bluevoyagetv
Member
I am considering down the road to buy an adapter for my HMC 150. Has anyone shot with an adapter on a HMC150?
Any recommendations?
Thanks
Blue Voyage Productions.
Any recommendations?
Thanks
Blue Voyage Productions.
Red Rock or Letus 35
- Thread starter bluevoyagetv
- Start date
Yes, I use a Letus Ultimate on the HMC150, and it works exactly as advertised. I've heard good things about both the Red Rock and other Letus models.
Relative to using an adapter with an HMC150 -- it works well. The camera has the right features, you can capitalize on the camera's lower light sensitivity, and the "PH" AVCHD recording has, thus far, been magnificent. This setup also yields the flexibility of having, essentially, two cameras -- meaning I can use it with lenses for all sorts of creative purposes, and then pull it off and have a 3.7 pound handheld camera or put it on a Glidecam for hand held stabilized shots.
For me it's a very workable solution that has a range of advantages over any of the current video DSLR cameras. Others recommend going with a video DSLR.
If you choose the adapter route -- it's very important to invest in the best possible lenses. Much of the complaints and bad video you see comes from folks who bought the cheapest possible lenses from "Ebay" (and/or they try to use APS-C lenses) -- and then they complain about how awful their adapter works.
Relative to using an adapter with an HMC150 -- it works well. The camera has the right features, you can capitalize on the camera's lower light sensitivity, and the "PH" AVCHD recording has, thus far, been magnificent. This setup also yields the flexibility of having, essentially, two cameras -- meaning I can use it with lenses for all sorts of creative purposes, and then pull it off and have a 3.7 pound handheld camera or put it on a Glidecam for hand held stabilized shots.
For me it's a very workable solution that has a range of advantages over any of the current video DSLR cameras. Others recommend going with a video DSLR.
If you choose the adapter route -- it's very important to invest in the best possible lenses. Much of the complaints and bad video you see comes from folks who bought the cheapest possible lenses from "Ebay" (and/or they try to use APS-C lenses) -- and then they complain about how awful their adapter works.
Ben_B
Veteran
I've shot with the Letus extreme on the HVX and it works great.
Here is my main recommendation: if you're buying the Letus, DO NOT GET THE ROD SUPPORT FROM LETUS. It is difficult to adjust, wears out quickly, is heavy, and massively overpriced. I recommend shopping around @ RedRock for your rod support if you want to stay in the same price range (which I believe is like $400-700) or go to Zacuto.
Also if you're looking to save a buck (but probably not much more than that
) on the rods themselves, RED actually has some good prices on standalone rods (you'll need to get the baseplates, clamps, etc, elsewhere) just make sure you're getting 15mm and not 19mm (typically) and maybe spring for aluminum or something nicer than the cheapest (steel.)
EDIT: I think RED actually only sells 19mm rods but $80 for 24" aluminum is a great price....that said, you probably want 15mm...RedRock time...
but yeah....Letus for the adapter...probably the extreme is good enough? Seems good on HVX...although I think it makes things a bit grainier (vibrating ground glass not spinning) but with a nice filmic quality.
Here is my main recommendation: if you're buying the Letus, DO NOT GET THE ROD SUPPORT FROM LETUS. It is difficult to adjust, wears out quickly, is heavy, and massively overpriced. I recommend shopping around @ RedRock for your rod support if you want to stay in the same price range (which I believe is like $400-700) or go to Zacuto.
Also if you're looking to save a buck (but probably not much more than that
) on the rods themselves, RED actually has some good prices on standalone rods (you'll need to get the baseplates, clamps, etc, elsewhere) just make sure you're getting 15mm and not 19mm (typically) and maybe spring for aluminum or something nicer than the cheapest (steel.)EDIT: I think RED actually only sells 19mm rods but $80 for 24" aluminum is a great price....that said, you probably want 15mm...RedRock time...
but yeah....Letus for the adapter...probably the extreme is good enough? Seems good on HVX...although I think it makes things a bit grainier (vibrating ground glass not spinning) but with a nice filmic quality.
I assume you're talking about the older Letus rails -- and I've never used those -- so you may be entirely correct -- I don't know.
The Letus "V2" rods I use aren't tough to adjust, are not heavy, have not yet shown signs of wear (a good amount of use at this point), and may or may not be "massively overpriced."
Many people I've encountered seem very happy with Zacuto products -- so you may also want to check their products.
Ben_B
Veteran
@ $700 I'd say the new ones are probably pretty overpriced
I prefer stuff that isn't adjustable only via alan key but that might be just me...knobs seem to work well if the stuff is built to tolerances like redrock and zacuto do...for $700 there is no reason not to go with RedRock....Zacuto might be a bit too much.
That said, yes Letus makes a great 35mm adapter..I don't have any experience with the RedRock one but nothing I've seen from images leads me to believe it is inherently better.
I prefer stuff that isn't adjustable only via alan key but that might be just me...knobs seem to work well if the stuff is built to tolerances like redrock and zacuto do...for $700 there is no reason not to go with RedRock....Zacuto might be a bit too much.
That said, yes Letus makes a great 35mm adapter..I don't have any experience with the RedRock one but nothing I've seen from images leads me to believe it is inherently better.
bluevoyagetv
Member
Thanks guys.
B&H has a kit for around $5500 that comes with zeis lens kit, rod, and letus 35 extreme.
Someone told me that if you do not lock the focus on the camera everything goes out of focus when someone accidentally touches the focus. When this happens you have to take the letus off and re focus. What's the truth on this?
Is it really that hard?
Cheers
B&H has a kit for around $5500 that comes with zeis lens kit, rod, and letus 35 extreme.
Someone told me that if you do not lock the focus on the camera everything goes out of focus when someone accidentally touches the focus. When this happens you have to take the letus off and re focus. What's the truth on this?
Is it really that hard?
Cheers
@ $700 I'd say the new ones are probably pretty overpriced
I prefer stuff that isn't adjustable only via alan key but that might be just me...knobs seem to work well if the stuff is built to tolerances like redrock and zacuto do...for $700 there is no reason not to go with RedRock....Zacuto might be a bit too much.
That said, yes Letus makes a great 35mm adapter..I don't have any experience with the RedRock one but nothing I've seen from images leads me to believe it is inherently better.
I bought the bundle and didn't really think about the price of the rods. Yeah, seven hundred does seem a bit high. The good news is that I have no complaints -- or, well... I had no complaints until you told me they cost seven hundred. (insert smiley face here)
I'm a big fan of B&H and have spent tens of thousands of dollars there resulting in very, very few complaints.
That being said -- one of the very, very few complaints I had with them related to one of their Letus bundles -- and we ended up going with Letus Direct -- and that had some serious advantages in terms of technical support. I can't say enough good things about Hien at Letus (inventor, President, etc.) -- who takes customer service seriously and is an honorable fellow.
Regarding focus -- the HPX170/HMC150 have this wonderful little switch that turns the focus ring into an iris ring. So -- after getting your focus set -- you switch the focus ring to iris -- and you can't accidentally change the focus. This means with the HPX/HMC you don't need to "tape" your focus ring.
Make sure you print out focus charts -- and use the magnified focus assist on the HMC to get your focus set, and always use the "peaking" focus assist while operating with the Letus. Doing those things -- I've gotten away using only the awful HMC LCD -- and have never returned to the studio to discover "soft" images.
You may want to seriously consider the "Elite" over the extreme -- as it has the back focus adjustment -- and that does make life easier. The back focus issue may be what the person was describing -- but, simply changing the focus should not require a new back focus -- so, no, that doesn't sound right.
Good luck!