Let's have a vote please.

J

jujufactory

Carbonite Member
At the end of this month I'm shooting a feature. It's a small budget. Do I go Letus Extreme or not?

I can either put on ND filters and go light while trying to get the least Depth of Field.

or

I can go LETUS and get the low Depth of field.


Given the fact the Letus is expensive and more of a pain to use than option 1, I'm still not sure about this.

Let's have some votes. Who thinks the Letus will make a huge difference and who believes it's not worth the trouble as long as I go with ND and open Iris?
 
I would go WITHOUT the Letus35 or any other 35mm adapter. Personally I think it's hindering to have a 35mm setup in front of a fixed lens camera. I don't like having 6"-8" of extra weight on the front end of my camera! The extra money and time could be used towards other aspects of your production.

I've use the P+S mini35 on the XL2 as well as the XL-H1, since it can be attached directly to the lens mount, it was less "bulky" but even in that situation I could not move as quickly as I normally could with the stock 20x Zoom.

Rent a matte box and get some NDs like you suggested. For a shallower "DOF" zoom in a little. Keep the detail or sharpness setting down a bit and you'll be fine.

I do like the 35mm adapter look, but for what it's worth, if you've got good material it doesn't matter if you've got one or not! I've seen good stuff shot with a stock zoom lens that one would think was shot with an adapter, as well as seeing people abusing the shallow DOF a 35mm rig will give you.

Hope this helps!

-Ryan
 
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The main question is; Do you want the great DoP of the Letus.
If you do, go for the Elite version if you want no headache.
The prize is a little bit higher than the extreme with the optimization adapter.
The Ultimate is IMO a waist of money; way too high in prize.
IMO, If the relay lens for the EX3 and the Elite doesn't exceed 5000 us$, it will be the adapter to buy if you are a lover of DoP.
 
I would go with an adapter. If you're shooting a feature you'll propably be able to light properly and no need to run and gun so you'll have time to change lenses and adjust the image. It will look so much better.

Only thing I'd consider is that it takes a bit of time to get used to the adapter so if you've never done that before I'd spend a good few days reading up on it and getting familiar with it. Do tests outdoors and indoors. Also make sure you have a good monitor attached so you can see ground glass etc. problems well in advance before going to edit. :)

Ive done even run and gun interviews with my EX1 and Letus Extreme after been using it for a year. I feel comfortable and confident enough to do that.

Sami
 
Not sure I woould go with the Extreme if I was buying an adapter. I have owned it and found it "extreme"ly frustrating to use due to the vibrating glass, meaning you can't stop down without a god awful pattern showing up and ruining the image.

Much better to use an adaptor with a rotating glass. Letus Ultimate, or the SG Blade which is shipping right now at the same price point as the Extreme, or the new Redrock adaptor which again has just launched.

My extreme ended up on ebay. I won't go near vibrating glass adaptors again. Just my opinion of course.
 
Because with the extreme, if you close the lens down to anything from 5.6 and above, you see the vibrating glass, rending the image useless. With spinning glass this isn't a problem.

And probably the very reason why Letus used spinning glass in its Ultimate.
 
The Letus Extreme with the rods and the lens adaptor trimmings will cost me 2000 Euros. Are there any products out there which will do the same or a better job for less money?
 
jujufactory said:
The Letus Extreme with the rods and the lens adaptor trimmings will cost me 2000 Euros. Are there any products out there which will do the same or a better job for less money?
Click to expand...

Withe UK pound so weak at the moment the SG Blade looks a real bargain, and has rotating glass. I beleive its made to rival the Letus Ultimate.
 
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