The Letus35 Redesigned :)

Ben Winter · January 19th, 2006, 08:15 PM

Deleted duplicate

Ben Winter · January 19th, 2006, 08:18 PM

Thought I'd mention that Home Depot bags from the screws/nails section work really, really well. Almost nil light loss. And when you put it on the Letus vibrating mechanism, the thing vibrates at least a millimeter. Most crisp stuff I've ever seen. Cheers to whoever thought of this.

Michael Maier · January 19th, 2006, 09:04 PM

Home Depot bags? What bags and what are you using them for?

Michael Maier · January 19th, 2006, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quyen Le

I thought about beattie focusing screen and shorter distance but just don't want to copy Dan's work.

Quyen

Quyen, do you see any advantage in a Letus35 with a beattie?

Alain Bellon · January 19th, 2006, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben Winter

Thought I'd mention that Home Depot bags from the screws/nails section work really, really well. Almost nil light loss. And when you put it on the Letus vibrating mechanism, the thing vibrates at least a millimeter. Most crisp stuff I've ever seen. Cheers to whoever thought of this.

Woo hoo! I was the one that thought of it, so excellent news Ben! :)

With the wider range in vibration I assume the image is even smoother. Now the trick is to get rid of the vignette issues on your setup, right? A stronger condenser perhaps? I know you are waiting on the Beattie, but still ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Maier

Home Depot bags? What bags and what are you using them for?

Ben is talking about using the bag material as a diffuser. I found out it was a great material for this purpose. I suggested it on this thread where you can find my diffusion screen tests:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=58214

I have not seen such a diffusive material with so little light loss and such a small grain. Also, as Ben said, its so thin that it is ultra-sharp.

Leo Mandy · January 20th, 2006, 06:58 AM

I think that is the best setup right now. Thin GG on the letus35 vibrating. I don't think you could ask for me. Any screengrabs Ben?

Ben Winter · January 20th, 2006, 05:37 PM

Ask and ye shall receive :)

http://frozenphoenixproductions.com/.../LetusTest.bmp
http://frozenphoenixproductions.com/...LetusTest1.bmp
http://frozenphoenixproductions.com/...LetusTest2.bmp

The ground glass distance and the condenser distance are off though, and I don't particularly like the bokeh. I need to make a few adjustments.

Alain Bellon · January 20th, 2006, 06:19 PM

Hey Ben, are these tests with the short design or just the regular with the thin-film screen?

What is off about the condenser and screen distance? The images look pretty good to me.

Ben Winter · January 20th, 2006, 06:21 PM

These are with the regular Letus. I can't really test the short version until the Intenscreen comes because I need some kind of condenser.

But like you said, the images are fine, so I don't really see the point in continuing my design--the light loss is already down at least half a stop. I like the results too much to go back :)

Leo Mandy · January 20th, 2006, 07:08 PM

Wow, those are with the plastic bag from home depot?! Mighty interesting ideas that Alain has started. Forget the glass GG and go for the thin film of a bag or tape. I like this idea alot. In the next couple of days I am going to remove (fingers crossed) the GGfrom my letus35 and try one of the bags and see what happens. HEy Ben what about colour sep? How about colour aberrations?

Andrew Todd · January 20th, 2006, 07:18 PM

these bags have almost no light loss

Michael Maier · January 20th, 2006, 09:58 PM

I think those are brighter but softer. Look at the tree, it's not very sharp. Maybe the interscreen will be sharper?

Alain Bellon · January 20th, 2006, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Maier

I think those are brighter but softer. Look at the tree, it's not very sharp. Maybe the interscreen will be sharper?

I don't know why you say they are softer. The tree shot has the fruit/flower on focus; the rest of the leaves, front and back, are out of focus therefore they look "soft". Ben said it's the most crisp imagery he has seen and mine looks pretty sharp too (although my adapter is clumsy and has static grain at this point).

http://mentemagica.com/35mmAdapter/AdapterTest20c.jpg

Michael Maier · January 21st, 2006, 12:42 AM

By soft I didn't mean out of focus, I meant sharp as in detail level. I have seen grabs from the stock Letus35 looking sharper and nicer than that. Those shots have a dreamy look to them, like when you're using a pro-mist or something. They are sure not razor sharp.
Sorry, no offence, it's just my opinion.

Alain Bellon · January 21st, 2006, 01:10 AM

Maybe we need to see a comparison of the original GG versus the thin-film screen. It will help determine also if it is not a characteristic of the GL2. (which incidently is the one I am using as well)

January 19th, 2006, 08:15 PM	#16
Ben Winter Trustee Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Hollywood, CA Posts: 1,675 Images: 1	Deleted duplicate __________________ BenWinter.com

January 19th, 2006, 08:18 PM	#17
Ben Winter Trustee Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Hollywood, CA Posts: 1,675 Images: 1	Thought I'd mention that Home Depot bags from the screws/nails section work really, really well. Almost nil light loss. And when you put it on the Letus vibrating mechanism, the thing vibrates at least a millimeter. Most crisp stuff I've ever seen. Cheers to whoever thought of this. __________________ BenWinter.com

January 20th, 2006, 05:37 PM	#22
Ben Winter Trustee Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Hollywood, CA Posts: 1,675 Images: 1	Ask and ye shall receive :) http://frozenphoenixproductions.com/.../LetusTest.bmp http://frozenphoenixproductions.com/...LetusTest1.bmp http://frozenphoenixproductions.com/...LetusTest2.bmp The ground glass distance and the condenser distance are off though, and I don't particularly like the bokeh. I need to make a few adjustments. __________________ BenWinter.com

January 20th, 2006, 06:21 PM	#24
Ben Winter Trustee Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Hollywood, CA Posts: 1,675 Images: 1	These are with the regular Letus. I can't really test the short version until the Intenscreen comes because I need some kind of condenser. But like you said, the images are fine, so I don't really see the point in continuing my design--the light loss is already down at least half a stop. I like the results too much to go back :) __________________ BenWinter.com

January 20th, 2006, 07:18 PM	#26
Andrew Todd Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Saint John, CANADA Posts: 633	these bags have almost no light loss __________________ video : xl2 / letus35xl / bogen 503 photo- canon 1dmkII - bronica etrsi

January 19th, 2006, 09:04 PM	#18
Michael Maier Trustee Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 1,269	Home Depot bags? What bags and what are you using them for?

January 20th, 2006, 06:58 AM	#21
Leo Mandy Major Player Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 749	I think that is the best setup right now. Thin GG on the letus35 vibrating. I don't think you could ask for me. Any screengrabs Ben?

January 20th, 2006, 06:19 PM	#23
Alain Bellon Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: LA Posts: 130	Hey Ben, are these tests with the short design or just the regular with the thin-film screen? What is off about the condenser and screen distance? The images look pretty good to me.

January 20th, 2006, 07:08 PM	#25
Leo Mandy Major Player Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 749	Wow, those are with the plastic bag from home depot?! Mighty interesting ideas that Alain has started. Forget the glass GG and go for the thin film of a bag or tape. I like this idea alot. In the next couple of days I am going to remove (fingers crossed) the GGfrom my letus35 and try one of the bags and see what happens. HEy Ben what about colour sep? How about colour aberrations?

January 20th, 2006, 09:58 PM	#27
Michael Maier Trustee Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 1,269	I think those are brighter but softer. Look at the tree, it's not very sharp. Maybe the interscreen will be sharper?

January 21st, 2006, 12:42 AM	#29
Michael Maier Trustee Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 1,269	By soft I didn't mean out of focus, I meant sharp as in detail level. I have seen grabs from the stock Letus35 looking sharper and nicer than that. Those shots have a dreamy look to them, like when you're using a pro-mist or something. They are sure not razor sharp. Sorry, no offence, it's just my opinion.

January 21st, 2006, 01:10 AM	#30
Alain Bellon Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: LA Posts: 130	Maybe we need to see a comparison of the original GG versus the thin-film screen. It will help determine also if it is not a characteristic of the GL2. (which incidently is the one I am using as well)