Letus35 and Rod Support

Andrew Todd · January 10th, 2006, 12:04 PM

the bogen that you purchased.. let me know about it once it comes.. one thing i was wondering though : i was looking for rods that "support" the extra weight on the camera and lens... the bogen.. from the pictures looks like it would just keep it sturdy but it doesnt look like it would take any of the weight off the camera. ????

Graham Bernard · January 10th, 2006, 03:51 PM

Ben! A most excellent example. I appreciate the time you took to do this. You have captured everything that "should" be in a demo of rods and the "off-lens" camera action too - the tapping of the Letus.

What IS that dreamy lens in the second example?

Grazie

Ken Lamug · January 10th, 2006, 03:56 PM

salvador, i got the exact same one and it works great. but since i have a small camcorder the end support is actually mounting on the lens itself and not on the letus. if you have a larger(longer) camera such as a GL or XL then it should work perfectly for you. Having the strap on is such a great convenience, i can carry around the camera and it feels solid and the letus does not move at all with the strap support in there. it's actually good to hand held and is well balanced.

ben, yours looks fantastic! i havent read up on the lenses yet but can you list the lenses you used and attachments? thanks!

Leo Mandy · January 10th, 2006, 04:12 PM

Well we know the camvision works, just the bogen one to try out now! Ben another thanks for pushing the board forward - most people like myself sit and wait for guys like you to come along and buy and test things. Thanks for having the money and courage!

Michael Maier · January 10th, 2006, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben Winter

Here's some pics and test footage with my rod setup:

http://www.frozenphoenixproductions.com/misc/rod

Ben that rods set up looks great. That's only $158?
Have you got your Letus35 yet? I'm looking forward to the clips with the interscreen.

Ben Winter · January 10th, 2006, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Maier

I'm looking forward to the clips with the interscreen.

As am I. At this point I'm just dawdling around with my Letus trying to get a better and better picture out of it. Sadly, if I end up getting a look that I like and can live with, I won't try out the intenscreen. Nature of the beast--I have a shoot coming up and I can't risk screwing it up. After that though, I'll tweak away...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Maier

That's only $158?

It is indeed. Although I would recommend getting longer rods--these don't even seem to be a foot long, more like 8-10 inches. And that bumps up the price a bit.

I'm really looking forward to next Tuesday--I'm shooting in a 50's-style diner car with neon lights and such, the lighting really is spectacular. I can't wait to see how the Letus performs.

Michael Maier · January 10th, 2006, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben Winter

As am I. At this point I'm just dawdling around with my Letus trying to get a better and better picture out of it. Sadly, if I end up getting a look that I like and can live with, I won't try out the intenscreen. Nature of the beast--

You said you don't recommend the Letus in it's original configuration, so how are you thinking of getting better results if you won't replace the GG?

Ben Winter · January 10th, 2006, 05:48 PM

I posted on another thread about moving the rubber stoppers out and re-glueing the GG to keep the depth of focus the same, so the GG would oscillate in a larger circular motion. The stock Letus GG wasn't moving around enough and left a grainy overlay on my footage. I also replaced the macro with a Century optics one but I don't think thats neccessary now that Quyen has a higher-quality one available. I've also played around with battery power, and plan on adding a potentiometer to the motor so I can precisely fine-tune the the motion of the motor to coincide with the weight of the GG plate.

However I just read in another thread that someone has had nothing but fantastic experiences with a stock Letus, which restores my confidence.

Don't worry, I'll eventually try out the intenscreen--just sooner rather than later if the stock Letus footage doesn't meet my expectations.

Michael Maier · January 10th, 2006, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben Winter

I posted on another thread about moving the rubber stoppers out and re-glueing the GG to keep the depth of focus the same, so the GG would oscillate in a larger circular motion. The stock Letus GG wasn't moving around enough and left a grainy overlay on my footage.

Did you inform Quyen about the problem? Maybe he fixed it in the newer units?

The screen shot Greg posted look very good, however it was from the new flip version.
The rods video you posted also look good. Was that with the stock Letus?

Ben Winter · January 10th, 2006, 06:19 PM

Michael, I sent my Letus in a few weeks ago to upgrade to a metal mount--in the process, Quyen replaced my GG mechanism with what comes with the new units, it looks like. My older setup had longer plastic rods holding the GG, so it vibrated more. That rod test footage was shot with the old adapter--I now have the new one.

He probably has fixed it in the newer units since I haven't heard from anyone else having the same problem--probably just a fluke. Not a big one anyway.

Andrew Todd · January 10th, 2006, 06:20 PM

i dont know if anyone noticed my post but: isnt the point of the rods to take the strain of the weight of the adapter off of your camera and lens? the bogen doesnt seem to offer that support .. its straps the adapter in place but doesnt take any of its weight off the camera. It seems allright for some setups if you didnt care about extra weight on your cams.. but i wouldnt want to always have the extra weight on the removable lens of an xl1s

Ken Lamug · January 10th, 2006, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Todd

i dont know if anyone noticed my post but: isnt the point of the rods to take the strain of the weight of the adapter off of your camera and lens? the bogen doesnt seem to offer that support .. its straps the adapter in place but doesnt take any of its weight off the camera. It seems allright for some setups if you didnt care about extra weight on your cams.. but i wouldnt want to always have the extra weight on the removable lens of an xl1s

the bogen is adjustable, so you can move your camera up or down (left/right) and press the lens or letus on to the supporting bracket... then once secure, you can strap it into place. In my case having a small camera, my camera was pointing downwards, so adjustment need to be made once you mount it on your tripod.

Evan C. King · January 10th, 2006, 11:32 PM

Please tell me that when the rod version is out you will still offer the regular version for those who want it...

Michael Maier · January 10th, 2006, 11:44 PM

I don't think you would be obligated to buy the rods. It would just be a nice optional if you want it.

Salvador Peralta · January 11th, 2006, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken Lamug

the bogen is adjustable, so you can move your camera up or down (left/right) and press the lens or letus on to the supporting bracket... then once secure, you can strap it into place. In my case having a small camera, my camera was pointing downwards, so adjustment need to be made once you mount it on your tripod.

Hi ken. Great! I bought the support blindly (chatting live with customer support from B&H.. i live in ecuador..) I have a Gs400... hope its bigger than yours and it adapts fine with the bogen support.

Ben. Thanks a lot man for your demo. Your set up its amazing.. your high school friends must concider you the Spielverg of the class!!!!!

thanks

January 10th, 2006, 12:04 PM	#16
Andrew Todd Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Saint John, CANADA Posts: 633	the bogen that you purchased.. let me know about it once it comes.. one thing i was wondering though : i was looking for rods that "support" the extra weight on the camera and lens... the bogen.. from the pictures looks like it would just keep it sturdy but it doesnt look like it would take any of the weight off the camera. ???? __________________ video : xl2 / letus35xl / bogen 503 photo- canon 1dmkII - bronica etrsi

January 10th, 2006, 05:48 PM	#23
Ben Winter Trustee Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Hollywood, CA Posts: 1,675 Images: 1	I posted on another thread about moving the rubber stoppers out and re-glueing the GG to keep the depth of focus the same, so the GG would oscillate in a larger circular motion. The stock Letus GG wasn't moving around enough and left a grainy overlay on my footage. I also replaced the macro with a Century optics one but I don't think thats neccessary now that Quyen has a higher-quality one available. I've also played around with battery power, and plan on adding a potentiometer to the motor so I can precisely fine-tune the the motion of the motor to coincide with the weight of the GG plate. However I just read in another thread that someone has had nothing but fantastic experiences with a stock Letus, which restores my confidence. Don't worry, I'll eventually try out the intenscreen--just sooner rather than later if the stock Letus footage doesn't meet my expectations. __________________ BenWinter.com

January 10th, 2006, 06:19 PM	#25
Ben Winter Trustee Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Hollywood, CA Posts: 1,675 Images: 1	Michael, I sent my Letus in a few weeks ago to upgrade to a metal mount--in the process, Quyen replaced my GG mechanism with what comes with the new units, it looks like. My older setup had longer plastic rods holding the GG, so it vibrated more. That rod test footage was shot with the old adapter--I now have the new one. He probably has fixed it in the newer units since I haven't heard from anyone else having the same problem--probably just a fluke. Not a big one anyway. __________________ BenWinter.com

January 10th, 2006, 06:20 PM	#26
Andrew Todd Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Saint John, CANADA Posts: 633	i dont know if anyone noticed my post but: isnt the point of the rods to take the strain of the weight of the adapter off of your camera and lens? the bogen doesnt seem to offer that support .. its straps the adapter in place but doesnt take any of its weight off the camera. It seems allright for some setups if you didnt care about extra weight on your cams.. but i wouldnt want to always have the extra weight on the removable lens of an xl1s __________________ video : xl2 / letus35xl / bogen 503 photo- canon 1dmkII - bronica etrsi

January 10th, 2006, 03:51 PM	#17
Graham Bernard Old Boot Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London UK Posts: 3,633	Ben! A most excellent example. I appreciate the time you took to do this. You have captured everything that "should" be in a demo of rods and the "off-lens" camera action too - the tapping of the Letus. What IS that dreamy lens in the second example? Grazie

January 10th, 2006, 03:56 PM	#18
Ken Lamug Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 45	salvador, i got the exact same one and it works great. but since i have a small camcorder the end support is actually mounting on the lens itself and not on the letus. if you have a larger(longer) camera such as a GL or XL then it should work perfectly for you. Having the strap on is such a great convenience, i can carry around the camera and it feels solid and the letus does not move at all with the strap support in there. it's actually good to hand held and is well balanced. ben, yours looks fantastic! i havent read up on the lenses yet but can you list the lenses you used and attachments? thanks!

January 10th, 2006, 04:12 PM	#19
Leo Mandy Major Player Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 749	Well we know the camvision works, just the bogen one to try out now! Ben another thanks for pushing the board forward - most people like myself sit and wait for guys like you to come along and buy and test things. Thanks for having the money and courage!

January 10th, 2006, 11:32 PM	#28
Evan C. King Major Player Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Toronto Posts: 532	Please tell me that when the rod version is out you will still offer the regular version for those who want it...

January 10th, 2006, 11:44 PM	#29
Michael Maier Trustee Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 1,269	I don't think you would be obligated to buy the rods. It would just be a nice optional if you want it.