I was wondering if Quyen or any Letus35 owners have made any rod support systems for the Letus. The adapter itself is pretty light, but with the added length and weight of the lens, I'm afraid it might eventually snap off. Right now I have to hold the SLR lens while I film, but it becomes a hassle when I have the camcorder on a tripod.

Quyen, can you make a support for the Letus that we can buy?

The rod support is not far from being done but I have very little time now. Because I have to fill the orders, I have to set aside rod support project along with many other projects. Will work on it when I find time, thanks.

Quyen

Awesome, it's good to know that it's close to being done! How much do you expect to sell it for?

From $150 to $200, thanks.

Quyen

At that price you might as well buy the Cavision rod support for $158 at B&H.

i'm not doing too bad with a pair of 15mm dowel rods, a balsa block and some gaffer's tape...

jimi :)

My rod support will have a device that fit the letus35 in, if you can find something that works, it will save me a lot of time and hassle, thanks.

Quyen

"...if you can find something that works, it will save me a lot of time and hassle..."

Hey man, don't sweat it! I was just wondering if you were working on a rod support for the Letus cuz I know at least some people wouldn't mind having one.

"At that price you might as well buy the Cavision rod support for $158 at B&H."

Cool! I'll check that out, thanks!

Could those who can, show some pictures of the Letus with the Rods... even if it's home made... thanks

Yea, it'd be really nice if someone who's made one posts some pointers or pictures of their setup. Maybe Jimi could show us his setup? :D

I was able to find the RS-15IIM rods support (http://www.cavision.com/rods/minidv.htm) from the Cavision website, but I'm not sure if that's the right one or if it will fit the Letus.

Any help would be appreciated!

This is what I ordered:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=335222&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

Search "cavision" on bhphotovideo.com

Thanks, Ben. Can you post a pic of your setup with it? I can't see how it would help support the lens since the plate mount is higher than the rods and there's nothing in front of it to support the lens.

The Cavision rod system is top notch for the money. I got mine for my XL2 for $139.95 at EVS in Glendale, CA. Get the universal adjustable bracket as well. Mine (the bracket) is in the mail as it was a special order aside from the rod system.

I ORDERED THIS ONE FOR MINE, HOPE ITS OK.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=126662&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

its cheap and it looks neat!

Someone else tried that support Salvador, they reported it works great.

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

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

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. ????

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

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!

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!

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.

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...

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.

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?

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.

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?

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

Someone else tried that support Salvador, they reported it works great.

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

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




That footage sold me on getting rods.