Sony EX1 Optimization Kit Now Available

Lenilenapi said:
I think a number of us were misled by things that we read on the forum and I guess it means you have to take everything you read with a grain of salt. It would be nice if the statements people make here would be a little more circumspect.

I think Barry and quite a few others made a number of claims about the Letus when it first came out - it was the fastest , the only one to have corner to corner sharpness - but they didn't actually have its competitors around for comparison, and many of the claims turned out to be hyperbole. That's not to knock the Letus which is a great unit and raised the bar on the flip enormously but the claims made for it were off the map.

I think it was actually Philip Bloom who first said the Letus and the Ex-1 were perfect marches and I for one bought my Ex-1 based on that. I already had a Letus. Shame on me as i should have tested it myself first, but I don't regret it. Later Philip backed off his original statement but until a day ago you could stiil read all kinds of claims made for this or that adapter with the Ex. They never mention that you needed f8 to get that corner to corner sharpness. Both Cinevate and Letus have tended to spin their own merits but perhaps we should expect that from manufacturers. I trust that this new Letus achromat will do the job, but shots of a sharp dollar bill don't make it as a serious test in my mind and I'll be agnostic until I see it put through its paces properly. (Tests I would be happy to do Hienle!)


The Sony Ex has put a strain on all of these guys and perhaps Letus the most because they have a sealed system. When Brevis comes out with a fix ( which I expect they will soon enough) it will be easier for it to adapt to existing units because its all modular already. It seems like Letus has now come up with a new version of their adapter that also is modular - i.e. changeable achromats and they probably now realize that's a better design. They are also building in offset adjustments that may or may not be part of the new unit, but you can bet are coming soon.

Meanwhile Letus probably has a financial issue to deal with that you have to sympathise with. Most of us have units we bought in good faith assuming that it would be adaptable to different cameras and specifically the Sony EX. It will probably not be cheap for them to exchange all those units instead of just selling a new achromat. Plus you have a similar issue with the SGPro flip.

I for one dearly hope they are willing to make that exchange because the original Letus will pretty much lose all of its value on the market as soon as the modular one is available, and many of us are moving to the Ex or plan to stay with both cameras for awhile. I don't like the ideas of spending another $1200 for the Ex alone. It sure would be good marketing and good will on their part, but it won't be cheap.

Lenny Levy
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The Letus design isn't new, I think. My EX was one of the first units out of the gate and it has an achromat that can be pulled out. Extremes can be changed, the others can't but I'll double check.
 
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Kholi is correct. The achromat is modular on the majority of Extremes out there. Only a few of the very VERY early ones are not.
 
Thus, there is no financial situation for Letus. Another statement to be taken with a grain of salt?

But, we'll all be happy to get the standardized Lenny Resolution Charts when/if you buy your EX-1 upgrade. Then again, you sound like you're happy with your Brevis Flip.
 
DeGrey said:
Kholi is correct. The achromat is modular on the majority of Extremes out there. Only a few of the very VERY early ones are not.
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Well I stand corrected. That's great news. Now to find out if mine is modular. How should it work. I took off the 3 allen screws on the side that faces the camera and removed the ring around the achromat that mates to the video camera. Unfortunately the achromat behind it doesn't seem like it is removeable. Should it screw off? It doesn't seem to. Does that mean mine is one of the very early ones? If so can i get a replacement model that is modular.
 
Kholi said:
Thus, there is no financial situation for Letus. Another statement to be taken with a grain of salt?
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Kholi - yes you're right it is to be taken with a grain of salt - it was wrong - fortunately for everyone.

Kholi said:
But, we'll all be happy to get the standardized Lenny Resolution Charts when/if you buy your EX-1 upgrade.
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Re "standarized Lenny charts" - give me a break man, there's no need to be snide. The charts I'm using are available to anyone with the energy to do a 2 minute search on the web. I'm just sending them out to people as a service and plenty have been asking me. My only goal here has been to get some professional standards for statements that are made about this equipment. A lot of misunderstandings would have been eliminated if people bothered to use these.

i do apologise for not posting stuff though and ubnderstand people would be dubious of my claims until they see the images as well - its just not my strong point - hopefully soon - I just figured out how to make my frame grabs. - Suggestions for where to post the images? and how large the files should be ?

Kholi said:
Then again, you sound like you're happy with your Brevis Flip.
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Why put words in my mouth. As a matter of fact I am a Letus Extreme User, and an early adopter apparently and will get the new achromat. I use all three as well as the Pro 35 when appropriate. I have never said i was happy with the Brevis on the Ex. It also needs a fix. They all needed to be at f8 for corner sharpness, barely tolerable @ f5.6

I am overjoyed that this achromat is now available as I lost a week long rental for my Letus last week because it wasn't. Hope I can trade in my adapter though. What about guys like me DeGrey?

Lenny Levy
 
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Without guys like you fightin' for the quality we would still be lookin' at softer edges. Thanks.

One thing for sure, Letus is on top of it. Can't WAIT to get mines back on V-Day.
 
While people are raving about the Letus Extreme's edege to edge quality (I purchased mine, not regreting at all), I was the first one (I believed) that posted this thread regarding the problem of not edge to edge claimed.

I really hope Letus would do a trade-in for this kind of problems. It's like buying a FireStone tire to use on my truck and later on found out that there are reports that for some reason the tire shreds when driving at 65MPH, and FireStone knows about this so they have a fix for it. But to fix the tire, I have to purchase a whole new tire or a kit that cost as much as a whole new tire.

I'm not sure if paying half the $350 price tag is even consider fair in this scenero.

And yes, I'm not sure if I want to call it an "optimization kit". It does not optimized. It fixes an existing problem where there shouldn't be.
 
myCharlie said:
I was the first one (I believed) that posted this thread regarding the problem of not edge to edge claimed.
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Wasnt that problem about vignetting and not sharpness?

But anyways it is pretty unfortunate that these things happen. I was a bit hasty ordering all this since at that time there were no user comments on either EX1 or how it works with LEX.

Sami
 
Yes, at the time I called it vignetting but look at those still grabs I posted on that thread. The edges are much softer than the center.

But you're right, I puchased my in a bit hasty too before there were any major test on the EX1 camera.
 
myCharlie said:
I'm not sure if I want to call it an "optimization kit". It does not optimized. It fixes an existing problem where there shouldn't be.
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As I understand it, various cameras have their own model-specific edge sharpness and image centering quirks that will need to be addressed individually. So in addition to the new EX-1 "fix" version there will evidently be an HVX200-fix, a JVC HD100-fix and so on. Thus, these really are "optimizations" forced by real differences in the cameras themselves, none of which were designed with any kind of 35mm adapter "standards" in mind.

In all the test footage I've seen, only the Canon XHA1 looks pretty much spot-on with the standard LEX right out of the box. That would appear to be an indication that either the LEX was developed on it, or that it happened by chance. My guess is the former...

If an HVX optimization kit costs me another $200 after the price of my soon-to-arrive LEX (and the exchange of the stock, generic achromat) and it makes all the (presumed) issues go away, I will be completely satisfied.
 
I've been talking to Hien and he has informed of 2 things that made me feel much better.

1. The new achromat will work both on an HVX and a Sony EX so one needn't switch between cameras. i didn't ask about others but I presume at least will also work.

2. It will also work on units that don't have screw out achromats. A little more trouble to replace but no big deal at all.

- Lenny
 
Wait...so the EX-1 kit will fully fix the HVX too? No further HVX-specific optimization necessary? This will be great news, what with my own LEX due to arrive tomorrow, which I'm assuming will not include the "fix-kit". I guess I'll have to wait until I open the box to be sure. Either way, if all I'll need to fully solve the HVX/LEX's centering/edge focus issues is already available, I'm going to be a very happy camper.
 
Ted Spencer said:
Wait...so the EX-1 kit will fully fix the HVX too? No further HVX-specific optimization necessary? This will be great news, what with my own LEX due to arrive tomorrow, which I'm assuming will not include the "fix-kit". I guess I'll have to wait until I open the box to be sure. Either way, if all I'll need to fully solve the HVX/LEX's centering/edge focus issues is already available, I'm going to be a very happy camper.
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No, it won't. It will work with the HVX.

Then again, who knows? We'll see when someone tries it.

myCharlie-- You can't expect to get it for free. The Letus is not at fault, the camera is.
 
Kholi said:
The Letus is not at fault, the camera is.
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the thing is that its really not anyones fault. If Sony were to advertise that you can use Sony EX1 with 3rd party adapters then it would be Sony's fault. If Letus advertises that you can use their adapter with EX1 with no problems then it is their fault. But neither mention anything about compatibility in the product details.

I did ask on the Letus forum before my purchase: "-Is it safe to assume that Letus35 Extreme will work with Sony PMW-EX1 or would it be safer to wait until someone has tested this?" Letus replied: "There is no reason it wouldn't work. We have many users who have the EX1 on the way who plan on using the Extreme with it." But im ok with it, I understand they cant test every camera pre release. I ordered the EX1 kit and Im just gonna shoot some amazing stuff. After Im looking at that material I am sure it will feel worth the money and time!

I do wish there were detailed specs about compatible good lenses and cameras with each adapter. Would save the trouble of surfing forums and make buying items much more safer.

Sami
 
Kholi said:
No, it won't. It will work with the HVX.
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So the HVX fixer is a diffrerent product from the EX-1 fixer? That is what I was perviously led to believe, but when you said:

1. The new achromat will work both on an HVX and a Sony EX so one needn't switch between cameras.
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I thought it implied that the EX-1's fixer kit would also work on the HVX. Perhaps you could re-explain in a way that rectifies the seeming contradiction.

Thanks!
 
Oh, I didn't say that. Lenny did. =P I think, though, he means that it will work with both cameras, just like the other achromat works with all cameras.

Just optimized for the EX-1.
 
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