with a manual lens, trying to track moving subjects with an extremely shallow depth of field, etc? I have even had clients wanting to know why we don't use it for BTS on TV shows? Wrong tool for that kind of work.

I am loving my setup but it's definitely not for run and gun, which I do a lot of. It essentially turns your camera into a film camera, which is great for filmmaking but not so great for a lot of other situations. Just like RED. Great movie camera, terrible EFP/ENG camera, the wrong tool.

Dan
Click to expand...


That's what I thought... I just wasn't sure of the extent.

I'm mainly shooting film style...with the setup, and the actual time spent shooting.. but I don't quite have the money yet for your lineup of equipment...and I've been, so far, a little disappointed with the very high quality, yet also very video-ish look I'm getting with the HVX on these shoots...bummer.
 
Hi! I'm building an Adapter/Rail setup that will include the support and rails for about the same market as a Letus Extreme adapter. It will be available for the DVX and HVX just after Christmas. Thanks to all the support and advice from users here, vast effort has been made to make this adapter work properly with superb edge to edge sharpness and zero vignette. It also exhibits very little light loss. I won't be building any flip units because I don't believe in the extra light loss or the extra dust collecting surfaces that result from flipping. I believe in the cleanest image possible. Here's a direct link to the forum page here on dvxuser. Enjoy!

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=110922&page=7

Good luck with your ventures.... Cory Easom
 
crookedpictures said:
That's what I thought... I just wasn't sure of the extent.

I'm mainly shooting film style...with the setup, and the actual time spent shooting.. but I don't quite have the money yet for your lineup of equipment...and I've been, so far, a little disappointed with the very high quality, yet also very video-ish look I'm getting with the HVX on these shoots...bummer.
Click to expand...

If your look is video-ish, I would question your lighting and camera setup. What qualities are making it appear video-ish? Just dof or noise or texture/frame rate/camera movement, etc.? Do you have Barry's HVX book? Hve you read it and experimented with camera setup? 24p should have you at least halfway to a good film look. Great cinematic ligting should push you another 40% of the way there. It's that last 10% that elusive that the lens adapters can help with. It's hard to get a true film look and feel with almost infinite dof.

My camera, when setup correctly, with good lighting, looks better than most of the S16 I shot in the past. I don't think the HVX is totally of capable of looking as good as 35mm film but to me, it looks as good and usually better than S16. If you use a lens adapter, you then have S16 noise and style mixed with 35mm dept of field. S16 didn't really have very shallow depth of field either, it was always 35mm that has that look.

Best,

Dan
 
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crookedpictures said:
I can't get the nice Zacuto rig, or anything like that
Click to expand...

[SIZE=-1] It is my opinion that an investment in Zacuto will produce great returns for you.[/SIZE]
 
puredrifting said:
If your look is video-ish, I would question your lighting and camera setup. What qualities are making it appear video-ish? Just dof or noise or texture/frame rate/camera movement, etc.? Do you have Barry's HVX book? Hve you read it and experimented with camera setup? 24p should have you at least halfway to a good film look. Great cinematic ligting should push you another 40% of the way there. It's that last 10% that elusive that the lens adapters can help with. It's hard to get a true film look and feel with almost infinite dof.

My camera, when setup correctly, with good lighting, looks better than most of the S16 I shot in the past. I don't think the HVX is totally of capable of looking as good as 35mm film but to me, it looks as good and usually better than S16. If you use a lens adapter, you then have S16 noise and style mixed with 35mm dept of field. S16 didn't really have very shallow depth of field either, it was always 35mm that has that look.

Best,

Dan
Click to expand...

I always shoot 24p.

I think its mainly the Depth of Field.

Lighting varies, but ultimately I think it's the space I'm working in.

I'm almost never shooting on a set, so space is usually tight, and doesn't really allow for me to move my subject away from the backgrounds. So most of the time, its hard to get that nice look, unless I go to extreme close-up...which to me is undesirable for majority of the shots. I'm shooting/editing at something like 10/90 wide/CU, because I'm finding the wides to be generally too ugly.

Also, I think I'm overly critical...I notice more than the average person does in terms of the video look.

I have Barry's DVX book, which was really helpful when I got my DVX a few years back. I assumed a lot of it would carry over.
 
puredrifting said:
My camera, when setup correctly, with good lighting, looks better than most of the S16 I shot in the past. I don't think the HVX is totally of capable of looking as good as 35mm film but to me, it looks as good and usually better than S16. If you use a lens adapter, you then have S16 noise and style mixed with 35mm dept of field. S16 didn't really have very shallow depth of field either, it was always 35mm that has that look.
Click to expand...

Is this with or without the adapters etc? or both?
 
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