Review of Cinemek G35

it would be nice if the bayonet mount/threads on the dvx were stronger, not plastic.
maybe someone could make an aluminum or steel replacement. of course I have no idea if you could even change it out.
 
Phillip/Shibuya-

Curious as to what times of day are best to shoot at. Is there a certain point when the sun sets that the hunger of the adapter can not be satisfied (without a powered light source)? I know the G35 is very light hungry, but I've been wanting to see some shots inside a house/apt during the day/night without additional lights, just to get an idea about how much light the adapter is eating in a 'normal' environment.
 
mvansomeren said:
Thanks, Shibuya. I agree with Philip that more opinions and observations are helpful.

The fine sand texture you describe is in fact what I'm seeing on my DLP monitor, even through the "blocky compression mess". It's stationary and doesn't move like the rest of the artifacts. Does that sound like it?
Click to expand...
I seriously dobut that is what you are seeing. Even with the "uncompressed" web downloads of these films, there is very little chance you can see any structure. It is very hard to see on an HD monitor from raw footage. Most times your monitor screen has more diffusion texture in it than the adapter.

I'm going to say this again to put this whole discussion to rest. Buy it. If the structure is too much for you. Drop it in the mail within 7 days of your receiving it and we will refund your money. No questions asked. No adapter maker will offer the same deal. We have nothing to hide.

This is that deal, I have developed this product finance free for 3 years as to have no relevant grain in HD. I would not be selling them if they did. I am not going get into a discussion why you feel it necessary to shoot clouds at f 5.6 so I wont. realistically if you are focused at 30' on any lens at 4.0 everything is going to be in infinity. So why is this even a discussion?


mvansomeren said:
Your comments about your experience with the G35 are very helpful in telling us what the limitations are and what to avoid doing so that the grain doesn't become an issue. Especially what to avoid in post.
Click to expand...
I guarantee grain will not be an issue. Neither is shutter speed, battery power, dust, condensation (nitrogen purged) or any other ailment you can get from a spinning or vibrating adapter.
mvansomeren said:
It seems that the G35 is capable of some very nice footage, especially nice bokeh. You just need to be careful in some situations.
Click to expand...
Thank you. Any light reduction is a direct result of the true 35mm bokeh. Bokeh is the subtle reality of an out of focus image. what is low light with bad bokeh? We could make a lower light version (we might) but then the bokeh would look like every other adatper. Like a 35mm adapter not like 35mm film. Not a road I wish to go down. Also, with our imaging screen you get a truer shoulder as well as a toe which again emulates negative stock. As a result your imaging sensor is not overloaded with a high contrast image which gives you all the ailments of Video.

mvansomeren said:
From the pictures of the G35 it looks almost bullet proof in build quality. Can you confirm that?
Click to expand...
It is.
http://virb.com/cinemek/videos/1750567
mvansomeren said:
The reason I'm so keen on getting the full spectrum of this adapter is because I'm thinking of recommending it to someone who doesn't get along well with things that have moving parts or batteries. This seems like it would fit this person's needs provided it can take a little bit of abuse.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
I am never into moving parts and batteries. :) I don't blame him.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

jon@cinemek.com
 
Last edited:
nantnee said:
Phillip/Shibuya-

Curious as to what times of day are best to shoot at. Is there a certain point when the sun sets that the hunger of the adapter can not be satisfied (without a powered light source)? I know the G35 is very light hungry, but I've been wanting to see some shots inside a house/apt during the day/night without additional lights, just to get an idea about how much light the adapter is eating in a 'normal' environment.
Click to expand...

http://virb.com/cinemek/videos/51927

This was shot with an A1 G35 35nikon lens.

Main lighting source 1500 watt chinaball which we had on a rolling 3 rise combo stand to add ambient to the scene.
we had a 1200 watt HMI outside which we had a double net on for most of the shoot and everything else was standard 10 and 40 watt practicals on the wall lights.

Oh, I had a Diva in the kitchen working the cook as well.

Not home depot shop lighting, but a very indie kit. It all fit in the back of my jeep. Hope this gives you a better idea.
 
philip bloom said:
you really do need rods. Especially on those longer lenses...also how else can you fit a follow focus!!

The Cinemek's limitations are similar to say the Brevis and Letus Extreme, but with more light loss but better build quality and tank like reliability.
Click to expand...

True, however if you do decide for some reason to shoot the sky at f8.0 You can choose not to move the camera and you wont see the grain. Whereas the other manufactures the grain is dancing around. Also, dirt becomes very visible on the other units as well whereas the G35 is sealed so it is not an issue. Also, shutter speeds are not an issue with the G35. other than that they are similar. ;)
 
it may be 1.4 stops of light loss, but on the ex3 for example you are zooming in less with the stock lens to get the image which gives you about 1/2 stop more than you would be zooming in using say a Letus.
 
philip bloom said:
it may be 1.4 stops of light loss, but on the ex3 for example you are zooming in less with the stock lens to get the image which gives you about 1/2 stop more than you would be zooming in using say a Letus.
Click to expand...
Philip,
Yes, the achromat we use is stronger than the average so you do not need to zoom
your camera in as far. This is true for all of the cameras. You also get the full 24x36 mm frame.
 
JHouser said:
Philip,
Yes, the achromat we use is stronger than the average so you do not need to zoom
your camera in as far. This is true for all of the cameras. You also get the full 24x36 mm frame.
Click to expand...

so although not technically true, in practice it is closer to 1 stop of light loss, equivalent to the SGBlade RR2
 
Good to hear. I was actually thinking about that when you mentioned that the glass element is positioned closer to the camera lens so you dont have to zoom in as far...If I recall properly, on my HMC150 + SGPro R3, the camera's at f/5.6 once zoomed in properly on the frame.

Im not sure if it was mentioned somewhere here but whats the physical length of the G35?
 
that's the other thing, Jonathan mentioned about the G35 being sealed, I haven't used any compressed air in the month and a half owning the G35, nothing more than a cloth and brush, and have never seen a bit of dust in any of my footage!

and as far as light loss compared the sgblade, with the rotorazer2, very little difference, RR2 slightly brighter, but not much. I'm not going to try to guess at what fraction of a stop, but I'll say if you are lighting a scene, you'd need the same amount of light either way.
 
thanks shibuya. that puts the light loss in perspective. i should correct myself when i said the camera aperture is at f/5.6 when zoomed in on the GG with my HMC150. i must have been confused with another camera because the HMC has a fixed aperture on the wide and telephoto end. must be lack of sleep.

can anybody give the physical length of the G35? just a question out of curiousity and obviously has no relevance in the decision to go cinemek.

that video of the G35 in water kicks ass by the way. now if only they would make cameras that way too!
 
ANTshooter said:
i must have been confused with another camera because the HMC has a fixed aperture on the wide and telephoto end. must be lack of sleep.
Click to expand...

i would be surprised if the hmc has a constant aperture on the lens, no video lens on a camera that I know of maintains a constant aperture. The f stop may not change on the lens but look at the image as you zoom in if you have the exposure locked, you will see it get a touch darker.
 
philip bloom said:
so although not technically true, in practice it is closer to 1 stop of light loss, equivalent to the SGBlade RR2
Click to expand...

Yeah, but that is without a flip and the SGblade has a flip and still loses less light. I was hoping the adapter would not be so light hungry. I can live with an upside down image but that much light loss in counter productive since I shoot indoors and at night a lot. What a pity.

By the way, would you say that the G35 is on pair with the Letus Extreme in terms of sharpness or is it sharper?
 
the exact thing that causes the G35 to be as light hungry as it is, is exactly what gives it such a beautiful image. that's the trade off.

same thing with the sgpro r3 and the blade with rotorazor2, needs more light, but a nicer image.
 
the heavy diffusion on the old m2 gg was also its magic. can't have it all. first we wanted our video to look like film. We got the film look but did not consider the other limitations when asking the makers to give us low light capabilities.

But on a side note. What's coming out of that canon mark II when used right and conveted to 24p is the answer the indi world has been waiting on, but even this has its workarounds and limitations.
 
philip bloom said:
i would be surprised if the hmc has a constant aperture on the lens, no video lens on a camera that I know of maintains a constant aperture. The f stop may not change on the lens but look at the image as you zoom in if you have the exposure locked, you will see it get a touch darker.
Click to expand...

upon further inspection, i noticed something i didnt notice before. when all the way open, it stays "open" from end to end. but if i open it to f/1.7 on the wide end and zoom in all the way, it drops to f/2.8 on the telephoto end.
 
JHouser said:
I'm going to say this again to put this whole discussion to rest. Buy it. If the structure is too much for you. Drop it in the mail within 7 days of your receiving it and we will refund your money. No questions asked. No adapter maker will offer the same deal. We have nothing to hide.
Click to expand...

Just read Terms&Conds from shop.cinemek.com :

"Return Policy
Merchandise under this Standard Return Policy may be
  • Returned within 14 days of the original receipt date for a refund minus a 20% restocking fee.
  • Within 1 year of the original receipt date for a replacement of the same item, if found to be defective subject to the item warranty.
... All retuned merchandise must be shipped in its original packaging. Return must include a copy of the original invoice as well as the reason for the return. All non-defective merchandise returned within 7 days of original receipt must be returned in new condition with un-marked warrantee cards. If the merchandise is not returned in its unused state then a credit will not be issued and the merchandise will be returned to the customer at their expense..."

Jonathan,

D'You mind to update the Terms&Conds page to reflect your statement above ?

Would you be able to match SGBlade's free shipping offer ? If not, how much do you charge for shipment to Sydney, Australia ?

CX.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top