Shoot 35 SGBlade First Review

[Henry Olonga]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil Bloom
The Ultimate is definitely superior Henry.

Is it a mile or an inch?

In what way is the Ultimate definitely superior.Is it just sharper?Does it let in more light?
I am not focussing on build quality or ease of use such as back focus adjustment etc .Just resolution.Possible to do a test shoot side by side in good light - I wouldn't imagine there are to many people who own both so this would be appreciated.I know one of the early beta testers did a shootout but it was in a dark room.

Following on it would be interesting to know what the main difference is with regards to resolution.I assume that if they lose the same amount of light then the only difference really would be the spinning disk.I spoke to Wayne about this and he mentioned that they are working on releasing a third Rotor razor in the future that is the most light efficient of the lot.
If this were to be sharper then there really would be nothing between them right?

By the way Wayne was actually kind enough to send me some disks to experiment with and I can say that I have been able to get the disks to let a lot more light through ;and I mean a lot and still maintain diffusion.( I have diamond powder and grit by the way) Only problem is it was uneven and I got a strobing effect.Still working at it and if and when I nail it I will post footage.It was a little sharper so there is definitely something in the spinning element being optimised to be more light efficient.

If the aforementioned disc materialises and indeed is sharper and places the SGblade on par with the Ultimate - I cannot see how many would still wish to pay many times the price of a blade for a Letus.Personal opinion of course but the proof of the pudding is .............. so would you be so kind to do a mini shootout?
Take care.
Henry

[Sherif Choudhry]

I thought Phil Bloom's shoots using the SGblade were excellent.

I went on to the sgpro website and was astonished to see it say "from £599" which is £400 or so cheaper than the Letus extreme.

However when I built my kit on sgpro site the price came to £997 for:

"SGblade (with ROTOrazor 1, Flip Module & Achromat, 15mm Rods Support & Blade Bracket, Nikon F Mount, 62-72 Step Up Ring)"

So it's in direct price competition with the Letus Extreme.

From what I have seen of the images I would be happy with either Extreme or SGBlade (majority of my clients really wont notice any differences in edge-to-edge sharpness or CA, but they will love the bokeh).

So given that Phil's review of the SGblade didnt mention any build quality or adjustment issues (getting backfocus right seems a bit easier on SGblade compared to extreme), it seems that I woudl be better off buying from SGPro as they are UK based and so support would be easier to obtain.

Does my logic make sense?

Any comments appreciated, thanks.

[Phil Bloom]

Originally Posted by Sherif Choudhry

I thought Phil Bloom's shoots using the SGblade were excellent.

I went on to the sgpro website and was astonished to see it say "from £599" which is £400 or so cheaper than the Letus extreme.

However when I built my kit on sgpro site the price came to £997 for:

"SGblade (with ROTOrazor 1, Flip Module & Achromat, 15mm Rods Support & Blade Bracket, Nikon F Mount, 62-72 Step Up Ring)"

So it's in direct price competition with the Letus Extreme.

From what I have seen of the images I would be happy with either Extreme or SGBlade (majority of my clients really wont notice any differences in edge-to-edge sharpness or CA, but they will love the bokeh).

So given that Phil's review of the SGblade didnt mention any build quality or adjustment issues (getting backfocus right seems a bit easier on SGblade compared to extreme), it seems that I woudl be better off buying from SGPro as they are UK based and so support would be easier to obtain.

Does my logic make sense?

Any comments appreciated, thanks.

What camera are you using it for? The SGBlade is a superb piece of kit and yes having a UK manufacturer is a massive plus for UK residents if it goes wrong.

Build quality is superb and backfocus is much easier to adjust than Extreme.

[Sherif Choudhry]

I think I've got it wrong below on price comparison - I mean for the about the same price as a Letus extreme the SGBLADE comes also with RODS!

(PS - I use a Sony V1).

Originally Posted by Phil Bloom

What camera are you using it for? The SGBlade is a superb piece of kit and yes having a UK manufacturer is a massive plus for UK residents if it goes wrong.

Build quality is superb and backfocus is much easier to adjust than Extreme.

<<Originally Posted by Sherif Choudhry:
I thought Phil Bloom's shoots using the SGblade were excellent.

I went on to the sgpro website and was astonished to see it say "from £599" which is £400 or so cheaper than the Letus extreme.

However when I built my kit on sgpro site the price came to £997 for:

"SGblade (with ROTOrazor 1, Flip Module & Achromat, 15mm Rods Support & Blade Bracket, Nikon F Mount, 62-72 Step Up Ring)"

So it's in direct price competition with the Letus Extreme.

From what I have seen of the images I would be happy with either Extreme or SGBlade (majority of my clients really wont notice any differences in edge-to-edge sharpness or CA, but they will love the bokeh).

So given that Phil's review of the SGblade didnt mention any build quality or adjustment issues (getting backfocus right seems a bit easier on SGblade compared to extreme), it seems that I woudl be better off buying from SGPro as they are UK based and so support would be easier to obtain.

Does my logic make sense?

[Arthur Abramov]

Originally Posted by Wayne Kinney

Please bare in mind, this is shot with an EX1, not an HV20...

What is the meaning of that.? elaborate on that please if you can.

[Wayne Kinney]

The EX1 is a notorious difficult camcorder when it comes to 35mm adapters. It results in edge to edge sharpness issues and bring out CA far more when compared to a little HV20, which is the camcorder Adriano Apefos had been using to demo his adapter.

[Arthur Abramov]

Originally Posted by Wayne Kinney

The EX1 is a notorious difficult camcorder when it comes to 35mm adapters. It results in edge to edge sharpness issues and bring out CA far more when compared to a little HV20, which is the camcorder Adriano Apefos had been using to demo his adapter.

So what about the XH-A1.? mounting a 35mm adaptor will increase the CA?

[Wayne Kinney]

Yes, adding more glass to the front of any camcorder will increase CA. It is more apparent from one camcorder to the next.

[Evangelos Achillopoulos]

Thats SGblade on a Viper with GG.relay in a FF35 setup

As you can see there is no CA at all...

[Bob Hart]

Evangelos.


SGBlade on Viper.

I have been trying a Letus Extreme on a SI2K camera. I don't think anyone is going to top your setup in a while.

I believe Wayne's available groundglass area is generous. If you are chasing a scrap more groundglass area than the 50mm relay will give you, you might like to try a Nikon f2.8 45mm "pancake" lens for relay.

However any gain in "apparent" resolution from a wider groundglass view may be offset by lesser resolution offered by the 45mm Nikon lens versus the Zeiss lens so it might be a pointless test.

The downside for this lens is that it has a moving front element in a traditional design.

The whole adaptor moves forward and backward when you adjust relay focus so you cannot support the SGBlade by the Nikon lens structure as the focus will jam and the lens itself may break.

[Evangelos Achillopoulos]

Bob, SGblade is one of the best adapters I have ever seen...

My relay in this setup, is in FF35, so its a bit longer... in S35 setup is 7 cm shorter... in the photos you see the components... there is a lens block which is German custom build for this aplication, the various mounts that have back focal distance for S35 or FF35, in the front of the lens there are various tubes for mounting various adapters...

So when everything is aligned and the allen screws are tighten then the relay can hold an SGblade with a lens... no problem to that... ofcoarse its better for the camera to use a Z-riser and rods to support the weight...

The relay is being build with 6000 series aluminum similar to what is used in F16's... the relay is like a tank...

So its totally modular... its not a DIY relay... its a real product that I build to order in a thermally controlled CNC lathe with tolerances better than 2 microns... on the very same lathe that are being build parts of the Pratt & Whitney turbofan engines that's on F16's... And with all that effort we have a lower cost relay than anything else...

That relay with SGblade in a Varicam in Filmrec mode at 0dbs with Rotorazor 3 gives a sensitivity of 400ASA at 180degrees shutter... so its the best system for low light cinematography...

And its understood that my relay gives SGblade a myriad of other uses...

[Joe Lawry]

I picked up a second hand Letus Extreme a month back and have been learning the adapter game recently.

Now after a month of use i've yet to get the back focus 100% accurate on the extreme and there is also some specs of dust inside the prism that are showing up on my footage occasionally.

So i've decided to sell the Extreme (Not hard down here) and want to buy a new adapter, Im thinking either an Elite starter package or a SGBlade.

Ill be using the adapter with both my EX1 and my HVX (original) and currently have the 50mm and 85mm zeiss primes with the nikon mount. Currently on the hunt for more glass.

The Elite is more expensive however i know that the picture quality is great, and that the accessories you get with unit are good quality (rails etc)

On the other hand it would be nice to have the spinning ground glass of the blade, the ability to stop down even more would be very handy - and the blade is also cheaper.

However is the picture quality and edge to edge sharpness good enough with an EX1? something that has been brought up a number of times in this thread.

Sorry its the same old questions.

[Bob Hart]

Joe.


You can upspec the Extreme to Elite by buying in the front tube module which is available separately. Your secondhand Extreme may or may not have the EX1 special achromat.

When fitting up the new tube/Elite backfocus to the Extreme, whilte the front is off, you would be able to check for and spot off any specks on the groundglass or condenser element. The front face of the condenser is the likely resting place of a fixed speck. If it is on the rear face, then you have a more fraught task on your hands but not impossible. A speck which turns into a freckle when the motor is turned on will be on the groundglass.

For the SGBlade, you need to make sure you specify Wayne's special achromat for that camera.


Evangelos

Is the Viper a three x CCD or single CCD camera? What is the cost of your FF35 relay lens? Is FF35 the same as Ultra35? I understand the Viper is a 2/3" size sensor measured corner-to-corner. Is this correct?

[Marcel D. Van Someren]

Originally Posted by Bob Hart

For the SGBlade, you need to make sure you specify Wayne's special achromat for that camera.

All SGBlades shipping now come with the new optics (Achromate/condenser). No need to specify.

If you have an older Blade, you can purchase the new optics separately.

[Dean Harrington]

Originally Posted by Marcel D. Van Someren

All SGBlades shipping now come with the new optics (Achromate/condenser). No need to specify.

If you have an older Blade, you can purchase the new optics separately.

Using an EX3. I've put the new optics on the SGBlade that I received in January. The Blade is modular so it was drop the condensor in place and drop the new acromat in place and that's it. Easy. I'm very impressed with the picture ... no CA and edge to edge sharpness ... so far anyway.