Letus35 Sony HDR-FX1 sample footage at DVinfo.net

Kyle Edwards · October 28th, 2005, 09:39 AM

I tossed this together rather quickly so I didn't label each cut on the video. This is how it breaks down:

- No 20x macro attached, from here on the macro is attached.
- Simple test on my driveway
- Side by side with Letus35 on the left and no adapter on the right
- On the basketball court cuts I used a shutter of 60 and 90. With 90 there was more loss of light but personally I liked the movement better.
- Camera's zoom pulled out to show how much you have to zoom in. Also the adapter is off and then turned on to show how much the grain disappears.
- Close up with sun on subject
- Showing off some DOF on both fenses
- More DOF showing off on piece of wood, grass and concrete

Lens used: Nikon DX 3.5-5.6G 18-55mm ED

Color-corrected, sharpened, deinterlaced, resized to 640x360 and Xvid compression
- Right Click, Save As

We watched the footage on the TV you see in the video, which is a 50inch Samsung HDTV. It looked good on there. The grain wasn't distracting but the 180 flip was, nothing we could do about that.

My problems as of right now are I need non-DX lenses to test with. They are made for digital SLRs not 35mm film so maybe with non-DX lenses I would fill up the frame more with less distortion on the sides. I think the distortion is from the macro filter though.

There were 2 or 3 dust/dirt spots I need to take care of.

The adapter probably drops the light down 2 stops while the lens I was using was 3.5 to begin with. This isn't a proper lens to test with. I'll try to pick up some manual 1.8 lens next week or so.

This was only a quick simple test of tossing everything together. I'll do another test this weekend on a more sunny day and post the results.

Wayne Kinney · October 28th, 2005, 11:00 AM

doesnt seem to download for me, kyle.

Wayne.

Pekka Uotila · October 28th, 2005, 11:02 AM

Problems here aswell...

Wayne Kinney · October 28th, 2005, 11:06 AM

yeah his link is wrong, i hope your dont mind me correcting it:

http://www.flmpro.com/letus35/LETUS3...ED_xvid_02.avi

OK, the footage looks nice, but there is alot of colour seperation i see going on there, any comments on that?

Wayne.

Kyle Edwards · October 28th, 2005, 11:10 AM

There was a space in the VBcode, fixed now but it seems my hosting is taking a break for the moment. Should be up and about in a min.

Emiel Labree · October 29th, 2005, 04:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyle Edwards

I think the distortion is from the macro filter though

It is, and it's awful! I have the same problem with my M2 when using a 1" spacer. Without the spacer the distortion dissapears. You were not user a spacer, were you?

Hopefully other FX1 users can chime in on this distortion and if it happened with their setup.

Rafael Lopes · October 29th, 2005, 07:39 AM

Wow, I had no idea you had to zoom in THA MUCH into the adapter to get the image right! This is not good news at all. Did any one try one of these to solve the problem: http://www.adorama.com/HYCU1055.html...2010&item_no=1

Maybe with one of these between the camera and the adapter you wouldn't have to zoom in that much. I'd really like to know, because I'm waiting for my Letus35 my self...and I want to be prepared.

Rafa

Kyle Edwards · October 29th, 2005, 11:21 AM

There is distortion on the Letus35 by default it appears. The glass that comes with the unit has some distortion in it and by adding on my macro, it just increases.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emiel Labree

It is, and it's awful! I have the same problem with my M2 when using a 1" spacer. Without the spacer the distortion dissapears. You were not user a spacer, were you?

Hopefully other FX1 users can chime in on this distortion and if it happened with their setup.

No spacer but if you can use the M2 without a spacer, why bother with it in the first place? Did you lose anything by not using one?

Emiel Labree · October 29th, 2005, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyle Edwards

No spacer but if you can use the M2 without a spacer, why bother with it in the first place?

I can see the edges of my lens (Nikon 50mm f2.0) because of light falloff in certain situations. That could be resolved by zooming in on the image element, which you can do when you add a spacer. But that causes distortion in the setup with a FX1E. Supposedly the people who shot their feature film "Bus Girl" with a ZU1 and a M2 had problems too but used a spacer and solved their problem. But almost all (as far as i know) the FX1 users on the M2 forum removed their spacer because of distortion problems - some more severe than others.

I've also ordered a Letus35, and it's no good news to hear there's this sort of distortion. I hope there's a simple solution to it.

Here are a few nice examples of the M2 with the FX1E. Did some CC, a 180 flip and contrast/brightness adjustments.

http://www.badongo.com/vid.php?file=...29_Marieke.wmv

http://www.badongo.com/vid.php?file=...Draaien.wmv&s=

http://www.badongo.com/vid.php?file=...os.wmv&s=black

Kurt August · October 29th, 2005, 01:12 PM

I'm testing Letus35A now with PD-150. Mucho distortion.
It seems a choice between distortion and color abberation. Good luck. Distortion can be corrected in post. I know it's no fun, but it can.
I'm going to do some modifications on my Letus before I post any results.

Groeten uit Antwerpen, trouwens.

Emiel Labree · October 30th, 2005, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurt August

I'm testing Letus35A now with PD-150. Mucho distortion.
It seems a choice between distortion and color abberation. Good luck. Distortion can be corrected in post. I know it's no fun, but it can.
I'm going to do some modifications on my Letus before I post any results.

What kind of modifications?

Quote:

Groeten uit Antwerpen, trouwens.

Gegroet, zuiderbuur!

Kurt August · October 30th, 2005, 06:39 PM

What kind of modifications? Just making it steady. I'm no Olson so it takes some time.

And while I'm at it, I'm having my lenses cleaned.

That's it! I've had it! From now on I will put images where my mouth is.

Ben Winter · October 30th, 2005, 07:00 PM

Some HD test footage from my HD10u--

Nothing much to look at, because I was just fooling around at the time, and I can't take any more footage until I receive the replacement GG from Quyen, sorry.

Since I suck at it, this isn't color corrected.

Screenshot 2.67 MB
H.264 Compressed Video 41.3MB

If you're looking at this anywhere from 8:00PM to 8:20PM EST, the movie probably hasn't finished uploading yet.

Yasser Kassana · October 31st, 2005, 03:22 AM

After seeing all this I'm crapping my pants. I've ordered the Letus35A for my Z1E. not looking forward to it now.

Rafael Lopes · October 31st, 2005, 07:17 AM

I'm really hopping that since my Gl2 has a 58mm (same as letus35) I won't have that much problem...but it sucks to hear that it doesn't work very well with 72mm, because I was planning to buy 2 more for a couple of ag-dvx100. Well, gotta wait and see.

October 28th, 2005, 09:39 AM	#1
Kyle Edwards Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: LI, NY Posts: 274	Letus35 Sony HDR-FX1 sample footage I tossed this together rather quickly so I didn't label each cut on the video. This is how it breaks down: - No 20x macro attached, from here on the macro is attached. - Simple test on my driveway - Side by side with Letus35 on the left and no adapter on the right - On the basketball court cuts I used a shutter of 60 and 90. With 90 there was more loss of light but personally I liked the movement better. - Camera's zoom pulled out to show how much you have to zoom in. Also the adapter is off and then turned on to show how much the grain disappears. - Close up with sun on subject - Showing off some DOF on both fenses - More DOF showing off on piece of wood, grass and concrete Lens used: Nikon DX 3.5-5.6G 18-55mm ED Color-corrected, sharpened, deinterlaced, resized to 640x360 and Xvid compression - Right Click, Save As We watched the footage on the TV you see in the video, which is a 50inch Samsung HDTV. It looked good on there. The grain wasn't distracting but the 180 flip was, nothing we could do about that. My problems as of right now are I need non-DX lenses to test with. They are made for digital SLRs not 35mm film so maybe with non-DX lenses I would fill up the frame more with less distortion on the sides. I think the distortion is from the macro filter though. There were 2 or 3 dust/dirt spots I need to take care of. The adapter probably drops the light down 2 stops while the lens I was using was 3.5 to begin with. This isn't a proper lens to test with. I'll try to pick up some manual 1.8 lens next week or so. This was only a quick simple test of tossing everything together. I'll do another test this weekend on a more sunny day and post the results. Last edited by Kyle Edwards; October 28th, 2005 at 11:09 AM.

October 28th, 2005, 11:02 AM	#3
Pekka Uotila Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Helsinki, Finland Posts: 51	Problems here aswell... __________________ Pekka

October 29th, 2005, 01:12 PM	#10
Kurt August Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Belgium Posts: 94	Distortion I'm testing Letus35A now with PD-150. Mucho distortion. It seems a choice between distortion and color abberation. Good luck. Distortion can be corrected in post. I know it's no fun, but it can. I'm going to do some modifications on my Letus before I post any results. Groeten uit Antwerpen, trouwens.

October 30th, 2005, 06:39 PM	#12
Kurt August Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Belgium Posts: 94	Mods What kind of modifications? Just making it steady. I'm no Olson so it takes some time. And while I'm at it, I'm having my lenses cleaned. That's it! I've had it! From now on I will put images where my mouth is.

October 30th, 2005, 07:00 PM	#13
Ben Winter Trustee Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Hollywood, CA Posts: 1,675 Images: 1	Some HD test footage from my HD10u-- Nothing much to look at, because I was just fooling around at the time, and I can't take any more footage until I receive the replacement GG from Quyen, sorry. Since I suck at it, this isn't color corrected. Screenshot 2.67 MB H.264 Compressed Video 41.3MB If you're looking at this anywhere from 8:00PM to 8:20PM EST, the movie probably hasn't finished uploading yet. __________________ BenWinter.com

October 28th, 2005, 11:00 AM	#2
Wayne Kinney Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Brighton, East Sussex, UK Posts: 938	doesnt seem to download for me, kyle. Wayne.

October 28th, 2005, 11:06 AM	#4
Wayne Kinney Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Brighton, East Sussex, UK Posts: 938	yeah his link is wrong, i hope your dont mind me correcting it: http://www.flmpro.com/letus35/LETUS3...ED_xvid_02.avi OK, the footage looks nice, but there is alot of colour seperation i see going on there, any comments on that? Wayne.

October 28th, 2005, 11:10 AM	#5
Kyle Edwards Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: LI, NY Posts: 274	There was a space in the VBcode, fixed now but it seems my hosting is taking a break for the moment. Should be up and about in a min.

October 29th, 2005, 07:39 AM	#7
Rafael Lopes Trustee Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Rio de Janeiro Posts: 1,240	Wow, I had no idea you had to zoom in THA MUCH into the adapter to get the image right! This is not good news at all. Did any one try one of these to solve the problem: http://www.adorama.com/HYCU1055.html...2010&item_no=1 Maybe with one of these between the camera and the adapter you wouldn't have to zoom in that much. I'd really like to know, because I'm waiting for my Letus35 my self...and I want to be prepared. Rafa

October 31st, 2005, 03:22 AM	#14
Yasser Kassana Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: UK Posts: 223	After seeing all this I'm crapping my pants. I've ordered the Letus35A for my Z1E. not looking forward to it now.

October 31st, 2005, 07:17 AM	#15
Rafael Lopes Trustee Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Rio de Janeiro Posts: 1,240	I'm really hopping that since my Gl2 has a 58mm (same as letus35) I won't have that much problem...but it sucks to hear that it doesn't work very well with 72mm, because I was planning to buy 2 more for a couple of ag-dvx100. Well, gotta wait and see.