New Toy Test (Letus Extreme)

Hi all,
I put my new toy to use. A Letus Extreme 35mm adapter. Iv been building this system up for a month or so, acquiring bits and pieces here and there.. Rail \ shoulder rig, 7" monitor etc..

Here is some mostly hand held test footage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7fLIuiN8gmI&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7fLIuiN8gmI&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

most shot with canon 50mm 1.8

The swing\tree shot used a 80 \ 200 zoom lens I picked up at a pawn shop for $15.
Around :25 you can see me ratchet down the fstops on the 50mm lens.

The shot of my daughter had post exposure added.. so some grain is from that..


So far, I can focus with the monitor, I can clearly see that Im OUT OF FOCUS, turning the lens is hard part.. lol.

I need to make and adjustment to the Letus to fix the back focus (focus measurements are off, infinity focus is too "soon")

Opening up the DOF, by stopping down the lens is difficult, particularly with a vibrating adapter as once I go past f5.6 I can see the grain in the ground glass focus screen.. so for deep DOF, the Letus will have to come off :( (I guess spinners dont have this problem)

In my other testing, I really see what people mean when they say each lens has a sweet spot. For the lenses I have, that sweet spot is NOT at the wide open aperture, so the need for faster lenses is even greater (also being able to stop down to increase the DOF is a good thing, trying to stay in that "RAZOR THIN" focal plane is tough!


I have lots of learning to do..
 
I think so! Cant really take credit though..

and hand held too! I suppose now that my rig weighs an additional 5 freaking pounds (man that letus is heavy) stability comes as a "bonus feature!"
 
gear photos (screen caps from flip) as promised

Gear Shown:
camera: Canon HFS100
35mm Adapter: Letus Extreme
LCD Screen: Lilliput 7" HDMI
Rod\shoulder mount: Indisystems
Tripod: QuickSet
Mic Preamp: Beachtek DXA10
Headphone Amp\metering: Beachtek
Lens: 200mm GOYO from pawn shop ($5)

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Points of interest:
The support holding the Letus is some variation of a large hose clamp and a piece of thick rubber hose, I was going to retrofit this to just screw right on to the letus, but after using it like this I quite like it. I can tilt the camera up, just enough to replace batteries, memory cards, etc without disconnecting the camera from the letus (a somewhat involved process)

You may have noticed a lack of an external microphone.. (Im working on fabricating that mount this week)
 

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I thought I was a badass walking round with a Panasonic DVX but nope.

Thanks DL for the link I'll watch it now...

*

I like it, especialy the first 4-5 shots. Decent atmosphere, definitely film quality.
 
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I have no idea! Im trying to figure out a case system for it. Id like to leave it "whole" and transport it that way. I say a hard plastic golf club case last week at goodwill, might be a good fit..
 
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