HVX fixer for LEX available now

Ted Spencer

Ted Spencer

Veteran
Great news!

I'm happy to be the first (I think) to announce that Letus has as of today released an HVX200-specific "fixer" achromat and thread ring kit. See it here:

http://www.letusdirect.com/cart/Panasonic-HVX200-Kit-p-38.html

From the site:

"This optimization kit includes a custom achromat lens and a 82mm thread ring specifically designed for the Panasonic HVX-200. This kit is as add-on for the Letus35 Extreme. This is a direct replacement for the stock achromat and includes an optimized thread ring specific to the HVX.

If you are purchasing an Extreme new, you can add this kit to your order from the Letus Extreme product page. If you have an order still waiting to be shipped, this kit can be added to your order at a discounted price. Please contact us for further details.

NOTE: If you received your Letus Extreme before December 2007, please contact us at http://support.letusdirect.com for information on this kit specific to your adapter."

It costs $350 and evidently allows existing owners to return their original achromat for a $150 rebate (there may be some limitations - please contact them for details). Terms appear to be identical to the EX-1 kit released a few weeks ago.

Woohoo!

I just ordered mine...
 
Good news but Prices Climbing Once Again. I feel like selling my extreme and go for brevis35 (if this continues)
 
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Kwan:

The Brevis with the Flip is almost the same price ($1405 vs $1437 after the Letus rebate for the old achromat). The Brevis includes a case (it's $119 extra for the Letus), but for me at least, the HVX optimization kit trumps that easily. HVX edge to edge sharpness is evidently a problem with all the "affordable" competitors except the SGPro. Given the improvements the "fixer" made to the EX-1 (which had much worse problems with the LEX before), I'm pretty optimistic the HVX fixer will get better overall results than any of them.

I should have it tomorrow (got a shoot this weekend). Consider yourself invited to check it out if you'd like. I'm right up the street...
 
So what is the procedure to get $150 rebate?
I see the option to purchase ($350) on the site but I don't see the HVX-200 Optimization Kit upgrade option ($200)
 
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It's $200 if you order it with a new LEX (go to the product page for the LEX and pop up the "Camera Optimization Kit" button). I got the $150 rebate/old achromat return info from Aaron directly. I don't know if it applies to all LEX owners or only those within a certain time frame, but I'm sure you can get that info from them. I just received my LEX a few weeks ago.
 
Kwan said:
Good news but Prices Climbing Once Again.
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Damn, I hear you.
It is good news ... but now I wish I'd waiting a couple of weeks to buy my new Nikon mount. I could have at least saved a bit on the shipping.

On the other hand, it is good to see them continually updating and upgrading their product. Seems like when you order a new Letus you should now have the option of which achromat package you want - hopefully they'll go that way soon.
 
Man, I've been out of the loop. What is wrong with the Extreme I bought in December that they had to fix it?
 
GraphicPlanet said:
Man, I've been out of the loop. What is wrong with the Extreme I bought in December that they had to fix it?
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Nothing, if you're happy with it!

Edge to edge sharpness is the thing though, and it's been discussed extensively on this forum. Myself and others (Tim Naylor being notable among us - search for some of his HVX/LEX/SGPro tests if you're curious) have found on multilple HVX/LEX combos, with many different lenses, that center sharpness and edge sharpness are in two different worlds.

For many uses it's not much of a problem as you presumably have found in your case (or maybe yours is absolutely fine regardless), for example when you're focusing on a single actor, preferably more or less in the center of the screen. With a wide, or even worse, two-shot however, some pretty ugly edge softness is evident (at least in all the ones I've seen).

I'm out of time for now, but that's the gist of it. Clearly Letus is aware of the issue, which is why they're offering the kit.

YMMV...
 
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Will this new achromat work fine with the XH-A1 as well? I've got a Letus on order, but it is going to be used on both an HVX and the A1.
 
Look 1st said:
NIIIIIIIIICE :) - thanks for posting

I cant wait to see some footage ~
Click to expand...

You can check out my BLOG to see the difference in the sharpness- While I have shot a lot of footage with the new archomat, most of the stuff I've been shooting with it has been talking head interviews... it looks great, but an interview, is still an interview....
 
hmmm... according to the Fedex tracking site I get my LEX tomorrow (ordered it 4 weeks ago and it was shipped 2 days ago) will it already have that kit a board?

That´s what my order says:
Letus35 Extreme
Mount: Improved Nikon Locking Mount (+ $40.00)
Camera Optimization Kit & Thread Size: 82mm

Frank
 
Postmaster said:
hmmm... according to the Fedex tracking site I get my LEX tomorrow (ordered it 4 weeks ago and it was shipped 2 days ago) will it already have that kit a board?

That´s what my order says:
Letus35 Extreme
Mount: Improved Nikon Locking Mount (+ $40.00)
Camera Optimization Kit & Thread Size: 82mm

Frank
Click to expand...

The HVX optimizer costs $200 extra and just became available as an option today, so I don't think yours will include it. As I understand it though, you can send back your stock achromat and for $200 get the "fixed" one.
 
KeeganFlynn said:
Will this new achromat work fine with the XH-A1 as well? I've got a Letus on order, but it is going to be used on both an HVX and the A1.
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It's been my impression, as well as some others' here, that the Canon XH-A1 and XL-H1 looked just fine edge-to-edge right out of the box with the LEX. I don't think you'll need a fixer for them and I don't think Letus plans to offer one (I could be wrong). Some of us have theorized that the LEX was developed on Canon cameras. Dunno...

The HVX/LEX combos (at least the ones I've seen, including mine) definitely need some fixin', so you might want to have both the stock achromat and the HVX-specific one to be covered. I don't know yet how friendly the achromat swapping procedure is though. Hopefully it's not too inconvenient to do from time to time.
 
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Ryan,
Couple of questions about those charts,

Howcum you don't show the whole chart for each framing ( I guess full zoom might require a big room.) I see so much better comparisons if I am looking at exactly the same thing each time and the line numbers on the chart are accurate if the whole thing is framed.

Also did you post the details of the set-up on them - i.e. what f stops on both the video camera and the 35mm lens , what 35mm lens etc. I didn't see them but I only glanced very fast. That info is essential for me knowing what I'm looking at it.
Everything looks good at 5.6.

Funny I thought the achromat they designed for the Letus looked damn good on the HVX as well, though you are right - center and corners were different. Can't hurt to have an optimized achromat. Originally hien told me it would be good for both. I guess they decided it could be better. Can't fault them for caring. It's admirable.

Lenny Levy
 
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New achromatic lens looks very promising. I would like to see some comparison footage before paying 16% more for the upgrade. Has anyone done side by side comparisons of moving pictures other than Ryan's chart screen grabs?
 
Think I might check this out.

edit: put into a new thread to avoid going off topic.
 
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Lenilenapi said:
Ryan,
Couple of questions about those charts,

Howcum you don't show the whole chart for each framing ( I guess full zoom might require a big room.) I see so much better comparisons if I am looking at exactly the same thing each time and the line numbers on the chart are accurate if the whole thing is framed.
Click to expand...

That is a good point. The chart has white space in the corners, so I wanted to get something with some detail in it in the corners so that the difference in sharpness in the edges would be more noticeable. (As I wanted to make it more apparent what was going on with the new achromat.)

Lenilenapi said:
Also did you post the details of the set-up on them - i.e. what f stops on both the video camera and the 35mm lens , what 35mm lens etc. I didn't see them but I only glanced very fast. That info is essential for me knowing what I'm looking at it.
Everything looks good at 5.6.
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Not directly perse- all of my settings are noted in the picture file name. So if you were to download the sample images the settings are always noted there. (That way in the future I know what I used, and I never have to go back an dig up notes.)

The settings are as follows:
Old Achromat:
Zeiss Lens: T2.8
HVX Lens: F2.8
Framing: Academy

New Achromat:
Zeiss Lens: T2.8
HVX Lens: F2.8
Framing: Academy

Lenilenapi said:
Funny I thought the achromat they designed for the Letus looked damn good on the HVX as well, though you are right - center and corners were different. Can't hurt to have an optimized achromat. Originally hien told me it would be good for both. I guess they decided it could be better. Can't fault them for caring. It's admirable.

Lenny Levy
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I do like how they are always looking for ways to improve their product. Constantly taking in feedback from users. The old achromat works and I was happy with it, but they have definitely improved it- and I think that it is worth the upgrade. :)
 
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