Letus Ultimate - RELEASED!

[cinebuddy]

Don't play i'll send the File!!! And it might be shot with a Red Ultimate Seriously Evangelos, I don't see what the beef with price is. I bought a 2005 Mustang GT brand new off the lot, and Ford says hey we're bringing out the Shelby GT 500...but its gonna be $49,000. 450hp at the wheel, did I feel betrayed...nope I can do 34k, but Ford aint seeing 49k from me. Same thing here kudos on the "new" design, but my Extreme and Brevis do me just fine. May add a Blade to the collection.

 

[SimonB]

Evangelos isn't trying to make a point, he's extremely jealous of Letus and bitter at his own failings in the adapter market...he's a troll disguised as a convention exhibitor from 1973.

Evangelos had/has some valid points.

Let's get this thread back on topic.

 

[Evangelos Achillopoulos]

Don't play i'll send the File!!! And it might be shot with a Red Ultimate

No problem, even if its being shoot with a Duck Doggers 35 DoF adapter, as long as it cames from you...

If you are close to NY you can go to a client/good-friend DI house to prepare it.

All the best...

Hahahaha, another good one, Red Ultimate, hmmm a good name for a 65mm camera... with oil price at 200$ by the end of the year, you have to sell the mustang fast (thinking loudly...)

 

[cinebuddy]

No problem, even if its being shoot with a Duck Doggers 35 DoF adapter, as long as it cames from you...

If you are close to NY you can go to a client/good-friend DI house to prepare it.

All the best...

Hahahaha, another good one, Red Ultimate, hmmm a good name for a 65mm camera... with oil price at 200$ by the end of the year, you have to sell the mustang fast (thinking loudly...)

Yeah tried to trade it in...i'd rather pay for gas then get raped by the dealer. That's a whole nother thread bro...a whole nother thread.

 

[cinebuddy]

Evangelos had/has some valid points.

Let's get this thread back on topic.

Yeah we've established that and have made nice. What was the topic...oh yeah...ultimate released on time...looks great aesthetically and Kholi and Bloom's footage looks awesome.

 

[Jason Adams]

Footage looks great as always Kohli and Bloom.

I bet Hein and Quyen are already in the lab R&Ding the next Letus. What do you call something after the Ultimate?

The Super Ultimate.
The No we were just kidding this is the Ultimate
Ultimate Part Deux
2 Letus 2 Ultimate



I am very happy for the Success of the Le Brothers. I met them at NAB and they really love what they do and no one is more excited about Letus then Quyen.

Congrats

 

[Kholi]

Thanks a lot Jason. :B

I do have a question for those that have calculated the end-of-days for adapters: about how long do we have before adapters are obsolete?

And what's going to make them obsolete? I need to know so I can sell my Letus Ultimate while I still can.

 

[cinebuddy]

Tomorrow, so i'll give you a grand for your Ultimate

 

[musicprogirl]

Please Tell Me How a Mini35 Compares to the Extreme.

Please Tell Me How a Mini35 Compares to the Extreme.

It is a very good looking product, and yes expensive, but I suspect that once you've used it, the price would make 100% sense.

I assume the lens mount (for nikon) is also in a different class as on the extreme?

- Derrick

Here's a burning question from a still relatively newbie. The main selling point of the Extreme was quality of footage as compared to others including the Mini35.
So now that the price higher it seems the selling point is that the Ultimate is in another league (the league of the Mini35) which put the Extreme in the low end category (not just in price but in quality)

Can any experienced dof user who has shot with a Mini35 please tell me if it really is in another league and why? I was waiting on this adapter and I was so excited to get the email from Letus saying it arrived. I braced myself for it possibly being more but I never expected it to be out of reach. I even took pics of my set up last night and boxed it to post. Now I've got to go another route or unbox it and rest that dmn back focus again.

 

[cinebuddy]

Here's a burning question from a still relatively newbie. The main selling point of the Extreme was quality of footage as compared to others including the Mini35.
So now that the price higher it seems the selling point is that the Ultimate is in another league (the league of the Mini35) which put the Extreme in the low end category (not just in price but in quality)

Can any experienced dof user who has shot with a Mini35 please tell me if it really is in another league and why? I was waiting on this adapter and I was so excited to get the email from Letus saying it arrived. I braced myself for it possibly being more but I never expected it to be out of reach. I even took pics of my set up last night and boxed it to post. Now I've got to go another route or unbox it and rest that dmn back focus again.

No the Ultimate is meant to be in the class of the Pro35. The Mini35 gets a mixed bag of reviews. Its a light hog for one where as the Letus products are more light efficient as is the Brevis (can't speak for RR or SG never owned). Its far sharper IMO than the Mini35. Footage from the Mini always looks like it has a Promist 2 for a gg. But here's the question why would you need to own a Mini35 or LU as a newbie? As a matter of fact lets scratcth the Mini because its a rental product for the most part anyway. But unless you're a working DP whose gear has afforded you the luxury of purchasing an Ultimate, or whose clientele will quickly recoup the cost...I can't see the need for owning a this level of adapter. Also I don't understand you comment about the Backfocus, could you clarify a bit? As to the price it has always been $4500 from its inception.

 

[taormina]

Yeah, I too would like the intelligentsia here to reveal to me why 35 DOF adapters are on their way out.

 

[waefre]

My guess is because market pressure from small rebel companies like Red are going to push even the big boys into the full chip market eventually. We all know the technology is there so maybe with a push from some casio or even aiptek who want some of the market what choice do they have. A DSLR that shoots 60 FPS in Hd has just been released and most DSLRs are going full chip now. Its really just a matter of time before not having a full chip just doesn't make sense. At that point there will be no need for such things.

I'm not saying its here now but what we're seeing is the beginning of the end. I'd still pay 2500 for an Ultimate though.

 

[Avenger007]

I would have liked a Lemo based 12v Power connector. The CCD centering is also a bit of a toss up in the design but appears to work great and is more than welcome on these adapters. I also feel as though the lens mount system should have been redesigned to work without the use of set screws. There's nothing that truly screams "robust" on the unit, but each little addition is there and will aid tremendously in production. I'll still judge the unit until it is officially in my hands. And it will be quickly stacked up against the SG Blade in August. Porsche vs Corvette seems to happening here. They both go fast and run good times at the Nurb Ring...however one costs 1/2 as the other. But at the end of the day, a Porsche is a Porsche.

 

[LuckyStudio 13]

From the footage i saw, the ultimate is so sharp and grainless that the entire footage looked like video with shallow dof.

If that is the case, I rather prefer the more organic look of other more "inferior" 35mm adapter. But we all wait for more ultimate footage to surface pretty soon.

 

[cinebuddy]

My guess is because market pressure from small rebel companies like Red are going to push even the big boys into the full chip market eventually. We all know the technology is there so maybe with a push from some casio or even aiptek who want some of the market what choice do they have. A DSLR that shoots 60 FPS in Hd has just been released and most DSLRs are going full chip now. Its really just a matter of time before not having a full chip just doesn't make sense. At that point there will be no need for such things.

I'm not saying its here now but what we're seeing is the beginning of the end. I'd still pay 2500 for an Ultimate though.

Good point. I am really tired of adapters myself. I know that sounds contrary to my opinons in this thread. Its not, i'm congratulating the Le's on a job well done. But man i'd love to mount a Nikon natively to my vid camera a la Red. The Scarlet was more of the same to me with the fixed lens. Eh...we'll see i'm just a semi-serious hobbyist anyway.

 

[Avenger007]

Forgot to ask, what kind of HVX zoom settings have been noted for the Ultimate? Given that the HVX loses a stop or so at further tele ranges, I'd like to know if that is a factor with the Ultimate. My SG typically sits at Z70 but my M2/Brevis are around Z80. This would contribute to the overall light loss rating of the adapter to some degree

 

[Texanite]

From the footage i saw, the ultimate is so sharp and grainless that the entire footage looked like video with shallow dof.

If that is the case, I rather prefer the more organic look of other more "inferior" 35mm adapter. But we all wait for more ultimate footage to surface pretty soon.

I thought the exact same thing but it's hard to know with just a couple examples. I'm interested in seeing more as well.

 

[Kholi]

My guess is because market pressure from small rebel companies like Red are going to push even the big boys into the full chip market eventually. We all know the technology is there so maybe with a push from some casio or even aiptek who want some of the market what choice do they have. A DSLR that shoots 60 FPS in Hd has just been released and most DSLRs are going full chip now. Its really just a matter of time before not having a full chip just doesn't make sense. At that point there will be no need for such things.

I'm not saying its here now but what we're seeing is the beginning of the end. I'd still pay 2500 for an Ultimate though.

Eventually, but that's just as much speculation as the rest of this thread is. Eventually could be ten years from now, could be five. That's five or ten years which is no time soon. The adapter market isn't going anywhere so long as cameras exist that do not offer:

A. The ability to mount various lenses straight to the body similar to RED (not EX3 or HPX500)
B. 35mm FOV (which calls for a full chip)
C. Costs less than 10K

I don't see any of that happening in the next five years, no matter how optimistic Jim Jannard makes things seem. If you want that stuff you spend 25k on a RED ONE and hope that you have enough money left over to own lenses.

At this stage these adapters allow people to invest in lenses as well, where as most RED ONE owners don't own much more than the camera body, a few camera support accessories and a tripod. They need to rent stuff when they go out.

I'm all for getting rid of 35mm Adapters. I love shooting RED when the client can afford it. Just doesn't work like that.

It sucks because this entire thread is all about the price and nothing more. I suppose perhaps if people fight, yell, curse and rally hard enough maybe they'll lower the price?

 

[Kholi]

Forgot to ask, what kind of HVX zoom settings have been noted for the Ultimate? Given that the HVX loses a stop or so at further tele ranges, I'd like to know if that is a factor with the Ultimate. My SG typically sits at Z70 but my M2/Brevis are around Z80. This would contribute to the overall light loss rating of the adapter to some degree

'


The widest I could go on the 200A is 25.6mm which equates to 23.2mm on the HVX200. I'm not sure what that lines up with in the NUMBERS measurement... I haven't used NUMBER in gahd knows how long.

I also keep the HVX200A set at 31.6mm and further because that's about 35mm FOV (need to redo it again). It's the proper setting for a set of Cooke S4's, so I don't really move out any further than that.

 

[Jason Adams]

35mm Adapters will be around for some time yet.

If someone gave me a Red one today I would sell it and buy a small format camera with an adapter. HPX170 w/ Ultimate and a bag of Zeiss super speeds

>crowd screams in horror<

>picks up stones and throws at Jason<

Lets not forget gents that Red One is lot of money and mostly a lot of freakin work to process the footage. Consider the cost and added post work just for Shallow DOF, 4:4:4 , and Resolution that most of us are leaving on the table.

DO all the clients shooting Red One footage project it in 4K on cinema screen. No. Plenty of Red One footage is ending up on DVD or submitted as a little web movies for your friendly USERfest.

35mm adapters give us a very light inexpensive solution for 35mm DOF. My entire rig w/ adapter does not way more than 15 pounds and cost me less then 10k. Its small and light weight so that means all my camera support can be lighter and faster. Smaller Jibs smaller Dollies and less crew is needed. It makes a very economical way to get 35mm images.

Of course Red is sexier and far more beautiful, but P2 goes instantly into my Avid and plays back immediately in real time with out a RAID. Try that with your 4K.

Adapters will go away when a camera with a 35mm image sensor, with interchangeable lenses comes out in small manageable form factor, that is shooting on a well established, industry adopted format. This also has to happen at a price point that would make camera + adapter more expensive then this super cam.

We might be a bit away from this. And don't start screaming Scarlet. with 2/3rds chips I predict that scarlet will be one of the hottest cameras for an adapter out there.

Currently in this market it seems adapter technology and innovation is growing faster than camera technology. Until that changes and prices drop, be prepared to thread something on the front of your cam.

Just my opinion...please take this time to lob your stoney rocks at me.