Have the Letus only 3 weeks and trouble at DVinfo.net

John Novotny · July 27th, 2009, 09:48 PM

Over the last 3 weeks I've been occasionally testing my new Letus around the office getting used to it and noticed some spots on the image. So I cleaned my lenses and the letus glass, not the GG, I used a digital camera blower on the GG to get rid of dust.

I find that the spec is in the flip unit!! It came that way from the factory. Also the vibrator has now started getting very loud. Sounds like a chainsaw on the camera mic. I was insane with rage for about 5 minutes today. Is this normal?

I have 20 year old Nikon lenses that work perfectly how can something new like the Letus get rave reviews and yet come so flawed out of the factory?

I hope they replace the unit.

Christopher Drews · July 27th, 2009, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Novotny

I was insane with rage for about 5 minutes today. Is this normal?

I think being insane with rage for 5 minutes is dangerous to yourself and others. It isn't normal over a 35mm adapter.

As an owner of two of Letus Corps adapters, over the years, there is an expected quality control issue. After all, you do get what you pay for - . That is why Letus has the Ultimate at a completely different price point.

With my Extreme, I have no less than 3 solid dust spots along with a huge smudge. This however, did not prevent me from making a feature film and extended 30 minute short film.

It adds a level of grittiness and film-grain, which is not an effect, more of a stylistic theme. I don't view the blemishes of the unit as a bane, use them to your advantage.

-C

Bruce S. Yarock · July 28th, 2009, 04:24 AM

John,
Call them and send it back for service. They were very helpfull when I had a problem with mine.
Bruce Yarock
Yarock Video and Photo

John Novotny · July 29th, 2009, 01:00 PM

Thanks, I'm sure everything will be fine. I'll set up my rig and double check any mistakes I may have made.

Dennis Murphy · July 29th, 2009, 03:17 PM

That is weird, my insane rages lasted between 20 and 30 minutes.
I ended up taking my Extreme to pieces and stripping all the black paint off the housing. The black fragments ending up inside the prism were driving me bonkers. No matter how hard air was blown into the housing, it wouldn't shift them.
Due to living in NZ, I just can't be bothered with the down-time and drama involved with sending it back each time I had a spot emerge, so I took these drastic measures and it appears to have fixed the problem - nearly one year of black speck free use.

Mitchell Lewis · August 1st, 2009, 11:00 AM

After my "incident" with our Letus Ultimate, I found that there are a lot more glass surfaces than I realized. If you remove the GG, there's one behind it. There's one in front of the GG. Anyway, the point is, if you spend 30 minutes on taking it apart (not all the way apart) and clean everything real good, your specs will be gone. I wouldn't get into the prizm though. That's a pretty fragile area (in my opinion).

But we've got an Ultimate, not an Extreme. But I'd still try to take it apart and clean most everything.

July 27th, 2009, 09:48 PM	#1
John Novotny Regular Crew Join Date: May 2009 Location: Magrath, AB Canada Posts: 35	Have the Letus only 3 weeks and trouble Over the last 3 weeks I've been occasionally testing my new Letus around the office getting used to it and noticed some spots on the image. So I cleaned my lenses and the letus glass, not the GG, I used a digital camera blower on the GG to get rid of dust. I find that the spec is in the flip unit!! It came that way from the factory. Also the vibrator has now started getting very loud. Sounds like a chainsaw on the camera mic. I was insane with rage for about 5 minutes today. Is this normal? I have 20 year old Nikon lenses that work perfectly how can something new like the Letus get rave reviews and yet come so flawed out of the factory? I hope they replace the unit.

July 29th, 2009, 03:17 PM	#5
Dennis Murphy Major Player Join Date: May 2006 Location: Whangarei, New Zealand Posts: 396	That is weird, my insane rages lasted between 20 and 30 minutes. I ended up taking my Extreme to pieces and stripping all the black paint off the housing. The black fragments ending up inside the prism were driving me bonkers. No matter how hard air was blown into the housing, it wouldn't shift them. Due to living in NZ, I just can't be bothered with the down-time and drama involved with sending it back each time I had a spot emerge, so I took these drastic measures and it appears to have fixed the problem - nearly one year of black speck free use. __________________ http://www.dmvideostuff.co.nz

August 1st, 2009, 11:00 AM	#6
Mitchell Lewis Trustee Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Kennewick, WA Posts: 1,124	After my "incident" with our Letus Ultimate, I found that there are a lot more glass surfaces than I realized. If you remove the GG, there's one behind it. There's one in front of the GG. Anyway, the point is, if you spend 30 minutes on taking it apart (not all the way apart) and clean everything real good, your specs will be gone. I wouldn't get into the prizm though. That's a pretty fragile area (in my opinion). But we've got an Ultimate, not an Extreme. But I'd still try to take it apart and clean most everything. __________________ Sony EX3, Canon 5D MkII, Chrosziel Matte Box, Sachtler tripod, Steadicam Flyer, Mac Pro, Apple/Adobe software - 20 years as a local videographer/editor

July 28th, 2009, 04:24 AM	#3
Bruce S. Yarock Trustee Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pembroke Pines, Fl. Posts: 1,842	John, Call them and send it back for service. They were very helpfull when I had a problem with mine. Bruce Yarock Yarock Video and Photo

July 29th, 2009, 01:00 PM	#4
John Novotny Regular Crew Join Date: May 2009 Location: Magrath, AB Canada Posts: 35	Thanks, I'm sure everything will be fine. I'll set up my rig and double check any mistakes I may have made.