using the Letus Flip 35 and Nikon Lenses at DVinfo.net

Lior Molcho · March 20th, 2006, 04:54 PM

Hey all
I'm having problems using the Letus Adapter. Im pasting the Letter i sent to Quyen, he was unable to understand / help out.

hey Quyen,
i have bought the Letus Flip from u about a month ago
i have to say, that i have had a lot of problems with it.
The optics are very good, and basically the only reason im still trying to
wrangle with it.
I find the manufacturing of the product very poor:

First, the screwing of the adapter to the canon lens-end , doesnt really
finish in a level position so the gate ends up in a diagonal! position.
I have to forcefully turn the adapters ring inside it so it will straighten
. not a good start..

second,the adapter parts have shaky connections which make the gate move up
and down - small shakes which off course translate at the end of it to the
gate "falling" into the frame.have no idea how to fix this, tightening the
screws has no effect.

Third,the Nikon Lenses do not Lock on to the supplied Metal Ring - i have
tried 5 nikon lenses, they all slip off it since there is NO locking
machanisem - how am i supposed to keep them on?i have tried different series
and types of lenses, they all fit inside the metal mount but dont
lock(naturally - there is no lock where there should be) i have attached a
picture of the letus Ring, one of the Nikon lenses, and a Nikon made ring
with a locking machanisem - one which i suspect should have been made for
the letus ring by you.

all in all im very dissapointed by the performance of the adapter. when i
manage to put it together by holding everything in hand, the optics look
really good, which makes my dissapointment and frustration grow.

i hope u have any solutions to offer, maybe i have failed to understand its
working, i would love to use it, since i am a proffesional and have projects
each week which i need it for.
any advice or solutions will be appriciated, especially ones that do not
involve sending the adapter back to the US since i am now back in israel

I am wondering if anyone else is having these difficulties. I am just trying to get it to work properly.
Thanks
BTW Im using it on the XL2

Jeremy Hughes · March 27th, 2006, 08:43 AM

As for screwing the adapter onto the camera - you need to take the screw mount off the adapter (I was able to loosen this with a butter knife). Screw the mount onto the camera and then line up the adapter with the camera and then push the adapter back onto the mount. You have to do that bc each screw mount can be a bit off.

As for the Nikon mount - Quyen has those machined himself and I dont know of a good way other than what he does to create one (especially with being able to flip it between nikon and canon mounts). Something I was thinking of trying was to build one myself with a separate mount.

Once you get the Letus working, its pimp. I've got a short I'm working on right now where it has to be quality footage - theres a lot of effects work going into it. Its working great and the shots are looking beautiful... definately keep the light pumping in there. You have to be willing to tweak and experiment with that thing... hope that helps

Oh. forgot to mention. I have several lenses that fit tight and the others sit fairly loose. I imagine a solid way to fix that would be a follow focus. I usually take the letus down to the photo store and actually try them on there before I buy any now.

Will Hanlon · March 31st, 2006, 04:32 PM

Lior, do you have the Letus35 Flip Enhanced?

Jeremy, when you say some lenses sit loose, how loose are they? Will they fall off or shake during shooting? Have you had any problems with dust?

Gabriel Chiefetz · March 31st, 2006, 11:55 PM

Jeremy,

Regarding your butter knife trick- I'm trying to align my Letus 35a correctly so the GG is horizontal, but I'm stuck. I tried taking off the screw mount, as you and others have suggested, and then screwing it onto the camera first, followed by the rest of the Letus. However, on mine the Letus screw mount attaches to the rest of the Letus with three screws- two small silver ones, and one black one with a little knob. The arrangement seems to make it impossible to adjust the screw mount independently. So I have to keep my Letus one quarter turn loose on the camera in order for the GG to be horizontal. This isn't a show-stopper, but it would be better to be able to tighten the Letus onto the camera all the way.

Any suggestions? Am I missing something here? Thanks!

Quyen Le · April 1st, 2006, 01:27 AM

You probably get the old model. Put on your camera until tight, loosen the thumbscrew, detach the camera and adapter, so the macro/achromat lens stay on your camera's thread. Reinsert with right orientation and tighten the thumbscrew, hope this helps, thanks.

Quyen

Lior Molcho · April 1st, 2006, 12:03 PM

Many thanks for all the replies
1.I am using the 35Flip, and as far as i know its not a special version of it.

2.about the Lenses, as advised by Quyen i am using some tape to shim them to the adapter - i must say its pretty embarrasing having clients on the set while doing that -it works but really,how much more would it cost to buy the nikon ring that has a locking mechanisem and fit it at the right lenght on th Letus.(around 15$)

3.about the fitting of the gate on the letus, in my letus the screw just dont realy screw anything, they stop before the piece is tightened.

the idea behind my post was to see if i was the only one encountering problem with the Letus, problems that are small but disrupt the workflowUnlike a lot of people here i am not a skilled handyman - i just wanna shoot good pictures, and when i buy something i want it to work right.
the funny thing is that i am actually considering buying the new Relay lens - but am afraid of small kinks and poor craftsmanship.
as someone has once said:
"Devinity is in the small details "

Dustin Cross · April 1st, 2006, 02:06 PM

Lior,

The problem is the metal Quyen uses to make the lens mount adapter is too soft. I have had a few of his adapters and all ended up with a variation of this problem.

When I first recieved the adapters they were very tight. Some lenses would hardly turn at all and they were locked in place, but other lenses would would turn all the way and feel very tight.

After use the lens mounts would become loose. The lenses that would hardly go on now go on all the way an dthe lenses that orginally went on all the way are so loose they just wobble around and can easily fall out.

Basically the more use, the looser the fit on the lens mount.

I would pay for a locking Nikon mount if Quyen made it.

Until then, the way I have fixed this is putting electrical tape on the end of the Letus lens mount, basically making it thinker and the lenses fit tight again.

To do this
1. I take the lens mount off teh Letus an dlay it on a table with the Nikon side facing up
2. Then I cover the entire top with electrical tape without overlapping any.
3. Then I turn the lens mount over and put pressure on it to get teh tape on good.
4. Then with the Nikon side facing down I use a razor to trim around the inside and outside of the mount removing all excess tape.

Now I have a perfect ring of tape that allows the lens to be tight. Electrical tape seems to be just the right thinkness and it has some elasticitity to help with the variation in tightness of the lenses.

Hopefully that helps.

Will Hanlon · May 7th, 2006, 08:19 PM

So to get the Letus Flip attached and aligned correctly to your camcorder, you have to pry loose the 72mm thread part of the adapter (the silver part)? How do you do this? I'm confused.

You said you loosened a part with a butter knife. Which part? Are you supposed to pull the silver threated part out of the black?

Andrew Dean · May 7th, 2006, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will Hanlon

So to get the Letus Flip attached and aligned correctly to your camcorder, you have to pry loose the 72mm thread part of the adapter (the silver part)? How do you do this? I'm confused.

You said you loosened a part with a butter knife. Which part? Are you supposed to pull the silver threated part out of the black?

Mine isnt tight enough to require a butter knife, but yes, the silver threaded part is just pressure fit inside my adapter. once you tight down the adapter if you keep turning it, the adapter will turn independant of the camera or threaded ring.

Its not really ideal. i would rather there be a set screw or two, but it does work.

-a

March 20th, 2006, 04:54 PM	#1
Lior Molcho Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 78	using the Letus Flip 35 and Nikon Lenses Hey all I'm having problems using the Letus Adapter. Im pasting the Letter i sent to Quyen, he was unable to understand / help out. hey Quyen, i have bought the Letus Flip from u about a month ago i have to say, that i have had a lot of problems with it. The optics are very good, and basically the only reason im still trying to wrangle with it. I find the manufacturing of the product very poor: First, the screwing of the adapter to the canon lens-end , doesnt really finish in a level position so the gate ends up in a diagonal! position. I have to forcefully turn the adapters ring inside it so it will straighten . not a good start.. second,the adapter parts have shaky connections which make the gate move up and down - small shakes which off course translate at the end of it to the gate "falling" into the frame.have no idea how to fix this, tightening the screws has no effect. Third,the Nikon Lenses do not Lock on to the supplied Metal Ring - i have tried 5 nikon lenses, they all slip off it since there is NO locking machanisem - how am i supposed to keep them on?i have tried different series and types of lenses, they all fit inside the metal mount but dont lock(naturally - there is no lock where there should be) i have attached a picture of the letus Ring, one of the Nikon lenses, and a Nikon made ring with a locking machanisem - one which i suspect should have been made for the letus ring by you. all in all im very dissapointed by the performance of the adapter. when i manage to put it together by holding everything in hand, the optics look really good, which makes my dissapointment and frustration grow. i hope u have any solutions to offer, maybe i have failed to understand its working, i would love to use it, since i am a proffesional and have projects each week which i need it for. any advice or solutions will be appriciated, especially ones that do not involve sending the adapter back to the US since i am now back in israel I am wondering if anyone else is having these difficulties. I am just trying to get it to work properly. Thanks BTW Im using it on the XL2

March 27th, 2006, 08:43 AM	#2
Jeremy Hughes Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 276 Images: 2	As for screwing the adapter onto the camera - you need to take the screw mount off the adapter (I was able to loosen this with a butter knife). Screw the mount onto the camera and then line up the adapter with the camera and then push the adapter back onto the mount. You have to do that bc each screw mount can be a bit off. As for the Nikon mount - Quyen has those machined himself and I dont know of a good way other than what he does to create one (especially with being able to flip it between nikon and canon mounts). Something I was thinking of trying was to build one myself with a separate mount. Once you get the Letus working, its pimp. I've got a short I'm working on right now where it has to be quality footage - theres a lot of effects work going into it. Its working great and the shots are looking beautiful... definately keep the light pumping in there. You have to be willing to tweak and experiment with that thing... hope that helps Oh. forgot to mention. I have several lenses that fit tight and the others sit fairly loose. I imagine a solid way to fix that would be a follow focus. I usually take the letus down to the photo store and actually try them on there before I buy any now. __________________ www.elevate-m.com filmvideostuff.blogspot.com

April 1st, 2006, 01:27 AM	#5
Quyen Le Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 356	You probably get the old model. Put on your camera until tight, loosen the thumbscrew, detach the camera and adapter, so the macro/achromat lens stay on your camera's thread. Reinsert with right orientation and tighten the thumbscrew, hope this helps, thanks. Quyen __________________ Affordable Adapter http://www.adapterplace.com

April 1st, 2006, 02:06 PM	#7
Dustin Cross Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 133	Lior, The problem is the metal Quyen uses to make the lens mount adapter is too soft. I have had a few of his adapters and all ended up with a variation of this problem. When I first recieved the adapters they were very tight. Some lenses would hardly turn at all and they were locked in place, but other lenses would would turn all the way and feel very tight. After use the lens mounts would become loose. The lenses that would hardly go on now go on all the way an dthe lenses that orginally went on all the way are so loose they just wobble around and can easily fall out. Basically the more use, the looser the fit on the lens mount. I would pay for a locking Nikon mount if Quyen made it. Until then, the way I have fixed this is putting electrical tape on the end of the Letus lens mount, basically making it thinker and the lenses fit tight again. To do this 1. I take the lens mount off teh Letus an dlay it on a table with the Nikon side facing up 2. Then I cover the entire top with electrical tape without overlapping any. 3. Then I turn the lens mount over and put pressure on it to get teh tape on good. 4. Then with the Nikon side facing down I use a razor to trim around the inside and outside of the mount removing all excess tape. Now I have a perfect ring of tape that allows the lens to be tight. Electrical tape seems to be just the right thinkness and it has some elasticitity to help with the variation in tightness of the lenses. Hopefully that helps. __________________ Mahalo, Dusty

March 31st, 2006, 04:32 PM	#3
Will Hanlon Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 148	Lior, do you have the Letus35 Flip Enhanced? Jeremy, when you say some lenses sit loose, how loose are they? Will they fall off or shake during shooting? Have you had any problems with dust?

March 31st, 2006, 11:55 PM	#4
Gabriel Chiefetz Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 73	Jeremy, Regarding your butter knife trick- I'm trying to align my Letus 35a correctly so the GG is horizontal, but I'm stuck. I tried taking off the screw mount, as you and others have suggested, and then screwing it onto the camera first, followed by the rest of the Letus. However, on mine the Letus screw mount attaches to the rest of the Letus with three screws- two small silver ones, and one black one with a little knob. The arrangement seems to make it impossible to adjust the screw mount independently. So I have to keep my Letus one quarter turn loose on the camera in order for the GG to be horizontal. This isn't a show-stopper, but it would be better to be able to tighten the Letus onto the camera all the way. Any suggestions? Am I missing something here? Thanks!

April 1st, 2006, 12:03 PM	#6
Lior Molcho Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 78	Many thanks for all the replies 1.I am using the 35Flip, and as far as i know its not a special version of it. 2.about the Lenses, as advised by Quyen i am using some tape to shim them to the adapter - i must say its pretty embarrasing having clients on the set while doing that -it works but really,how much more would it cost to buy the nikon ring that has a locking mechanisem and fit it at the right lenght on th Letus.(around 15$) 3.about the fitting of the gate on the letus, in my letus the screw just dont realy screw anything, they stop before the piece is tightened. the idea behind my post was to see if i was the only one encountering problem with the Letus, problems that are small but disrupt the workflowUnlike a lot of people here i am not a skilled handyman - i just wanna shoot good pictures, and when i buy something i want it to work right. the funny thing is that i am actually considering buying the new Relay lens - but am afraid of small kinks and poor craftsmanship. as someone has once said: "Devinity is in the small details "

May 7th, 2006, 08:19 PM	#8
Will Hanlon Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 148	So to get the Letus Flip attached and aligned correctly to your camcorder, you have to pry loose the 72mm thread part of the adapter (the silver part)? How do you do this? I'm confused. You said you loosened a part with a butter knife. Which part? Are you supposed to pull the silver threated part out of the black?