Canon and Nikon Lenses For Letus35 at DVinfo.net

Spiro Kalogeropoulos · January 14th, 2008, 07:22 PM

Like most, I've narrowed down my selection bewteen either the Canon or Nikon manual lenses for the Letus 35. I noticed that the Canon is listed as "Canon FD Mount" for the manual lenses (I believe both the old and the new FD mounts should work, as well as Canon FL lenses?). Let me know if there are any other Canon lenses that would work on this mount.

The drop-down box for the Nikon simply says that it needs to be "Nikon -Locking Mount Lens", but I'm not sure how to look up cameras like this when searching on eBay. Do the applicable Nikon lenses have some kind of designator on them to show that they will fit on the Nikon adapter of the Letus? I noticed on one of the pages on the Letus site that it showed "Nikon AI Mount" as being accepted. Are these the only types of Nikon lenses I should be looking for on eBay? Or will all Nikon lenses fit the adapter as long as they are "Locking Mount"? If so, which Nikon lenses are locking mount?

Also, If I'm not mistaken, it looks like the Canon and Nikon lenses are both rated very close with repsect to image quaility. Let me know what your preferences are and why. I have seen that the Canon FD lenses are plentiful and relatively inexpensive. Also, what size lenses are currently in your collection. I do know I need to look for lenses with at least an f-stop of 2.0 or lower due to the inherent light loss with the Letus.

Any help/advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

Ray Bell · January 14th, 2008, 08:35 PM

If you want the best bet, go with the Zeiss lenses.... they are manual in operation and fit this type of shooting better than the canon or nikons...

they also hold their value much better if you need to trade out focal lengths...

plus, they have better image captures........

Bob Hart · January 14th, 2008, 08:58 PM

Ray.

Could you expand on Zeiss? Are these the Nikon mounted Zeiss lenses?

Dennis Murphy · January 26th, 2008, 08:45 PM

I just purchased an FD S.S.C. f2.8 300mm. Took it for a test run today at the local surf beach.
It came with a 2 x extender. I'm very happy with the results, but I will need to get a mounting support for it.

David W. Jones · January 26th, 2008, 10:42 PM

While both Nikon and Canon make great lenses, be aware that there are a good number of Nikon and Canon lenses that are a poor choice when it comes to use with a 35mm DOF adapter.
Also be aware that your choices are far from being limited to just Nikon or Canon FD mount.
As Ray pointed out, Zeiss makes some outstanding glass.
As well as owning Nikon, Canon FD, Canon EOS, Pentax and others,
my main choice for work are Zeiss Contax lenses.
Purchased used, they are less expensive than the new Zeiss ZF lenses.
They also focus in the same direction as cine lenses, while the ZF lenses focus backwards like all Nikon lenses do. They come with a Contax-Yashica, or C/Y mount, but slap on a C/Y to Canon EOS mount and you can use them with any camera that has an EOS lens mount.
They are a great choice for lower budget projects that don't require renting Zeiss Super Speed PL mount lenses.

Toenis Liivamaegi · January 28th, 2008, 01:44 PM

One of the best lenses I´ve had is the Kino Precision Kiron 28mm f2 for Nikon mount. This lens focuses also at the same direction as real cine lens and is sharp wide open and absolutely sharp @ 2.8 with DOF adptors. Realy good DOF for hand held work.

Cheers,
T

Min Lee · January 29th, 2008, 12:22 AM

David,
Mind if I ask where you got the gears for your lenses? Hope I'm not hijacking the thread. Thanks!

David W. Jones · January 29th, 2008, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Min Lee

David,
Mind if I ask where you got the gears for your lenses? Hope I'm not hijacking the thread. Thanks!

Stuart at Focus Optics.

January 14th, 2008, 07:22 PM	#1
Spiro Kalogeropoulos Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 36	Canon and Nikon Lenses For Letus35 Like most, I've narrowed down my selection bewteen either the Canon or Nikon manual lenses for the Letus 35. I noticed that the Canon is listed as "Canon FD Mount" for the manual lenses (I believe both the old and the new FD mounts should work, as well as Canon FL lenses?). Let me know if there are any other Canon lenses that would work on this mount. The drop-down box for the Nikon simply says that it needs to be "Nikon -Locking Mount Lens", but I'm not sure how to look up cameras like this when searching on eBay. Do the applicable Nikon lenses have some kind of designator on them to show that they will fit on the Nikon adapter of the Letus? I noticed on one of the pages on the Letus site that it showed "Nikon AI Mount" as being accepted. Are these the only types of Nikon lenses I should be looking for on eBay? Or will all Nikon lenses fit the adapter as long as they are "Locking Mount"? If so, which Nikon lenses are locking mount? Also, If I'm not mistaken, it looks like the Canon and Nikon lenses are both rated very close with repsect to image quaility. Let me know what your preferences are and why. I have seen that the Canon FD lenses are plentiful and relatively inexpensive. Also, what size lenses are currently in your collection. I do know I need to look for lenses with at least an f-stop of 2.0 or lower due to the inherent light loss with the Letus. Any help/advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

January 26th, 2008, 08:45 PM	#4
Dennis Murphy Major Player Join Date: May 2006 Location: Whangarei, New Zealand Posts: 396	I just purchased an FD S.S.C. f2.8 300mm. Took it for a test run today at the local surf beach. It came with a 2 x extender. I'm very happy with the results, but I will need to get a mounting support for it. Attached Thumbnails

January 26th, 2008, 10:42 PM	#5
David W. Jones Trustee Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Little Rock Posts: 1,383	While both Nikon and Canon make great lenses, be aware that there are a good number of Nikon and Canon lenses that are a poor choice when it comes to use with a 35mm DOF adapter. Also be aware that your choices are far from being limited to just Nikon or Canon FD mount. As Ray pointed out, Zeiss makes some outstanding glass. As well as owning Nikon, Canon FD, Canon EOS, Pentax and others, my main choice for work are Zeiss Contax lenses. Purchased used, they are less expensive than the new Zeiss ZF lenses. They also focus in the same direction as cine lenses, while the ZF lenses focus backwards like all Nikon lenses do. They come with a Contax-Yashica, or C/Y mount, but slap on a C/Y to Canon EOS mount and you can use them with any camera that has an EOS lens mount. They are a great choice for lower budget projects that don't require renting Zeiss Super Speed PL mount lenses. Attached Thumbnails

January 14th, 2008, 08:35 PM	#2
Ray Bell Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,414	If you want the best bet, go with the Zeiss lenses.... they are manual in operation and fit this type of shooting better than the canon or nikons... they also hold their value much better if you need to trade out focal lengths... plus, they have better image captures........

January 14th, 2008, 08:58 PM	#3
Bob Hart Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PERTH. W.A. AUSTRALIA. Posts: 4,477	Ray. Could you expand on Zeiss? Are these the Nikon mounted Zeiss lenses?

January 28th, 2008, 01:44 PM	#6
Toenis Liivamaegi Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Tartu, Estonia Posts: 579	One of the best lenses I´ve had is the Kino Precision Kiron 28mm f2 for Nikon mount. This lens focuses also at the same direction as real cine lens and is sharp wide open and absolutely sharp @ 2.8 with DOF adptors. Realy good DOF for hand held work. Cheers, T

January 29th, 2008, 12:22 AM	#7
Min Lee Major Player Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 200	David, Mind if I ask where you got the gears for your lenses? Hope I'm not hijacking the thread. Thanks!