Letus35 Extreme with HC1 or A1? Will it work?

[David Koo]

The new Letus35 Extreme 35mm adapter only has 1/2 stop light loss! Would this adapter work with a HC1 or A1? Does anyone have experience with this adapter on these cameras?

thanks
dave

[Aaron Pinto]

I used to run a Letus Flip on my HVR-A1 with no problems at all. I had to use a stepping ring to get the threads to match up but that was no big deal.

There is no reason an Extreme wouldn't work on an A1/HC1. You will need to use a stepping ring(s) like I did with the Flip but other than than that, it will be a nice little combo that will give you some great images.

If you have any other questions, please let me know.

[Mark Gervasoni]

I'm expecting delivery of my Letus Extreme this Friday. I bought it for my Panasonic HVX200 but I'm very curious how if it would work with my A1U.

I popped my A1U on my HVX rig (Manfrotto 526X legs with a 501HDV head) and set it up with my Red Rock follow focus and 18" rods. Worked very nicely together, even if it looked a little like connecting a Walkman to a big stereo.

I need to order the adapter rings to try it out. Maybe I need to get a Matte Box to really make it right! I'll try to get some footage up ASAP next weekend or early next week.

Mark
www.newmediadevcorp.com

[Paul Cascio]

I have an Extreme and though I haven't done much with it, it seems to work fine. I bought rails from Indifocus and I'm using a slew of step rings to connect the camera to the Letus.

The Letus weighs twice as much as the camera.

[Mark Gervasoni]

Hi Paul -

I've been trying to find the right mix of rings to match my Letus up. Would you mind posting the parts you bought and where? A picture of your rig would be cool, too! I've been doing some shooting with my Panasonic HVX and really like the look the Letus gives. I'm considering selling my Sony A1 kit, but if it works well with the Letus I'm might just hang on to it.

Thanks,

Mark

[Paul Cascio]

Tell you the truth, I was a little embarrased to even respond, because I figured it was jerry-rigged. In fact, I'm still trying to figure how to put the thing on my tripod. I'm not one of the gurus here, just a hacker with a love (pronounced addiction) for gadgets.

I will take a pic and try to post it.

As for the rings, I bought a set of rings on Ebay. I would like to simplify by using fewer rings, as they are a bit of a pain. I have both an A1 and an HC1, both are 37mm thread.

The Indie Rails are good but I'm still not sure I've got the optimum setup so feedback will be welcome when I get the pics up.

[Paul Cascio]

Okay, here's some shots. The A1 is hooked to a prompter so I did a temp setup with the HC1 so I could take some pics.

I included a few shots of my "studio" as I am actually getting ready to produce another instructional video.

Feedback is welcome.

http://pictureframingschool.com/letus.htm

[Paul Cascio]

Here's an ebay link for step rings. You need to end with 37mm-Male.

http://search.ebay.com/search/search...ngs&category0=

[Mark Gervasoni]

Paul -

That looks way cool! Thanks for posting the pictures and reminding me I can get rings on eBay. Never even thought to look there. I usually order from B&H in NY.

Have you shot anything with it yet? I'm anxious to try with the A1.

You and I must live in a parallel universe. I've attached a pic of my basement studio and of my Letus setup on my panasonic, plus a shot from a digital signage project I did for a clothing store.

I checked out your web site. Excellent! It sounds like you've succeeded in making a living at what you love. Have you thought about posting short samples of your DVD on your site? Take a look at my site www.newmediadevcorp.com and there are lots of simple Flash samples there that stream right off my hosting on GoDaddy.com. If you need help on getting a sample or two up, let me know, would be glad to help. If you don't have Flash, I can take a wmv file and make it a Flash and send you the player and files that go with it (plus instructions on how to get it on a page). Very simple once you know the steps.

I've started work on a learning DVD for the middle and high school market. I'm might have some questions for you about printing and packaging. Yours looks very professional.

I'm just finished a short I made yesterday of shots with my Panasonic/Letus out in the yard with a little snow. It's on www.vimeo.com under my name (or should be soon).

Thanks again for the info. Continued success!

[Mark Gervasoni]

All -

I just checked the Letus Site. There are now a selection of OEM adapters from Letus that will allow you to mate it up to a variety of cameras without (or too many) adapters. I just ordered one for the A1U for $40 that is 37mm straight to Letus Extreme.

[Martin Labelle]

Hello Mark
I have watch all the clips on your site and its very very good(flowers,manufacture etc) And the quality of the viewer also,if one day you give a course on how to set up a website let me know.

[Mark Gervasoni]

Hi Martin -

That is the biggest compliment you could pay me, because I really hate HTML!

I did my own site when I started because I had no money. So I've fumbled along building my site over the last year. One thing I did learn to do, is to get Flash movies encoded properly and how to put them on the site with the Flash player. It's not diffucult once you work thru all the settings and bugs. Only took my about three weeks of endless days and nights messing with it!

Now I'm confortable making all sorts of movies for the web, including those with an alpha channel that can play over html. One problem if you want to do all this is that you need the programs to do it. I spent $800 on Macromedia Studio to get Flash Pro, Dreamweaver, & Fireworks. All good programs, but quite an investment and there is a pretty steep learning curve - though nothing compared to Maya 2008 that I am learning now!).

Keep in mind that the video you see on my site is almost all from the Panasonic HVX. It is easy to get great images from that camera. I am currently working on improving footage from the A1 to mix in with the HVX. One of the things I have done is to order an adapter to put my Letus Extreme on my A1. Should be interesting. I also need to buy some ND filters (and a polarizer) because the A1 is always working with the iris half closed. I tthink those additions alone would make a huge difference in the quality of footage.

Do yo have any sample footage anywhere? If you want to upload a wmv file for public viewing, try www.vimeo.com. I have a couple of videos there, one that is not on my site. It is shots I took this last Sunday after a snowfall with the Letus adapter on my HVX. I assume you are doing some editing. If you use Vegas, just render a movie at half size using the wmv render codec. (the 1280x720 preset, but change the size to 640x360). You can use the same wmv file created to make a Flash from if you buy Flash basic. Let me know if you have any questions. I want to see some footage on Vimeo soon!

BTW, I love Montreal. I was there last year for a short business trip. Would love to come back!

Mark

[Mark Gervasoni]

I just rec'd the 37mm Letus adapter. It fits on the camera, but it sure isn't adapting to the Letus Exteme that I have (for my HVX Panasonic).

I'll post what I find out ASAP.

Mark