Hello, I used a dvx100b and I really want to invest into a 35mm adapter. I have settled on the letus but I just cant really figure out weather the "back focus" on the letus elite is worth the extra 600 bucks. Anyone have any advice? Also what is a good cheap matte box to fit on the letus v1 rails?
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letus35 extreme vs. elite
- Thread starter Dvvx
- Start date
Lenilenapi
Carbonite Member
If (a Gigantic IF) your backfocus comes correct from the factory then you don't need the Elite. (Unless you have mis adjusted lenses which I think is more rare.) However I have never seen any 35mm adapter show up at my door with the correct back focus and would not trust that from Letus including Letus twice. . Its $600 well spent.
Eh, the whole backfocus adjustment is overrated, for two reasons
1) Most people never bother to measure focus by ruler, only by eye, in which case back focus adjustment is unimportant.
2) SLR lenses vary widely in term of focus marking on the barrel. Some might give you a nice range to work with, others might have a much shorter focus throw in which case it's much more difficult to hit that exact focus distance if you're just using a ruler. Cinema lenses have proper markings on them which is why backfocus is useful there, but 95% of all adapter users aren't working with them.
The Elite does have the optimized achromat for improve edge to edge sharpness with the HVX and the EX1, I would consider this a more important feature than that backfocus ring.
1) Most people never bother to measure focus by ruler, only by eye, in which case back focus adjustment is unimportant.
2) SLR lenses vary widely in term of focus marking on the barrel. Some might give you a nice range to work with, others might have a much shorter focus throw in which case it's much more difficult to hit that exact focus distance if you're just using a ruler. Cinema lenses have proper markings on them which is why backfocus is useful there, but 95% of all adapter users aren't working with them.
The Elite does have the optimized achromat for improve edge to edge sharpness with the HVX and the EX1, I would consider this a more important feature than that backfocus ring.
But that's one of the nice things about these 35mm adapters w/ back focus adjustments vs working with nikon adapters on these canon bodies.
The DSLR adapters usually throw the focus marks off, at least the ones I've used. I suppose if you don't need an adapter and your marks line up, that's even better.
When you do have a decent crew to pull focus and do it by the numbers or a decently experienced focus puller, it's great to have a back focus adjustment. It's a chance to work in a professional manner.
Otherwise, it's just a few people doing it by eye who may never learn to do it the right way, like a real camera crew, or become adept at pulling focus by "instinct" vs by eye on the monitor.
The DSLR adapters usually throw the focus marks off, at least the ones I've used. I suppose if you don't need an adapter and your marks line up, that's even better.
When you do have a decent crew to pull focus and do it by the numbers or a decently experienced focus puller, it's great to have a back focus adjustment. It's a chance to work in a professional manner.
Otherwise, it's just a few people doing it by eye who may never learn to do it the right way, like a real camera crew, or become adept at pulling focus by "instinct" vs by eye on the monitor.
It's good to learn how to do it the right way if you can reliably trust the result. Backfocus adjustment on adapters are incredibly finicky and you almost always need to double check your measurement, which in my opinion wastes more time than if you just focus by eye to start with.
Lenilenapi
Carbonite Member
I disagree.
Granted you are usually focusing by eye and you can function, however if BF is off it could mean you never hit infinity which can be catastrophic, or your lens overshoots it which in outdoor situations could cause a mistake. I work with a company that finally decided it was worth the dough for the Elite adaptation and they never regretted it.
If you use zoom lenses poor Backfocus throws off the lenses ability to maintain focus from wide to telephoto. Something I count on with my 80-200 Nikon. Also bad backfocus can cause poor performance with a wide angle lens at wide open f stops.
Granted you are usually focusing by eye and you can function, however if BF is off it could mean you never hit infinity which can be catastrophic, or your lens overshoots it which in outdoor situations could cause a mistake. I work with a company that finally decided it was worth the dough for the Elite adaptation and they never regretted it.
If you use zoom lenses poor Backfocus throws off the lenses ability to maintain focus from wide to telephoto. Something I count on with my 80-200 Nikon. Also bad backfocus can cause poor performance with a wide angle lens at wide open f stops.
As I said, the only time you need a backfocus ring is if you can't achieve infinity focus and you need to shoot landscapes for establishment shots. I avoided the problem by never setting my lens focus to infinity. This way I never take a chance. I therefore avoid all infinity focus shots.
long_woods
Carbonite Member
As I said, the only time you need a backfocus ring is if you can't achieve infinity focus and you need to shoot landscapes for establishment shots. I avoided the problem by never setting my lens focus to infinity. This way I never take a chance. I therefore avoid all infinity focus shots.
What do you mean by infinity?