New 35mm adapter

Since we're here... Go35HD dev is heating up. I'm meeting tomorrow with a prospective engineer who has his own personal machining tools. I have a handful of the pieces required for the prototyping, and with his skills and tools we should be able to make the few key components to get a test model up and running.

Questions for the community:

1) How much would you pay to improve lightloss? Let's suppose a $630 adapter nets you 1.5-2 stops loss, would you pay $50 more to cut it to 1-1.5 stops? What about the reverse: would you be happier if I could bring prices below $600 and accept an additional .5-1 stop loss, or??

2) What are some of the features you'd like to see in a "pro" level adapter that are currently not offered in any of the commercially available devices? I have a ton of things I plan on implementing with the Go35HD, but I want to be certain I don't overlook anything.

More soon...
 
In regards to your first question I would say yes. I would pay $50 more for less light loss. Many of the situations I shoot in use natural light so I want to be able to use every little bit of that as possible. If you're using studio lighting or HMI's or something then a stop or two (even a half stop) doesn't matter. But if you're not running lights then that stop can make a big difference. $50 seems like a reasonable difference.

In regards to your second question, I have no idea. :D
 
50 bucks more for less light loss. Is good. 2 stops of light is a lot. Then add the lens that drops even more....

The less light loss the better.

-rook
 
i'd pay $50 for less light loss.

i would suggest implenting some kind of lens adaptor for ALL types of popular lenses. this seems way out there, but some of us will only be able to afford the adaptor when we already have lenses to be used.

i have 3 pentax lenses and i have no idea what mount it uses.
 
Justin_Kirch said:
i have 3 pentax lenses and i have no idea what mount it uses.

Unless you're using screw mount lenses or the lenses are more than 30 years old, the Pentax lenses are most likely using the Pentax K-mount. Hope that helps. If you want to verify that check here.
 
Justin_Kirch said:
i'd pay $50 for less light loss.

i would suggest implenting some kind of lens adaptor for ALL types of popular lenses. this seems way out there, but some of us will only be able to afford the adaptor when we already have lenses to be used.

i have 3 pentax lenses and i have no idea what mount it uses.

Well, I can say that something like this is only a matter of time and your willingness to pay for the add-on with the Go35 HD, at least. There will most likely be an adjustable forward/reverse travel mechanism for the GG in the units, and I'm quite confident I could get a Pentax mounted machined if there proves a market for that sort of thing. For the Go35 Standard your only going to see the Nikon F and Canon FD mounts supported at release and shortly after.

The reality is I need to start selling the Standard where I can when it's released to better fascillitate the design of the Go35 HD. Once the HD is released, and I can begin bringing some revenue in and paying my engineer with a certain amount of regularity, I'll have greater freedom to play around with these sorts of issues.
 
yeah 50 bucks extra is no prob for less light loss for sure.

maybe stupid question but--has the upside down image thing been taken care of in these latest prototyes?
 
No. I'm selling them with magnets. Dennis Wood (guskerthecat) is promising a flip module that will work with any adapter -- my guess is it's a screw-on addition that sits between the cam and DOF unit -- so if that's your preference I'd say go with his flip module.

Otherwise, it's the magnet or an external LCD.
 
On the DVX, just where the LCD meets the body of the cam. They work by reversing the polarity of the magnet already inside the camera, which is used to "tell" the camera when the LCD is flipped. So, by placing a magnet there, you "trick" the camera into thinking the LCD is flipped and the camera engages its internal vertical flip and projects the adapter's footage properly.
 
Just under the hinge. Wiggle it around to find the sweet spot. Then tape it in place.

use a strong magnet.
 
Keep in mind that the magnet, while showing the image right side up, does away with all of your onscreen information that you may want/need from time to time while shooting.

BTW, our shoot out article between the adapters that participated is complete & posted on my server ... just waiting for Jarred's blessing before it goes onto DVXuser for good. Should be any day now.
 
For those of you who do not know, the "magnet trick" is what the G35, the $300 Letus and the stock Brevis35 will require of the user, as well. I consider my design in good company :)
 
p.s. My meeting with the engineer tonight went very well. He is the lead engineer at a design firm that produces mechanisms for artificial hearts, and is excited by the project. Just as importantly, he has a personal CNC station at home.
 
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CNC Router's aren't cheap. I've financed those for a couple of companies, and new, they can run well into $150K or more, depending on how large they are & how automated.
 
The more I've thought about it, looked over Quyen's flip device, the more I think I will be able to do something similar when the time comes.

I'm also thinking about a rod system provided I can find the right parts suppliers -- 15mm round rods are an odd diameter :/
 
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