another letus35 review at DVinfo.net

A.J. Briones · October 5th, 2005, 12:19 AM

hi everyone. i just want to post a review on the letus35, which i bought at www.adapterplace.com

i originally became a member of this board because of the work of agus and the agus35, way back when. i was waiting for someone to make an affordable production model, and i finally bit the bullet with the letus35.

first of all, the buying process was easy. i emailed the maker (quyen) to ask some questions, and was surprised with how quickly he replied, and how informative he was. quyen is very accommodating, and answered all the questions i had to ask.

quyen was kind enough to pay for next day shipping, as i needed the adapter for a saturday shoot (i bought it on a tuesday). i purchased the black anodized version with the canon fd mount for my sony vx2100.

test footage:

http://www.infinite-studios.com/movies/doftest.mov

the above clip was my first time using the unit. i also used magic bullet look suite. notice the vignetting. i did not have the unit set up correctly, and when i tried adjusting it, i dropped it. the GG fell out, so i cleaned it and placed it back in the housing... no damage done.

http://www.infinite-studios.com/movies/doftest3.mov

this was shot the next morning in my backyard. nice shallow dof. magic bullet ls warmish filter. note that there is no longer any vignetting because i have the unit setup properly.

http://www.infinite-studios.com/movies/doftest4.mov

test footage of a friend smoking a cigarette. magic bullet tropico wash filter. note the dust. i cleaned everything after this, and noticed scratches on the 28mm canon fd lens i was using, then i noticed a spec of dust in the adapter, between two pieces of glass. i tried to get it out with compressed air, but i could not reach it. i emailed quyen about it, and he responded with a solution that i will be trying before my next shoot.

also, while i was cleaning the adapter, i did a stupid thing and scratched/chipped the gg. fortunately, it was on the outer end, and i was still able to use it for my shoot this past saturday. quyen was also nice enough to let me know that he would send me a replacement for no charge. awesome customer service!

http://www.infinite-studios.com/movies/PrepAngie.mov

footage from the saturday shoot. magic bullet ls sharp filter. there are about 4 specs of dust visible in the footage. 3 are from hairline scratches in the lens i was using, and 1 is from the aforementioned piece of dust in the adapter.

in summary:

- i love this adapter... in fact, i'm going to buy 2 more for my other 2 cameras
- excellent customer service
- very solid construction, very well built
- packed professionally, with peanuts and shrinkwrap
- i wish there was documentation to show how to clean it and set it up properly
- i sometimes forget to turn on the gg during a shoot, but that's user error, and actually a good thing because it means the gg is not loud, and the vibration is not too intense
- some light scratches in the housing of the black version i purchased
- single spec of dust that i have yet to clean out
- shooting upside down takes a lot of getting used to

Evan C. King · October 5th, 2005, 02:15 AM

It looks nice but I wish you would have some shots without cc so I could know what regular footage looks like.

Michael Maier · October 5th, 2005, 04:36 AM

What f-stops and time of the day you shot that? It looks underexposed. Was that on purpose? Is yours a Letus35 or already the Letus35a?

Meryem Ersoz · October 5th, 2005, 09:21 AM

i'm seconding the request for raw, unfiltered footage. it's hard to judge the adapter's out-of-the-box output when the footage has been altered in post-production.

Anhar Miah · October 5th, 2005, 09:25 AM

Could you please post a pciture of the letus35 (your one) as i've only seen the pics of the old one (the non anodised ones)

Thanks

Anhar

A.J. Briones · October 5th, 2005, 09:34 AM

michael, the first clip was dark, and yes, underexposed. it was just past 7pm and there was not much available light... but you know, new toy, must test. i was using a 28mm canon fd lens at f2.8. not sure if what i got is the letus35 or the letus35a... maybe quyen can shed some light on this.

re: requests for raw clips without mb, i will post them tonight.

anhar, i would love to post a picture, but my digital camera is dead (nikon coolpix... i will never buy a nikon again). i like the look of the black version. it matches with the battery housing and the camera, and looks very professional.

Quyen Le · October 5th, 2005, 10:28 AM

Your unit has a better lens but not quite Letus35A, thanks.

Quyen

Lloyd Choi · October 5th, 2005, 12:38 PM

Good review

You just gotta watch that exposure!

How long did it take for you to get it?

A.J. Briones · October 5th, 2005, 01:41 PM

yeah, i'm a noob when it comes to 35, so i was just happy to get something recorded... i really do have to bone up on some learnin' when it comes to exposure. any good online resources?

lloyd, it took about two days with usps overnight shipping. i think quyen got it in the mail a bit late. either way, i got it in time for my shoot. i can't emphasize the awesome customer service enough, guys.

Michael Maier · October 5th, 2005, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quyen Le

Your unit has a better lens but not quite Letus35A, thanks.

Quyen

When will tha Letus35A start shipping?

Lloyd Choi · October 5th, 2005, 04:27 PM

Quyen told me I'm getting the 35a version. I order mine last thursday.

I'm in Canada, so I think it's taking a little longer due to customs...

but yah, I should have DVX footage of the 35a soon

edit: I think the new version just has a new achromat

Chad Schultz · October 5th, 2005, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lloyd Choi

Quyen told me I'm getting the 35a version. I order mine last thursday.

I'm in Canada, so I think it's taking a little longer due to customs...

but yah, I should have DVX footage of the 35a soon

edit: I think the new version just has a new achromat

Lloyd, when you receive your Letus35a could you post a pic of the inside for me to compare to mine? Quyen isn't sure which one he sent me.
I'm also in Canada and the shipping was pretty fast, about a week.

Lloyd Choi · October 5th, 2005, 06:14 PM

sure... hopefully mine comes tomorrow if yours took a week. I'm in Vancouver, and I believe Quyen is in Oregon, so we're really close

Obin Olson · October 7th, 2005, 04:41 PM

it's going to take about 2 hours to upload, and it's using the bitjazz.com codec but this should be the best 35mm reel-stream footage ever seen on the net...make sure you have the bitjazz.com codec installed to view, and the file is 148megs!

give it 2 hours to upload on our ftp

dv3productions.com/HD_dvx/Letus35_SHEERIVDEO.avi

A.J. Briones · October 7th, 2005, 05:52 PM

another thing i forgot to add to the review is that i wish there were lens covers for both ends of the letus35 when shipped, as i often shoot on the field in a mixed environment (letus35, straight dv), and not having lens covers exposes the letus35 to dust and scratches.

also, i just purchased 2 more units, and i should have more footage up soon. i know i promised some unfiltered downloads, and those are coming. my apologies, it's been really busy here.

October 5th, 2005, 12:19 AM	#1
A.J. Briones Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 275	another letus35 review hi everyone. i just want to post a review on the letus35, which i bought at www.adapterplace.com i originally became a member of this board because of the work of agus and the agus35, way back when. i was waiting for someone to make an affordable production model, and i finally bit the bullet with the letus35. first of all, the buying process was easy. i emailed the maker (quyen) to ask some questions, and was surprised with how quickly he replied, and how informative he was. quyen is very accommodating, and answered all the questions i had to ask. quyen was kind enough to pay for next day shipping, as i needed the adapter for a saturday shoot (i bought it on a tuesday). i purchased the black anodized version with the canon fd mount for my sony vx2100. test footage: http://www.infinite-studios.com/movies/doftest.mov the above clip was my first time using the unit. i also used magic bullet look suite. notice the vignetting. i did not have the unit set up correctly, and when i tried adjusting it, i dropped it. the GG fell out, so i cleaned it and placed it back in the housing... no damage done. http://www.infinite-studios.com/movies/doftest3.mov this was shot the next morning in my backyard. nice shallow dof. magic bullet ls warmish filter. note that there is no longer any vignetting because i have the unit setup properly. http://www.infinite-studios.com/movies/doftest4.mov test footage of a friend smoking a cigarette. magic bullet tropico wash filter. note the dust. i cleaned everything after this, and noticed scratches on the 28mm canon fd lens i was using, then i noticed a spec of dust in the adapter, between two pieces of glass. i tried to get it out with compressed air, but i could not reach it. i emailed quyen about it, and he responded with a solution that i will be trying before my next shoot. also, while i was cleaning the adapter, i did a stupid thing and scratched/chipped the gg. fortunately, it was on the outer end, and i was still able to use it for my shoot this past saturday. quyen was also nice enough to let me know that he would send me a replacement for no charge. awesome customer service! http://www.infinite-studios.com/movies/PrepAngie.mov footage from the saturday shoot. magic bullet ls sharp filter. there are about 4 specs of dust visible in the footage. 3 are from hairline scratches in the lens i was using, and 1 is from the aforementioned piece of dust in the adapter. in summary: - i love this adapter... in fact, i'm going to buy 2 more for my other 2 cameras - excellent customer service - very solid construction, very well built - packed professionally, with peanuts and shrinkwrap - i wish there was documentation to show how to clean it and set it up properly - i sometimes forget to turn on the gg during a shoot, but that's user error, and actually a good thing because it means the gg is not loud, and the vibration is not too intense - some light scratches in the housing of the black version i purchased - single spec of dust that i have yet to clean out - shooting upside down takes a lot of getting used to

October 5th, 2005, 10:28 AM	#7
Quyen Le Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 356	Your unit has a better lens but not quite Letus35A, thanks. Quyen __________________ Affordable Adapter http://www.adapterplace.com

October 5th, 2005, 02:15 AM	#2
Evan C. King Major Player Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Toronto Posts: 532	It looks nice but I wish you would have some shots without cc so I could know what regular footage looks like.

October 5th, 2005, 04:36 AM	#3
Michael Maier Trustee Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 1,269	What f-stops and time of the day you shot that? It looks underexposed. Was that on purpose? Is yours a Letus35 or already the Letus35a?

October 5th, 2005, 09:21 AM	#4
Meryem Ersoz Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 3,015	i'm seconding the request for raw, unfiltered footage. it's hard to judge the adapter's out-of-the-box output when the footage has been altered in post-production.

October 5th, 2005, 09:25 AM	#5
Anhar Miah Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: United Kindom, England Posts: 290	Could you please post a pciture of the letus35 (your one) as i've only seen the pics of the old one (the non anodised ones) Thanks Anhar

October 5th, 2005, 09:34 AM	#6
A.J. Briones Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 275	michael, the first clip was dark, and yes, underexposed. it was just past 7pm and there was not much available light... but you know, new toy, must test. i was using a 28mm canon fd lens at f2.8. not sure if what i got is the letus35 or the letus35a... maybe quyen can shed some light on this. re: requests for raw clips without mb, i will post them tonight. anhar, i would love to post a picture, but my digital camera is dead (nikon coolpix... i will never buy a nikon again). i like the look of the black version. it matches with the battery housing and the camera, and looks very professional.

October 5th, 2005, 12:38 PM	#8
Lloyd Choi Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Toronto Posts: 106	Good review You just gotta watch that exposure! How long did it take for you to get it?

October 5th, 2005, 01:41 PM	#9
A.J. Briones Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 275	yeah, i'm a noob when it comes to 35, so i was just happy to get something recorded... i really do have to bone up on some learnin' when it comes to exposure. any good online resources? lloyd, it took about two days with usps overnight shipping. i think quyen got it in the mail a bit late. either way, i got it in time for my shoot. i can't emphasize the awesome customer service enough, guys.

October 5th, 2005, 04:27 PM	#11
Lloyd Choi Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Toronto Posts: 106	Quyen told me I'm getting the 35a version. I order mine last thursday. I'm in Canada, so I think it's taking a little longer due to customs... but yah, I should have DVX footage of the 35a soon edit: I think the new version just has a new achromat

October 5th, 2005, 06:14 PM	#13
Lloyd Choi Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Toronto Posts: 106	sure... hopefully mine comes tomorrow if yours took a week. I'm in Vancouver, and I believe Quyen is in Oregon, so we're really close

October 7th, 2005, 04:41 PM	#14
Obin Olson Trustee Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Wilmington NC Posts: 1,414	it's going to take about 2 hours to upload, and it's using the bitjazz.com codec but this should be the best 35mm reel-stream footage ever seen on the net...make sure you have the bitjazz.com codec installed to view, and the file is 148megs! give it 2 hours to upload on our ftp dv3productions.com/HD_dvx/Letus35_SHEERIVDEO.avi

October 7th, 2005, 05:52 PM	#15
A.J. Briones Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 275	another thing i forgot to add to the review is that i wish there were lens covers for both ends of the letus35 when shipped, as i often shoot on the field in a mixed environment (letus35, straight dv), and not having lens covers exposes the letus35 to dust and scratches. also, i just purchased 2 more units, and i should have more footage up soon. i know i promised some unfiltered downloads, and those are coming. my apologies, it's been really busy here.