Feature: "Relapse" LetEX/Zeiss

dcarstens

dcarstens

Well-known member
Here's a reel from a feature shot in Hawaii over 22 days. For the first time, I had the pleasure of working with a second camera op, who also ran steadicam. Two HVXs outfitted with Letus Ex and Zeiss primes were used.

http://davidcarstens.com/relapse_reel.mov

Relapse_Grab.jpg
 
That looked great. Very impressive. What were your impressions on the Letus? I am intersted in purchasing one and like to hear from people who have actually used it. Have you used any other adapters before and if so, how does the Letus stack up?
 
David, if you can recall at all, what focal length or lens did the production use most?

What scene file setting in conjunction with the Letus?
 
really great footage man. what kind of zeiss primes did you use. im currently getting some zeiss primes and would like to know how it is to shoot with them.
 
Kholi said:
David, if you can recall at all, what focal length or lens did the production use most?

What scene file setting in conjunction with the Letus?
Click to expand...

My favorite lens is the 85; the director's was the 16. We'd meet somewhere in between.

Trav: I've worked with the gamut of adapters, and they ALL have different issues. I've been happy with results I've achieved with them, but I'm officially washing my hands of adapters from this point on- fussing with tools that don't work reliably really kill a creative workflow. I'm starting a feature tomorrow on a stock HVX.

Deckard: We used Zeiss Superspeeds, which were obviously leaps and bounds better than SLR lenses. If you can afford them, you shouldn't regret it.
 
Ah so you used Pl mounts! Good job. :D It's a blast working with cinema glass and adapters. SLR lenses just can't compare.
 
Some very nice shots, great tone.
I have to admit the "trailer", if that is what it is, didn't do much for me. I assume it's just reel of the feature?
 
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Good job David. Looks great. How ya been man? And what feature are you starting tomorrow? One last question- I'm sure a lot of people might like to hear you elaborate on adapters killing a creative workflow, since so many people think they're the end all.
I'd like to hear more anyway..

Cheers!
 
For tonight's powerpoint presentation, entitled "How I learned to stop loving the 35-adapter", I'll start by saying that I'm happy I've been able to do a number of projects thus far with various adapters as I've been able to achieve a look otherwise impossible due to budget. However, the following bulletpoints will outline the difficulties that have worn me down to the point that I would no longer like to deal with them. If I want to shoot with lenses, I'll go with the RED, or perhaps the PL adapter for the JVC HD250 by Cine Optical.

Flanging: Many times I've had to sacrifice the framing of a subject on the far side of the frame due to inconsistent edge-to-edge focus. I use lenses to increase my creative options- I'd rather not have to work around such an optical defect.

Backfocus: This is not a fault of the adapter manufacturers, but again, time delays before each take to double-check backfocus slows down production too much for my taste. Also, since I shoot a lot of handheld, I have been disappointed many times after an excellent take only to find that the focus ring had been nudged ever so slightly. In the worst cases, I could not tell until in the edit suite. Soft focus is a villain up with whom I will not put.

Collimation: The promises of accurate ground glass-to-mount distances have been made numerous times by many manufacturers. Never have they delivered- save for the P&S Technik, whose light-loss is too great for me to consider. Note that I have not tried the Cinevate, whose Micro Collimation tool sounds promising, but does not remedy the rest of the points on this list.

Shoddy construction: The Redrock is a joke without a hard mount. The LetusEX seemed like a fine unit until I needed to clean some dust out of the front glass element, which promptly fell out at the lightest touch. While they are made for low budget productions, I would expect a $1000-plus piece of gear to have delicate components secured with more than Elmer's Glue.

Form factor: The adapter manufacturers have done their best to accommodate the Frankenstein nature of adding components to fixed-lens cameras, but I have hefted Panaflexes with 1000' mags on my shoulder that left me with fewer neck problems than mini35 rigs.
 
Darned valid points about adapters, David. It does suck that if you do want to use RED or the JVC there's still trade-offs (including budget changes).

Hopefully, if the adapter chain continues, within the next few months we'll see some gear showing up that alleviates some of these problems along with adjustments to existing gear that does so.
 
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