New EX1 short with Letus Extreme “South Bank”

[Philip Bloom]

that’s a lot of questions!

Can I assume that the field of view using 35mm lenses with 35mm adapters is similar to my experience with 35mm still photography with some loss for fiddling the adapter to the video camera, i.e., would I get an essentially 28mm field of view with say a 24mm still lens?

Not really, it’s almost a bit wider on the Letus, the ground glasss is actually larger than a standard 35mm frame

There is some light loss in the 35mm adapter. I think Letus claims about 1/2 f-stop. Is the Letus device as good or better in this respect than other adapters? And assuming you have a fast (f2 or better) 35mm still lens in front of the adapter is there some additional light loss from the whole process and can you quantify it? If so, what factors come into play? It must be extremely fortuitous that the EX1 does such a good job at lower light levels, making it possible to use the 35mm adapter in situations that other camcorders couldn’t handle.

it’s best I have come across when it comes to light loss. The first Letus I had lost almost 3 stops, in fact the big boys like the mini 35 and movietube lose close to that. Most of my lenses are faster that f2, my key ones are f1.4. No other light less than the 1/2 stop of the letus and the f stop of the lens

You mentioned some place on your website that Nikor lenses don’t quite cut it. Since I have a couple of good ones, how much don’t they cut it and in what respect? Not sharp enough, not good edge sharpness or what?

I have many Nikor lenses and they are great, don’t know where you read that. I have a 28mm, 35mm, 105mm, 180mm and a nice 70-200mm zoom which are all suberb!

How much fiddling to reset the adapter for near optimum results is involved when switching lenses?

next to none, the letus is a jot to use, so simple!

[Ron Shook]

Philip,

[Philip Bloom] “that’s a lot of questions!”

Yeah, but it gave you a chance to display your unprecedented expertise and quell my every fear. (g)

[Philip Bloom] “I have many Nikor lenses and they are great, don’t know where you read that. I have a 28mm, 35mm, 105mm, 180mm and a nice 70-200mm zoom which are all suberb!”

I thought you said it when discussing follow focus concerns in a comparison between the Nikors and your Nikon mount Leitz lenses. Perhaps I misunderstood and the comparison was about fiddly follow focus on the Nikors which have less focus barrel rotation than the Leitz lenses?

Thanks profusely for answering all of my lot of questions with such reassuring and I must assume factual answers. A+

Ron Shook
Shoulder-High Eye Productions
CreativeCOW Forum Host for Discreet edit*

[Rick Sullivan]

I too, am most impressed with the pictures I’ve seen of Phillip’s work. I want to purchase the equipment that will help me have the “potential” to capture the same type of shots. I have a Sony PMW-EX1 and no 35mm lenses yet. I’m guessing I’ll use the Letus 35 Extreme for interviews for sure, but I worry that it’ll be too much hassle to use for general shooting (I’m mostly involved with marketing films http://www.beach2battleship.com) and “light production” travel stories for PBS in North Carolina.

If I use it for interviews only; should I go with 85mm? If I understand correctly, the EX1 will merely macro focus on the glass inside of the adaptor and so the zoom lens capability of the camera is meaningless in regards to the image that will be photographed through the adaptor and the 35mm attached lens . Correct? So does it make any sense to get a zoom lens? I see the RedRock Micro M2 boasts that it has a superior method of affecting the DOF. Any thoughts on that?

Thank you very much for taking this time to help.

Rick Sullivan
http://www.ricksullivanmedia.com