Letus Ultimate - RELEASED!

[musicprogirl]

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..

Thank you. I have never worked with a mini35 so I truly have no idea how it works other than it looks good. If the Ultimate is meant to be in the class of the Pro35 the price actually looks good.

I'm a newbie to the world of Dof. I have done video projects for a few labels that were released Nationally but they were mostly behind the scenes of music videos, interviews, or car shows. Now my company is delving deeper. So, I've switched, camera's and equipment. I have a HVX200 and a Canon XL H1 (only going to keep one of them) and I had a Letus flip which I sold to get a Redrock (the has to be back focused to get a sharp image and it's just not as friendly as the letus was) So I planned on getting the Extreme until I heard about the Ultimate.

As you see this has been too much switching of equipment. I want to get the best
affordable unit and then just live with it. The Ultimates price is close to what I've seen some used Mini35's sell for. That's why I wanted to know which was better.
If I'm going to stretch that far I want the best quality and the one that's going to hold the value.

The adapters eventually being obsolute posts worried me a bit as does the Scarlet Red coming out next year. The camera companies are going to add the ability to add lens to their stock camera's as soon as they see it will be profitable so I hope that's not this Xmas if I purchase one of these. I still have a Media 100 system that was almost $25,000 when new. Now it's probably going on ebay for $250.00

Thanks so much for your opinion. I've read your posts on this thread and on others
and you always seem on point.
HAPPY 4th

 

[cinebuddy]

Cool beans and happy 4th to you...i'm gonna take this to a PM and see if we can get you squared away. I only seem spot on because i've been schooled by these fools, brothers from other mothers who give freely of everything they know and learn...even when we disagree.

 

[alexm13]

i liked it untill i saw the price point...

 

[waefre]

Has anyone ever had an issue hanging heavy lenses from that mount? I've not had a single one and I've used heavy lenses before with NO support mounts for lenses. There's proof of such on my vimeo page. I would like to hear of situations where the set screws have been an issue, though. If it's been hurting the performance of the adapter in a significant way I think it should be brought up with examples so that it can get changed.

I may not have any issues with it NOW but it could come up if it's happening to others and that's not something I want to happen.

Do any of the other mounting systems for these adapters allow you to roll the lens mount so that the lens markings are visible for your AC instead of locking you into the upside down lens situation? I find that to be a good thing.

I can't say that I've had any issues with the heavy lenses on my LEX, but then again if you're using a proper support system you really shouldn't. I've used some long PL zooms but I've typically always used a lens support when they are mounted. The mount shoud never really be made to support a heavy lens.

I do have a different issue with the set screws though. I've noticed that while tightening a mount into place the screws actually have a tendency to shift the mount forward by a tiny bit thus throwing off the backfocus. I noticed this with the PL mount as it starts flush with adapter but as I do the final tightening you can see a gap and light coming through. I usually keep a downward pressure on the PL mount to prevent this, and it works, but I would hope for something better from a fully professional adapter. Also the whole screws biting into aluminum seems like a very sophomoric approach to the whole problem. It also leads to tiny specs of aluminum which have to be blown off the glass at times. I'm sure this adapter is going to go through a little refining.

 

[Taylor Rudd]

i liked it untill i saw the price point...

That's what I said about the Mercedes C Class. Then I figured, if it's too expensive I shouldn't buy it!

 

[waefre]

That's what I said about the Mercedes C Class. Then I figured, if it's too expensive I shouldn't buy it!

yeah but I think the problem is a lot of people feel they're watching the new toyota corolla roll out of the factory. Its a very reliable well built asian car but suddenly its out of everyone's price range. Its what you expect form the elitest German manufacturers (P&S) but people want the new Corolla.

 

[Willis Chung]

considering it's the new twin turbo hybrid corolla coupe with AWD, the price works

 

[Texanite]

Also the whole screws biting into aluminum seems like a very sophomoric approach to the whole problem.

:thumbup: I could not agree more. And the fact that a small numer of tiny connection points are being used to hold something up against gravity makes it even worse.

For $4,500 it seems like you could get the mounts all universally threaded.

 

[cinebuddy]

:thumbup: I could not agree more. And the fact that a small numer of tiny connection points are being used to hold something up against gravity makes it even worse.

For $4,500 it seems like you could get the mounts all universally threaded.

Hmm, I guess we've grown to accept that standard, especially with the vibrating adapters. Everytime its brought up it annoys the hell out of me.

 

[Evangelos Achillopoulos]

Hey Tim I can be passionate, and a jackass...even a passionate jackass! But Evangelos has class and you never bite the hand that extends the olive branch. Neither of us has a stake in Letus although i'm happy for them...and I could sure use some of that beautiful Greek sun...its rained 40 days and nights here.

I know its probably way off topic but its very relaxing... its 4th of July weekend isnt it... So these are for all of you guys from Greece with love...

Cinebaddy when we ware crossing our swords, I was in Naxos with my three kids and wife for a week... These are photos taken from my P990, I don't know if its a 1/60 cmos sensor but we all like the huge DoF that it has...

The first is from Maraga beach
Google Earth Long 37° 3'39.11"N Lati 25°21'23.91"E

And second is from the port of Naxos, while the ferry is arriving and the sun sets...

 

[Kholi]

I can't say that I've had any issues with the heavy lenses on my LEX, but then again if you're using a proper support system you really shouldn't. I've used some long PL zooms but I've typically always used a lens support when they are mounted. The mount shoud never really be made to support a heavy lens.

Right. And I've never seen a report on a lens mount pulling out. The PL mount is less likely to do so because of the extra lip. again if anyone has had a mount slip then by all means let us know. I've used heavy lenses without supports and never once had an issue.

Also never experienced a mount not being flush but more than likely because I subconciously make sure the mechanics are pristine a few times a week. I just cleaned the camera and adapter last night just out of routine maintenance. Next time I go to throw the pl mount on Ill check.

One thing right though is that the screws will dig into the mounts and, when you switch them, the shavings should be blown out. Whether thats a problem or just part of the machine is opinion indeed. But it exists.


Whether the approach is sophmoric or not? I disagree personally in the grounds that Ivd never experienced anything job threatening because of it, it allows me to shift lenses so that markings are visible, and to change out mounts in a matter of seconds during shooting which fairs even better now that backfocus adjustment included. I have yet to see a simpler more effective way of integrating interchangeable mounts on the others but thats just my opinion from experience. Mileage may vary.

 

[cinebuddy]

I know its probably way off topic but its very relaxing... its 4th of July weekend isnt it... So these are for all of you guys from Greece with love...

Cinebaddy when we ware crossing our swords, I was in Naxos with my three kids and wife for a week... These are photos taken from my P990, I don't know if its a 1/60 cmos sensor but we all like the huge DoF that it has...

The first is from Maraga beach
Google Earth Long 37° 3'39.11"N Lati 25°21'23.91"E

And second is from the port of Naxos, while the ferry is arriving and the sun sets...

Yeah...well we're crossing swords again pal...that's just cruel. I'm in Columbus Oh and the only thing tropical here is the drink i'm getting ready to make Beautiful pics btw, especially out of a phone.

 

[chagchag]

just need to chime in on the "tiny screws eating into the aluminium" thing. I don't argue that the ultimate produce top grade pictures, but Letus does have a way to go when it comes to professional high grade finish on their products. I never thought the extreme was all that solid allthoug it had a chunky aluminium casing. Both the lens mount and the achromat mount is hard to get 100% aligned after the screws have made their first bite into the alum. (and what's with the tiny rails mount?). Also their firs rails system was kind of rubbish....


I'm with the ones who says the price is too high. It is a good step up from the extreme but not to much more so than what I would call a natural progression/evolution.

If the price of the ultimate was slightly higher than the extreme, a lot of people would upgrade from their a few months old extremes, I'm quite sure.

I suspect the SG blade will be the adapter of choice for most of the peeps on these forums until Letus decide to lower the price of the ultimate....
Anyway. This is the one I'm waiting for.


I have to congratulate Hien & co for the eagerness to push the market and technology forward, and for making products with some impressive features, but I think they need to know that even though the ultimate is a huge leap ahead it is not perfect and the price is imo not justifiable.

And please, easy with the big adjectives.... ( the extreme was supposed to be "perfect edge to edge and absolutely no vignetting plus beautiful film bokeh," none of which were really true, even though each of those points were a big deal better than the competition).


I'd say: Congratulations on a new great (landmark actually) product, but don't loose yourselves up there on the high horse. Next time the competition might bounce back an bite you on your a$$

 

[reem12]

i'm still very fond of the look of my sgpro, and will not even consider an ultimate unless footage can prove that much more filmic than the sgpro.

also the edge sharpness on the sg out the box exceded that of the letus ex which i'd take shaper images over a stop of light any day.

my consensus. i will not be another guiny pig for another adapter unless one comes on the market that far exceeds the one i own now. no0 more chasing the crack high for me.

 

[waefre]

I think the screw mount needs an additional piece of metal between the screws and the actual mount. The screws will press on this metal which will in turn hold the mount in place without digging into the paint or aluminum. It could even be made of steel so the screw has no ill effect on the pressure piece itself. This is actually very similar to the screw system which holds the HVX's lens hood in place. It would have all the same advantages of the screw system (quick change, full rotation) but without damaging the adapter itself.

I'm a big fan of the LEX and actually frequently do point to the ease of use of the screw mounts. I like the fact that I can change a mount almost as fast as a lens. I was a REDrock user before and anyone who's touch one of those know how much goes into changing a mount, or backfocus adjustments. Still I think its time this system were updated especially if we're expected to consider the Ultimate as the ultimate in design and performance of any adapter on the market. I call it a sophomoric approach because although it does work, its also the same technology holding the glass dome on my ceiling fan. I just think for 4500 it could stand an upgrade.

 

[Tim Naylor]

i'm still very fond of the look of my sgpro, and will not even consider an ultimate unless footage can prove that much more filmic than the sgpro.

also the edge sharpness on the sg out the box exceded that of the letus ex which i'd take shaper images over a stop of light any day.

my consensus. i will not be another guiny pig for another adapter unless one comes on the market that far exceeds the one i own now. no0 more chasing the crack high for me.

I take it you've done an A/B test between the two. The A/B tests I did a little while back definitively showed the SG was softer than the LEX with same lens, stops, etc... There somewhere on this site. Everything I've seen of the Ultimate is considerably sharper than my LEX which makes it even more so than an SG. Now what makes the prettiest image, well that's whole other thread.

 

[Texanite]

I like the fact that I can change a mount almost as fast as a lens.

The thing is that, in a sense, what you're doing is the same thing. These interchangeable mounts are just extensions of the lenses mount. You SHOULD be able to change a mount as fast as a lens because basically the connection is same thing. But somehow nobody thinks of that connection to the adapter as being nearly as important as the connection of the lens to the mount.

Think about what a proper lens mount does. It securely holds the lens exactly where it is. PL > C-mount and Arri bayonette > Arri std, but set screws are nowhere near any of those methods of attaching a lens to a camera or adapter. Even the weakest one, IMO, the C-mount is still 100x better than holding a piece of metal inside another piece of metal while screwing tiny 3mm set screws into the side of the metal.

What if you bought a nice new fancy lens and a nice new fancy camera and then had to attach and remove the lens using an allen wrench and 4 set screws? That would be ridiculous, yet that's exactly what's going on here. People are attaching very nice PL mount lenses to an expensive PL mount and then attaching that PL mount to an adapter with set screws? WTF?

I wouldn't buy a $250 Nikon FM-10 35mm still camera if I had to attach the lenses with set screws. I wouldn't buy a $600 Nikon D40 if I had to attach the lenses with set screws, but when I pay $4500 for a product the method of attaching the lens to the body is as imprecise and insecure as screwing tiny setscrew tips into the side of the mount to hold it in place?

I said it before and I'll say it again. THREADS. This isn't rocket science. It is the simplest secure way of attaching lens mounts to a body. Simply make all the mout shared the same thread and then they would all attach nicely, flat and flush to the camera and be held securely in place in the same place and at the same distance to the ground glass every single time.

The chain is only as strong as its weakest link and when the chain is: lens -> PL mount -> set screws, all of the value of the PL mounting system is thrown out the window.

 

[Kholi]

I'm assuming you've actually used a Letus Extreme and PL mount and that you have a horrible story to tell about how the mount slipped out and you broke a lens.

I know that waefre has experience with the Letus Extreme and PL mount. I'm just assuming you do as well by the posts you're making.

 

[Texanite]

I'm assuming you've actually used a Letus Extreme and PL mount and that you have a horrible story to tell about how the mount slipped out and you broke a lens.

This doesn't have anything to do with the letus extreme's PL mount. This has to do with basic common sense. But if you think that a PL mount's security and precision are = to the set screws on the Letus, then you're right, it doesn't matter at all.

On the other hand, if you understand the benefits of the PL mount, or any other professional mount, then you should understand why set screws are a poor substitution.

 

[Kholi]

This doesn't have anything to do with the letus extreme's PL mount. This has to do with basic common sense. But if you think that a PL mount's security and precision are = to the set screws on the Letus, then you're right, it doesn't matter at all.

On the other hand, if you understand the benefits of the PL mount, or any other professional mount, then you should understand why set screws are a poor substitution.

So you're saying you have absolutely zero expeirence with the Letus and it's PL mount, correct? Do you have a single post or have you heard of an experience with the PL mount has failed anyone by your common sense?