I'm interested in going with the Letus35

take2visualmedia

take2visualmedia

Well-known member
The more shoot with the HVX (my company's main camera) the more I like it...except for the lack of any depth of field. I'm really interested in 35mm adapters, leaning towards the Letus.

One thing that concerns me is losing a 1/2 stop on a camera that already isn't great in low light. I'm shooting most indoor scenes at 2.4-2.8 as it is. Anyone using the Letus or similar on the HVX? Looking for any advice or issues before making a purchase. Thanks!
 
You will lose light - probably more than 1/2 stop especially if you don't get the fastest lenses. That's just the nature of the beast and is especially hard with an HVX. Sorry
 
If you can afford good lighting whenever you do any of your shoots, you will be fine in my opinion. Just learn to light properly and learn how to light for your adapter.

If the budget is tight and sunlight is available, bounce sunlight on a budget:
http://www.ascmag.com/education/reflectors/index.html
-Courtesy of the American Society of Cinematographers.

Additionally some actual lights would really help, and depending on what type of shoots you do; you should be using lights to some extent already. Sorry to bring up the controversial "Film Look," but the look is really the lighting.

Good luck, do your research and see whats best for you!

Edit to reply:
Adapters are expensive you pay for the rods, and the adapter and possibly a flip module. Additionally you may need a few more accessories here and there such as parts that connect the rods and support the adapter and lens, and preferably a sufficient resolution monitor to focus. Since your using an HD camera.
If your using SD I assume that you wouldn't need a focusing monitor.
Adapters don't come with lenses, they are separate, but if you are asking whether there are adapters that lose less light, than yes. Some adapters also have interchangeable groundglass' with some losing more or less light.
But as I said, the lens is separate, you must use SLR lenses on your adapter, and the faster the lens, the more light you can allow onto the groundglass.
 
Last edited:
If you don't plan on using it a lot, I recommend just renting or find a person who is willing to DP and pay them to shoot it. Chances are they have their own equipment and are familiar with all the pitfalls in using the adapter.
 
Good lighting is essential for a good picture. It doesn't matter what kind of adapter/camera combination you are using. If the camera/adapter combination isn't that sensitive, just throw-in more light. To controle your DOF you need fast lenses.
Some fast lenses are better(mostly sharper) if you don't open them fully, but don't close them to much - you loose your "DOF" i.e. the background gets sharper.
One site where you can get good information about lenses is: http://www.kenrockwell.com/index.htm
Just check it out.
I own a SGBlade/EX3 with the latest achromat, Nikon 20mm/35mm/55mm/85mm and 135mm. Once in a while I use a Sigma 20/300 zoom.
The SGBlade is well manufactured and the picture quality is very good.
You have the option of three spinning GG and the lightloss is less than 1 perhaps a 1/2 stop. Price/Quality is very very good considering.
One thing the EX3 has over the other camera's is the zoomlens. It is all the way f 1.9.
Some other are faster wide (f 1.6), but zooming-in on the GG gets you to perhaps 2.8; check it out
 
Kenny_G said:
One thing the EX3 has over the other camera's is the zoomlens. It is all the way f 1.9.
Some other are faster wide (f 1.6), but zooming-in on the GG gets you to perhaps 2.8; check it out
Click to expand...
The EX1 is not 1.9 all the way through, it does the exact same thing all the other lenses do.

It just doesn't tell you that that's what it's doing, but it is losing f-stop over the course of the zoom just like the others.
 
Barry_Green said:
The EX1 is not 1.9 all the way through, it does the exact same thing all the other lenses do.

It just doesn't tell you that that's what it's doing, but it is losing f-stop over the course of the zoom just like the others.
Click to expand...

So Sony is cheating?
 
Kenny_G said:
So Sony is cheating?
Click to expand...
They certainly aren't giving you accurate information.

Try it yourself. Set your iris to f/1.9, and point it at a white surface. Look at the brightness meter in the spotmeter. Then zoom all the way in, and voila -- it's a lot darker.

Or, another way to do it -- open up the iris all the way, and zoom all the way in. Then close the iris down, and watch how magically the brightness doesnt change at all! Why? Because the iris isn't actually at 1.9! It's more like 3.0 or so at the full telephoto end. Stop the iris down from 1.9 to 3.0, and see if it changes at all. Wherever you get a "change" at, that's what the true iris was. But I guarantee you absolutely unquestionably that the EX1 is NOT giving you f/1.9 at the telephoto end.
 
Or, you could just read Adam Wilt's review where he verified what the iris is actually doing:
The maximum aperture of f/1.9 holds until about 10mm, then ramps gradually down to f/2.8 at full tele. This ramping is not shown in the camera’s displays; it thinks it’s still at f/1.9 (maybe it is still at f/1.9; the transmitted light, however, decreases by a stop, and at full tele the iris can be turned between wide open and f/2.8 with no change in the levels). If you’re shooting wide open, bear this in mind.
Click to expand...
 
Which Letus are you considering? At this point in time the only adapters I would recommend to someone are the Letus Ultimate, Sgblade, or new Redrock Micro. All are based off spinning glass and are the final evolution of this technology.
Seriously, your 35mm adapter experience will not be a good one if you go with anything else.

having said that, I have a nicely priced sgblade on the market place right now, lol.
 
Huy Vu said:
Hm, really? I guess that means I should chuck my Letus Extreme then. Have been using it for over two years and have been very happy with it.
Click to expand...

I'll catch it than. Haha, but really your images look amazing with the Letus. That statement about vibrating gg adapters being as inferior as you imply is completely false. Every adapter has their own pros/cons and every adapter has a different aesthetic to it, you choose the one you like and work with the marvelous tool that is a 35mm adapter.
I have yet to work with one but hopefully early 2010 I will.

Courtesy of Huy Vu, shot on the awfully inferior Vibrating Letus Extreme.
http://huyvu.smugmug.com/Other/Justify-the-Means/1/702301959_7wBkA-X3.jpg
http://huyvu.smugmug.com/Other/Justify-the-Means/5/731405548_94JEd-X3.jpg
http://huyvu.smugmug.com/Other/Justify-the-Means/7/742931408_gpYSY-X3.jpg
 
Last edited:
GottaBeTheJuice said:
I'll catch it than. Haha, but really your images look amazing with the Letus so that statement about vibrating gg adapters being garbage is completely false. Every adapter has their own pros/cons and every adapter has a different aesthetic to it, you choose the one you like and work with the marvelous tool that is a 35mm adapter.
I have yet to work with one but hopefully early 2010 I will.
Click to expand...

well, I"m not saying they're garbage. I loved my brevis when I had it. But it's not only a spinning vs vibrating thing. Also features and build quality. The collimation adjustment, the glass swapping, and the fit and finish of the newer adapters are just the next level. However I must say the Brevis is good in that you can upgrade and they include and extra motor in case it breaks down... I just think the blade and the ultimate are the perfect evolution of these adapters. If you ever get to feel a blade in your hands you'll know what I mean.
 
astigmatic said:
well, I"m not saying they're garbage. I loved my brevis when I had it. But it's not only a spinning vs vibrating thing. Also features and build quality. The collimation adjustment, the glass swapping, and the fit and finish of the newer adapters are just the next level. However I must say the Brevis is good in that you can upgrade and they include and extra motor in case it breaks down... I just think the blade and the ultimate are the perfect evolution of these adapters. If you ever get to feel a blade in your hands you'll know what I mean.
Click to expand...

I definitely do know what you mean just by looking at the pictures of it. Build quality does look solid. Well look, if I could afford an adapter I would get a SGblade. I would definitely pick up that SGblade in the marketplace but I would still have to purchase more things for it. Rods, Lenses, etc. Thus pushing it out of the range that I can afford to spend at the moment. If I had a job or I was making some decent money filming already I would've been the first to make an offer on it, sadly that isnt the case yet.

But the Letus Ex also looks great. However, just after my own personal research on the subject, the SGblade would come out on top of my personal list.
 
I think that the Blade is a great adapter. I've used the Ultimate as well and it's pretty damn good, although the thing eats up battery like no other adapter I've seen. Both have advantages over the Extreme, but for me the difference isn't enough to justify changing adapters.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top