excuse me for my ignorence,but i was wondering what does the high priced mini 35 offer over something like the sg pro? from the footage i've seen from the sg pro users ,the look and sharpness of it just amazes me.so why would someone dump all that money into an adapter at the cost of the mini 35 when people are using adapters at a fraction of that cost and yeilding in mt oppinion just as good of results if not beter.i'm just realy curious about this one.
over priced mini 35
- Thread starter ennfurno
- Start date
Ted Ramasola
Veteran
The PS mini35 is expensive and that I guess is the reason in the first place that people decided to DIY lens adapters and for those with access to fabrication shops decided to sell affordable adapters like M2, SGpro, Letus and Brevis. These started out as DIY as you will find out going through these forums, then offer them as affordable alternatives to everyone looking for the shallow DOF look.
the p&s is built for pro use. it will last 1000 years as a rental. cant say that about most DIY jobs. though the diy'ers can certainly stand up to tough conditions, but not the wear of constant rental (read: careless) use.
Lucas Adamson
Well-known member
Also, it was there before the competition, so they could charge what they liked. It certainly helped that films like "28 days later" used the mini35 - what publicity!
Barry_Green
Moderator
... but "28 Days Later" didn't use the mini35. Or any other type of 35mm lens adapter.
They used XL1 cameras with Canon EJ prime lenses. No 35mm adapter.
They used XL1 cameras with Canon EJ prime lenses. No 35mm adapter.
Lucas Adamson
Well-known member
Oh yeah, my bad. Optex were always the big supplier of mini35 systems in the UK at that time, and so I assumed that the "Optex adapter allowing use of 35mm lenses" being raved about at the time was the same one. It seems that a lot of people made that mistake too.
Tim Naylor
Veteran
Mini 35 is built for feature / pro use (5-6 days /week 12-14hours/day for 4-8weeks). None of the Gepetto Low Cost Rigs here can withstand that use except perhaps, the SG Pro (though I know I'd blow through the plastic screws in a few days on a winter exterior - not a difficult replacement which I'm pre-emptively doing).
My rental house has said of the thousands of days they've clocked on their PS rigs they've only once had to dismantle once due to dust. My previous adaptor had to be disassembled three times in one day on the last gig I used it on (hence sold it).
In short, when money's being spent (not yours), your gear must have a very low failure rate. When I shoot 16, as much as I like the design of Aatons, if I'm more than half an hour from a rental house I go with Arri. Reliability is king.
So is customer service. I love the DIY low cost phenomenom I see happening here but what I hate is the lousy customer service of many of these adaptor makers. No hardcopy literature (I'm sorry, going to a site during a shoot doesn't cut it) come with most of them. No ability to get a human on the phone. Returned calls a few or late. No address in many cases. Some of these guys respond quicker to this forum than to actual paying customers. I've been there already - I speak from experience.
As I mentioned before, you charge good money for a product (over a grand), you better have good customer support. I hear the lame excuse that you'd have to charge more, etc. Well then charge more. My guess with the long wait lists, the unit cost would be another 25.00. But if you build it well in the first place it could be less.
The culprits know who they are and if they don't shape up, it will bite you in the ass.
Perhaps you sense a bit of bitterness from me. Well I got burned on lousy Customer Support from one the more celebrated DIY guys here. I'd give him the public grilling but I just rather hope it was an abberration and they got their house in order now.
Back to PS. If I could afford one, I'd buy it.
My rental house has said of the thousands of days they've clocked on their PS rigs they've only once had to dismantle once due to dust. My previous adaptor had to be disassembled three times in one day on the last gig I used it on (hence sold it).
In short, when money's being spent (not yours), your gear must have a very low failure rate. When I shoot 16, as much as I like the design of Aatons, if I'm more than half an hour from a rental house I go with Arri. Reliability is king.
So is customer service. I love the DIY low cost phenomenom I see happening here but what I hate is the lousy customer service of many of these adaptor makers. No hardcopy literature (I'm sorry, going to a site during a shoot doesn't cut it) come with most of them. No ability to get a human on the phone. Returned calls a few or late. No address in many cases. Some of these guys respond quicker to this forum than to actual paying customers. I've been there already - I speak from experience.
As I mentioned before, you charge good money for a product (over a grand), you better have good customer support. I hear the lame excuse that you'd have to charge more, etc. Well then charge more. My guess with the long wait lists, the unit cost would be another 25.00. But if you build it well in the first place it could be less.
The culprits know who they are and if they don't shape up, it will bite you in the ass.
Perhaps you sense a bit of bitterness from me. Well I got burned on lousy Customer Support from one the more celebrated DIY guys here. I'd give him the public grilling but I just rather hope it was an abberration and they got their house in order now.
Back to PS. If I could afford one, I'd buy it.
Tim youve had more experince with the p&S than me, how do you feel about its image performance? i wasnt impressed by the unit i used(once). i think my Sg kicks its butt interms of image alone.
tim i'm not going to beat around the bush with customer srvice.i got very poor customer srvice and respond time from red rock.not bashing them as a company but as tim said when you spend over a grand for an adapter you should at least get some decent customer supprot.