I've been thinking about investing in a 35m adaptor for the A1 in the near future. I'm wondering what people's thoughts are on the choices after having used the various kits with their A1.

M2, letusflip enhanced, brevis seem to be the top choices. Not sure if I've missed one.

I know it's discussed quite abit around the forum, but I'm wondering what the A1 owner's thoughts are. Pros, cons specifically related to the A1 design.

I talked with the owner of DVshop last week and he said the M2 group was coming out with something new this year that would be more in line with the A1. Not sure if anyone has heard of this. I think this was after NAB.

Trish

I use the Letus Flip Enhanced and I love it. I have plenty of examples posted on this forum. What makes it so cool is it just slips on and off in seconds, no elaborate setup and you can use it without rods (unless you are using a huge lens, of course). I give this adapter 2 thumbs up.

In fact, I like the look of the footage so much that it's almost a let down to go back to the stock lens.

Hey Steven, do you know the full weight of your A1 setup + Letus FE + Lens?

I ask, because I'm shopping for a tripod, and the Libec Ls-22 is supposed to be a great deal, but has a max load capacity of 8.8 lbs.

Should I go for a higher max load tripod? Especially if I'd want to add an external LCD monitor to the hot shoe?

Hey Steven, do you have any lower light examples of the A1 + LetusFE? All of your Letus clips have made me very interested in going that route.

Is there any chance of finding a Canon EF adapter, or should I forget that? The aperture is electronically-controlled on EF lenses (I am not sure if the same is true for FD lenses), that probably makes it all the more complicated.

Is there any chance of finding a Canon EF adapter, or should I forget that? The aperture is electronically-controlled on EF lenses (I am not sure if the same is true for FD lenses), that probably makes it all the more complicated.

Several 35mm adapters are available with Canon EF mount.
The lack of an aperture ring on Canon EF lenses can be quite annoying and shooting wide open is rarely ideal - but there is a work-around.
Attach lens to a Canon DSLR in Av/Manual mode.
Select aperture
Press and hold down DOF-preview button
Detach lens

The EF mount is quite versatile though. With relatively cheap lens adapters you can use Nikon, Contax/Yashica, Pentax K, M42 and Leica R mount lenses.

I definitely love the footage that Steve has been posting. Which is why I was first leaning in that direction.

My only worry with the letus was that Steve had mentioned you pretty much need an external monitor to get proper focus. And that would add a bigger expense to the original letus. I think in canada you're looking at a few grand for an external monitor to mount.

I was wondering if the others had the same need.

But I do like how the letus just snaps on - looks like the m2 needs rods etc.
As far as I can tell the Brevis just snaps on too.

Trish

The Letus with a 50mm lens on it is about a pound and a half in weight.

I have been doing extensive shooting of my son's games in Little League using 100mm and 50mm lenses. I am just using the peaking and magnifying feature in the LCD and am nailing focus about 90% of the time so I wouldn't say an external monitor is the only way to go. If you have a good eye, you can get away with just the LCD.

that's good to know on squeaking by without a monitor as it makes the cost quite a bit different. I've seen the baseball footage and it looks great to my eye.

Trish

So Steven, is it safe to say your rig is basically:

A1 and 950 battery (5.0 lbs) + Letus FE and 50mm Lens (1.5 lbs) = 6.5 lbs?

This would leave 2.3 lbs for a monitor, which should be easy. But how much does the 100mm lens you're using weigh? Do you think the 8.8 lbs max on the Libec LS-22 is cutting it too close?

And Steven, have you tried the Hoodman H-300 with your Letus FE setup? I highly recommend it; makes focusing with the stock lens really easy, so I imagine it could help a lot with the Letus FE too.

The 100mm I use is the E-series so it's about the same size and weight as the 28mm, not a big telescopic looking thing.

I haven't tried that hoodman but I probably will get it. It's under $20 :)

Thanks for the tip.

Actually Steven it's $29.95 at B&H. Here's the right link:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/294332-REG/Hoodman_H3C_H_300_Hood_with_Magnifier.html

Make sure you get this one, as there are a few other versions and it's a little confusing on the B&H website (e.g. one doesn't come with the magnifyer, just the hood).

So what lenses do you use, and have you found to be the best with your Letus? I have two fully manual Nikon lenses (Nikkor):

-28mm (open at 2.8)
-50mm (open at 1.4)

How will these work, and what other lenses might I want to get?

I use the 50mm 1.8 which is allegedly a little sharper than the 1.4. I really like it.

I also have the 28mm and the E-series 100mm as previously mentioned.

The 85mm portrait lens (can't remember how fast the lens is) is a great piece of glass but not that cheap.

Does the 50mm give you the really nice shallow DOF I've seen in your stuff, or is that usually the product of the 100mm?

And what speed 28mm lens do you have?

My two current lenses are Nikon; would I be able to use a Canon E-series lens with the same Letus FE setup?

Thanks for all the help! Trying to get up to speed on all this.

Yes, you can get a decent shallow depth of field with the 50mm. The super shallow shots are with the 100mm but you don't want to go overboard with this effect. Look at any movie out there and you will see that there is only a certain percentage of shots that have a very shallow depth of field.

The 28mm I have is f2.8.

The Letus needs a lot of light, it is not a low-light performer so if you are planning on shooting in a low light environment, if lights are not an option, you may as well forget it. The Brevis is the best performer in low light that I'm aware of.

The lens adapter at the end of the Letus is flippable, meaning one side is for Nikon and the other side is for Canon...no extra charge, comes with it.

So it sounds like your bread and butter is the 50mm? I imagine this is easier to focus than the 100mm (which would have less margin of error)?

Do you find the A1 with the Letus FE and a 50mm or 100mm usable for handheld, or does it seem as if the camera is going to break? Would it be too difficult to focus? How difficult do you think it would be to operate a steadycam/glidecam and focus the Letus FE?

Great to hear about the built in Nikon/Canon compatibility of the Letus FE.

Regarding the light loss, the current Brevis should be better than the Letus FE, as it doesn't have a built-in flip prism. Cinevate is evidently developing a flip module to be used with any adapters, for under/around $300 (or so I read a few weeks ago). Any thoughts on whether I should wait for that to come out, and couple it with the regular Letus 35A or maybe even the current Brevis?

All of the footage I shot during this Little League (which is about 4 hours worth) is done handheld and with a Steadybag. It holds up really well and I am able to focus on the fly with no problems. It does get a little heavy on the arm but that's only after prolonged shooting with no break.

I'm not going to steer you one way or the other but the flip is the reason I use this adapter. Not having to flip the monitor or spend extra time rendering a 180degree flip in post is a life saver.

Wait for the Brevis if you like but it seems like everyone is waiting for something to materialize eventually while there are already good tools available. The choice is yours. My posted footage is all I can offer others to convince them of the quality of this adapter.

35mm take a little while to master so don't get bent out of shape if you can't get the focus right, it will come with practice grasshopper.

Thanks again Steven.

I would want to use a flip unit for the exact same reasons. The fact that you are using the A1, handheld, and focusing successfully with the LCD without the aid of the Hoodman H-300 (which I tell ya is great), is excellent to hear.

The next narrative project I'm doing is all exterior day stuff, so the FE would be a great match - not too worried about the light loss!

I'm really leaning toward the FE at this point, but the idea of the Brevis + Brevis flip is really intriguing. But you're right: one can wait forever for this stuff.

What would be the price comparison of the brevis +flip and the letusflip?

It looks up til now the letus is the most economical of the lot.

Trish

Unless I'm mistaken, the Letus FE will be around half as expensive as the Brevis + Brevis Flip module (which hasn't been released yet so the true price is uncertain).

adding the 28 mm or the 100mm gives you what telephoto range?

As a Canadian, I'm wondering if anyone has any advice for the best way to have things shipped to Canada? I have heard that UPS is deadly and ends up costing large $$$ in customs. But beyond this I'm green.

Are there any Canadians with experience in cross border purchases of significant value like these 35mm adaptors which aren't available locally unfortunately.

Trish

I've since done a search on Canadian customs on the forum and it does appear to be all over the map for whether they charge customs fees. And can depend on how you get it shipped. I've read up on Canada/US taxes and apparently if the item is made in the U.S. there shouldn't be a big hit.

It doesn't seem to be clear however in practice.

the best shipping in order (from a previous post)

1) USPS
2) DHL
3) FedEX
4) UPS

but then they went on to complain that USPS delivers alot of damaged goods. And considering this is a glass lens, that option may be too risky.

EDIT
Below is a link to a comprehensive guide for shipping across the border and addresses most of the questions I posed above.

http://www.imageswest.ca/cross-border.htm