Letus Extreme or Ultimate???

[Joseph Stunzi]

What is the output on the HDMI from D90 or 5D?

Both I believe.

1.) Why was the f stop at 1.4? The ZF's are not good wide open especially compared to the Superspeeds (which too are less than great wide open but much better than ZFs). They really don't begin to perform especially on the edges until your between 2-2.8.

You'd have to ask Jens our DP. He operated all the cameras. This wasn't meant to be an adapter test per say but rather to show what can be done with these cameras with proper lighting, sound, and skill.

2) Did you correct the X/Y on the Ultimate? This could be the cause of what looks like very soft left edge.

Yes. Zacuto rents out lots of Ultimate setups and they made sure to correct X/Y as well as backfocus before the test and in general before each rental. While filming the shootout I even watched them calibrate the Ultimate myself for a customer who wanted his entire Prime Set tested for proper backfocus.

3) Any reason for not testing the RED with the PL Superspeeds? I would've loved to see the RED with the same lens as the film camera as film seems to be its direct competition. I'm beginning to wonder about the Nikon mount collimation. I just finished a RED shoot with PL and I've never seen anything so soft. Something seems amiss with the RED being that soft - I'm beginning to suspect the mount, lens or both.

There was RED footage with Superspeeds. It just didn't make it into the final cut due to the fact that we wanted to show the difference between these DSLRs really. DSLRs can't take Superspeeds... they can take ZF glass though. That was the thinking I believe in leaving it out of the edit.

4) How were the other adaptors checked for collimation? I wonder about the collimation in some of the other adaptor tests as I wouldn't expect the Ulimtate to be softer than the Elite. I thought that Ultimate footage was pretty unuseable which hasn't been my experience with it - even with an HVX. For such a vast difference you just have to wonder.

To the best of my knowledge, all adapters where collimated and calibrated for Zeiss ZF 50mm prime lenses. As stated earlier, this wasn't necessarily a scientific test. It's just to give you a rough idea of the capabilities of each tool in your arsenal. In future tests, I personally will be taking more time and filming proof that all of these things are properly set.

5) Do you have full rez screen grabs? I'm not sure if the transcoding effected the comparison. Did film have the most direct path to the final format? What did you transcode with to 1080p.

We used a D5 deck. If you watch the whole video it's discussed in there. We transcoded to two D5 tapes (1 for 1080, 1 for 720) took it to the post production house for color timing then brought it back into the edit suite using a Kona card. See the details link in the first post of the thread in my signature for more info on this.

I'm sure it belongs on a different forum altogether but I'd really love to see a head to head with film vs RED.

That's possible. We'd want to do 16mm vs 35mm vs RED all with similar glass. It's in the works.

If you do have the time, EX3 with adpator is worth testing.

If you read above, I'll be doing a A1 vs HVX vs EX1 with adapter test in the coming months. I need to get my hands on an A1 and EX1 though. I have HVXs.

 

[Dino]

2) Did you correct the X/Y on the Ultimate? This could be the cause of what looks like very soft left edge.

Tim, I had the same issue with a 200A/Ultimate, never could get the left side sharp
with the HVX Optimization kit.

I got my Ultimate back from Letus this week with the new front end parts, seamless drive belt, new chip. Haven't had a chance to test it yet.

 

[Joseph Stunzi]

In the next test, we'll have the EX series cameras with adapters instead!

 

[Tim Naylor]

Tim, I had the same issue with a 200A/Ultimate, never could get the left side sharp
with the HVX Optimization kit.

I got my Ultimate back from Letus this week with the new front end parts, seamless drive belt, new chip. Haven't had a chance to test it yet.

That's great. Those three things solved most the issues I had with my Ultimate. Definitely take it through the ringer before you rent it. Hien definitely made good on his word to address these issues.

I'm still baffled by how those tests showed a significantly sharper Elite than the Ultimate.

Is the left side softness because the HVX with the X/Y adjusted is still shooting too far left on the lens?

The other thing you may want to try to improve is flip you snorkel so it's naturally more centered. With an EX1 snorkell down, it's off center by about 5 %. Snorkel up, it's off by a good 15 %. HVX is in the same boat. Snorkel down requires less correction and perhaps less left side softness.

The problem with Snorkel down is balance because even with a sliding baseplate you can go back only so far before the riser bumps into the head, making the rig front heavy. So you end up needing to balance it with a monitor, battery or something. When I do run & gun with the EX I don't take an onboard monitor (its monitor is good enough) but I still need to clip a shot bag or something off the rear rods for balance.

 

[Joseph Stunzi]

We'll get it right in the next one Time. At least I will! You should fly down for part of it... it'd be awesome!

 

[Tim Naylor]

If you can donate a frequent flyer, I'll be there. Times are tough.

 

[Joseph Stunzi]

Haha. I know how you feel. It might actually be easier to do things up where you are! If you have a studio you can get access too. I can fly anywhere for $70 a ticket as a student under the age of 22!

 

[Dino]

I'm still baffled by how those tests showed a significantly sharper Elite than the Ultimate.

Is the left side softness because the HVX with the X/Y adjusted is still shooting too far left on the lens?

The other thing you may want to try to improve is flip you snorkel so it's naturally more centered. With an EX1 snorkell down, it's off center by about 5 %. Snorkel up, it's off by a good 15 %. HVX is in the same boat. Snorkel down requires less correction and perhaps less left side softness.

Tim, this doesn't make sense to me either. The Ultimate looks every bit as sharp as a Pro35 to me. I am very happy with the 170 edge to edge focus and the Ultimate looks incredible with the EX1. The next time a client uses their 200A with my Ultimate, I will try snorkel down and adjust X-Y. I prefer snorkel
up for the reason you mention--my Sachtler Video 20's sleds are too big to allow proper balancing for snorkel down due to the adapter support being in the way.

 

[Tim Naylor]

IN snorkel up even with the X/Y all the way over I was off center by 5% or so. Down position, I could center up without a problem. Maybe Hien needs to route those slots for X.Y a little wider. In the down position I have to counter balance with a monitor. I do find it better for hand-held though.

I notice Phillip Blooms rig always seems in the down position as well. Though his camera is often locked off.

re: The Zacuto test. Something seems definitely wrong. I can't get footage that soft on my Ultimate even wide open. Not to knock the testers but when you see it that soft - you got to halt production and figure out what's a miss. I'm no fanboy but I just finished an HVX / Ultimate show last month and we never had anything like that even with our wide open footage. And I was snorkel up.

 

[rooftoptom]

HELP. I am a photographer about to take part in my first video project. I am about to use the Letus extreme with some prime Nikkor lenses on an HVX200A. The Director for the project, a smart thoughtful guy, who also owns the equipment, says that the working aperture is handled through the camera's variable zoom lens. I can live with this logic but it sounds crazy. Is he right?
Thanks!

 

[Joseph Stunzi]

I'm in Manhattan right now... send me an email and perhaps I can shoot by and give you a tutorial.

Working aperture depends on your technique.