What's the best adapter for HV20? - Is anyone selling one?

[Jose A. Garcia]

Hi all,

I'm desperate! I have to start shooting early next week, I didn't order my adapter yet and I can't do it until wednesday when the money comes!

Ok, so now I've got two days to decide. I want a full kit with rods and mattebox included if possible (I love the Cinevate mattebox). I can afford a M2 HD bundle, a Letus Extreme (or Mini), a SGpro35 or a Brevis. The Brevis is the only one with the mattebox (the M2 has one too but it would take too long to ship).

The Letus mini (or extreme) looks perfect but it takes between 3 and 4 weeks to ship, so it's not possible. I've mailed them in case they have a canceled order. I don't know about the M2 because it needs a spacer ring for the HV20 and it's known to take long to ship. The Brevis without flip unit plus rods and mattebox ships in 2 days, which is acceptable, but with all the things that can go wrong or delay the delivery I'd need something that could be shipped on wednesday. Does anyone know about the Sgpro? I wouldn't need to pay taxes because I live in Spain and it's made in England, but I don't know. Is it good enough? The footage I've seen doesn't look quite as good as the others.

So that's why I decided to check if some of you were actually selling a complete rig (mattebox included if possible) that could be adapted to a HV20. I need to know what do you include, the price and if it's possible to send it on wednesday (or even thursday but not later). Europeans if possible so I don't have to pay taxes.

Thanks a lot!

[Samuel Hinterlang]

I can sell an M2 all by itself, but you'd need to find everything else for it. Has a Pentax mount on it. No achro or rods or MB, just adaptor.

Would you need to pay tax if we called it a "gift"? My wife sends stuff to her parents in Japan and visa versa all the time with no problems that way.

[Jose A. Garcia]

Thank you very much Samuel, but Thomas Richter has offered me his SGPro in case I didn't find an adapter that could be in Spain before next week and I said yes. Thanks a lot anyway.

And thank you very much Thomas.

[Dennis Wood]

Jose, we're still shipping everything pretty much next day via fedex express. If you're in the US, that means 2 business days to your door..add a few if you're anywhere else worldwide.

Cheers,

[Jose A. Garcia]

Hi Dennis,

An honour to meet you. I know you're shipping fast. I know it now that I ordered a mattebox and it was shipped the next day. Now I wish I would have ordered the whole pack (brevis+rods+mattebox+mounts) because the mattebox is suposed to be here (in Spain) on Friday. Right on time. The Brevis was also my first option, but now it would be twice the shipping price, twice the taxes and one day after, so it wouldn't be here on time because of the weekend.

I still need an adaptor. The one from Thomas is just temporary. If I tell you the truth I'm trying to decide between the Brevis and the Letus Mini. Both kits are about the same price and each one has its pros and cons. Don't know which one to choose.

[Jose A. Garcia]

Ok, I've heard strange things about the Letus+HV20. Too many people talking about vignetting. The Brevis is also upgradeable and it works with other cams as well.

Final setup:

- Cinevate Mattebox (already shipped)
- My set of 3 Canon FD lenses (also an EOS zoom)
- FD and EOS mount
- Brevis
- 43-72mm ring
- HV20 (already at home)
- Rode VideoMic
- indiRAILSpro XVsm (looking really good and with shoulder mount included!)

So what do you think? IMHO it's going to look awesome (and pro enough).

Dennis, I'll place my order for the rest (brevis, mounts and ring) tomorrow morning (Spain time GMT+1). Is it possible that it gets shipped the same day? If not, please as soon as possible.

Thanks a lot!

[Jose A. Garcia]

Ok... I could do it before I thought. The order is already placed Dennis. Brevis non-flipped with CF1 Cinefuse and EOS mount, extra FD mount and 43-72 ring. Please, ship it as soon as possible.

Thanks a lot!

[Thomas Richter]

Jose, seems you are head over heels in business.

Hope your film will have the same momentum :-)

I know its so much stress - but feels sooooo great at the same time.

If you are talking about the three FDs I am lending you, you may keep them longer than the SGPro if required. So you can use them with the Brevis, when it arrives.

Will be excited to see the outcomes,

Thomas

[Jose A. Garcia]

Hi Thomas,

Thanks for everything. Really. I wouldn't be able to do this without your help. I hope you don't mind being in the final credits :-). About the FD lenses, I was talking about 3 I already have. They were part of my project to build a DIY HD camera last year and they happen to have all different lenghts. Yours are 24mm F2.8, 35mm F2 and 85mm F1.8 and mine are 28mm F2.8, 50mm F1.8 and 100mm F2.8.

Well... Now I just have to wait till everything's here and start shooting. Pre-production is always hard. Now we're going for the fun part.

[Thomas Richter]

Jose,

glad to hear that our prime sets complement each other so spledidly. Although, I'd say I have got the more exotic compilation ;-)

Everything is sent, please drop me a mail as soon as it arrives.

If you promise to keep everything in good state of repair, you may use my equipment for the next three months, I don't have any 35mm project comming up.

All the best - and I would be really flattered to be in the credits,

Thomas

PS: If this 2/3" sensor "DOF game" (Scarlet, Sumix) turns into nothing, I will have to get back to the adapter market. Will be interesting to see results if you end up using a Brevis.

[Jose A. Garcia]

I agree... Your collection is more exotic than mine.

Don't worry, I'll take care of everything, and thanks again for your help.

I'll post scenes from the docu as soon as I can.

[Dennis Wood]

We've been ramping up for two years adding staff and equipment to ensure that order lead times remain at 2-3 business days to your door. The HV20 with our flip and CINEFUSE1 is a very popular combination these days. If your friends bug you about your choice, tell them you've got the only microprocessor managed lens adapter with onboard firmware in the world :-)

I'm also happy to say that after being blasted by a few customers, we're now sending a colour illustrated paper manual to supplement the online manual and online Cinevate Video University series.

Jose, thanks for your support :-)

[Jose A. Garcia]

Hi Dennis,

I know the Brevis is a great adapter. The footage I've seen looks fantastic. I was considering the Letus mini just for the size and the fact that it was built with the HV20 and other small cameras in mind. Also becuse of the built-in flip, but the truth is the Brevis is a better option, at least for me. And don't worry. My group of friends who know something about video and film also know the Brevis is one of the best adapters out there.

[Jose A. Garcia]

So, the Cinevate mattebox and the Rode videomic are here!

The mic looks great. I didn't buy a battery yet, so I can't make any tests. I'll buy a couple this afternoon.

And Dennis, the mattebox looks fantastic, very well built, solid and has everything I need. Thanks a lot!

Let's see if the rest of the equipment gets here on time...

[Jose A. Garcia]

My Brevis is here! Just arrived. One day before expected!

Tried it. Loving it.

Don't know about the other adapters but I'm amazed that's SO easy to setup. I was shooting in less than five minutes. In fact my HV20 actually autofocused on the ground glass and I just had to lock manual focus and adjust a tiny bit once I plugged the camera to an HD monitor. The image is great and the adapter looks very well built. Everything fits perfectly. Also I did the HV20 flip hack yesterday, so I can see a correct image while shooting.

Problems so far: mainly focusing. I need a high resolution monitor to get tack sharp focus. I guess I can always use Focus Assist while shooting, but it will be hard to use in this project. I hope everything turns out ok, because I'm suposed to start shooting tomorrow. That is if the indiRails get here on time!