Sony EX1 Optimization Kit Now Available

Jacob Nielsen

Jacob Nielsen

Active member
I think I'm ordering the EX1 and the Letus Extreme...

I had to wait until I was somehow sure, if there would be a fix for the edge-to-edge issues. This was the ONLY concern buying the EX1 - it means a lot to mee to use a 35mm adapter. In my opinion the sharpest LEX footage I've seen was done by Steven Dempsey with the XH A1 - but I wanted the EX1 to perform equally well - so this sounds like good news for me!

For all you concerned owners of the EX1/Letus Extreme combo... it seems there is a solution now - a special EX1 dedicated achromat. Looking forward to seeing some grabs!

http://www.letusdirect.com/news/

Best, Jacob.
 
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This couldn't have been timed better. I am still waiting for my LEX order to be processed so now this has come out I get to save $150 as an upgrade, and also about $50 on fedex postage!

Been waiting nearly one month for the LEX so hopefully I will be one of the first to receive the new setup.
 
I really really hope they offer this to existing owners of LEX at the discounted price as well. Would feel pretty unfair if they didnt.

sami
 
I'm really not as happy as I should be about this. Before I ordered my Extreme they said the edge to edge sharpness with the EX1 is "perfectly acceptable" and then a week after I receive my order they are making me pay another $350 to optimize my kit. It's obviously not perfectly acceptable and I hope the guys at Letus have an achromat trade-in offer for those of who ordered the adapter with 77mm threads for the EX1.
 
wartez said:
I'm really not as happy as I should be about this. Before I ordered my Extreme they said the edge to edge sharpness with the EX1 is "perfectly acceptable" and then a week after I receive my order they are making me pay another $350 to optimize my kit. It's obviously not perfectly acceptable and I hope the guys at Letus have an achromat trade-in offer for those of who ordered the adapter with 77mm threads for the EX1.
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You have the option of returning your LEX within 14 days of receiving it. I will be receiving mine on Thursday, and will be carefully considering that option myself if the much-discussed HVX200 image centering and e-to-e problems are in evidence on it with the brand-new Carl Zeiss 50mm 1.4 I plan to fit it with.

If the upgrade path to an "HVX-Fixer" on a new unit is $200 I'd expect it to be offered to me at that price when it becomes available. I'm sure a great many new owners feel the same way.
 
wartez said:
I'm really not as happy as I should be about this. Before I ordered my Extreme they said the edge to edge sharpness with the EX1 is "perfectly acceptable" and then a week after I receive my order they are making me pay another $350 to optimize my kit. It's obviously not perfectly acceptable and I hope the guys at Letus have an achromat trade-in offer for those of who ordered the adapter with 77mm threads for the EX1.
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They are not making you do anything. You were obviously happy enough to buy the LEX in the first place to use with your EX so what's the problem.

It's like saying, "I bought my 100-A but they just released the 100-B! I should get a discount on a trade in!"
 
you can get pretty good edge to edge, as shown in my dungeness short by stopping down the camera. This add on will let you work wide open on both the camera and lens
 
Phillip's footage for me has been the darling of EX1 LEX marriage. E to E is more than acceptable in his footage.

Its just an upgrade. Hats off to Letus once again.
 
The problem with the EX-1 is NOT the fault of ANY adapter manufacturer.

And, as it was said, Letus was gonna fix the problem soon. :D Rejoice.
 
How are people getting on with the brevis flip and ex1? Its been quiet on that front and would love to use my cf2.

My first LEX (got two) doesn't have removable achromat, fortunately it's just got back to Hien to be repaired anyway so he can update it for me too!
 
William_Robinette said:
They are not making you do anything. You were obviously happy enough to buy the LEX in the first place to use with your EX so what's the problem.

It's like saying, "I bought my 100-A but they just released the 100-B! I should get a discount on a trade in!"
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Thank you.

Or, you just bout an HVX200 and missed out on the 16 or 8gb deal. Come on, now. You think Panasonic is gonna hear that?

Phillip -- must be a dream having TWO Letus Extremes. ;__; I need to get another one but I'm waitin' myself.

Dennis Wood said that people are getting along rather well with the BRevis EX-1 combo but I have yet to see any footage aside from yours. And, from your comparison, Letus already had the leg up to begin with.

Can't WAIT to see some true edge-to-edge from the EX-1 + Letus now.
 
William_Robinette said:
They are not making you do anything. You were obviously happy enough to buy the LEX in the first place to use with your EX so what's the problem.

It's like saying, "I bought my 100-A but they just released the 100-B! I should get a discount on a trade in!"
Click to expand...

I was happy with their guaranteed edge to edge sharpness claim. I bought the Extreme under the pretense that it was "perfectly acceptable" for use with the EX1. Phil's footage looks great and so does a lot of the stuff I've shot so far but on wider shots especially it's clear there is not sharpness from edge to edge. I think Phil does a better job than most at minimizing and hiding it (shift tilt/magic bullet vignettes) but it's not perfectly acceptable by any means. Your comparison of the DVX is way off...there's a major difference between upgrading a camera and making a product function as advertised and at a professional level.

I guess what I'm really hoping for is an option for those of us that ordered in the past few weeks a Letus Extreme with 77mm threads to swap our existing achromats for the EX1 achromat and pay the $199 as opposed to $350!!!! I don't think most of us that bought the Extreme for our EX1 will have use for a 2nd achromat...
 
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Aaron isn't THE Letus group. He's like Zacuto and BH, only qualified to give his opinion (which are all agreeable), but in the end it's his opinion as a second hand vendor.

If the Letus Corp didn't say this directly, you can't hold that to them. In the end, it's an opinion based on what you've seen. If you saw Phillip Bloom's images you should be well aware of what's going on with the EX-1 + Adapter situation.

Not gettin' on your back, sorry if it seems like I am. I don't agree with the company being at fault for decisions made by users when there's plenty of info and video out there to form your own opinion.
 
I'm pretty sure I have an e-mail or had a phone conversation with Hien saying the same thing. Aaron wouldn't have told me this if the Letus crew didn't agree.

I can't base a major purchase like this off 2 videos I saw from one individual user. I'm going to take the word of the company that sells the product. Maybe I'm crazy, but it doesn't seem like I'm asking for anything too ridiculous here...
 
To be fair to Wartez, Barry Green has said on several occassions on here that the Letus is the one adaptor to give edge to edge. I took his word for it and ordered one. Only afterwards did I start to read about the problems.

Luckily I find myself in the enviable position of not having received it yet and the new achromat for the EX1 will come with it. If I had purchased the EX1 a week earlier, it wuld be with me now and I would be gutted and slightly peeved that I would need to find anothe $350 just to get the image I expected in the very first place.
 
Don't get me wrong, I love my Letus Extreme and the pictures I've shot with it so far (my lovefest entry is ex1 and lex and I find it to be some of the best stuff I've shot, just wish the edges were sharper on some of my wider shots). Aaron and Hien have been nothing but kind and resourceful, putting up with my shenanigans and pestering. I had a cracked front element and they replaced it right away. I'm hoping they can help me out with my back focus issue too in the near future (does anybody's infinity focus not match up with the lens on their lex?). But I'd be most happy if I could trade in my current achromat for the EX1 instead of having the old one sit and collect dust! I feel bad to have to say these things but at the same time I think it is always a good thing to keep people honest.
 
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