Using the Brevis with the EX1 at DVinfo.net

Dale Backus · April 18th, 2008, 11:05 AM

A friend brought an EX1 over to use my Brevis with for a shoot he has this weekend. He bought the CFLE1 from Cinevate and some spacer rings which they said he needed when he called to ask.

After replacing the Groundglass and with or without we could NOT get the camera to focus on the glass. With Macro on or off - doesn't seem to make a difference.

We can get the camera to zoom and still focus when the image is right to the edge of the Box on the LCD. Is that the actual image or is it action safe or something? Not sure what's going on.

Can someone help out with this? Any advice would be great. We

Jeremy Hughes · April 18th, 2008, 11:48 AM

Seems like almost all the adapter makers are having to add a new acromat in order for the EX1 to work properly. It doesnt have great macro focus and also theyve said the 1/2" chips make a difference. I know the SGPro is having to do that and if you get a LEX, you need to add it on.

Tom Roper · April 18th, 2008, 12:30 PM

You can go to the "Basic Setup" video at the Cinevate University. I think the problem is that when you zoom in, the minimum focus distance will increase. If the GG is closer than the minimum, you can't focus on it, thus the requirement for spacer(s).

I'm assuming also you aren't using the flip.

Benjamin Eckstein · April 18th, 2008, 08:34 PM

I think you may NEED the flip. I haven't tried mine without the flip but I believe you would need a ton of spacers to use it without the flip. Works with the flip though.

Leonard Levy · April 18th, 2008, 08:52 PM

The Ex-1 lens has created many problems for the adapter makers.

Dennis is in the process of finalizing his fix for the EX-1. Rather than steal his thunder I will only say that it will be out very soon and it will be different.

My tests with the current Brevis + flip indicated that you needed to shoot at f8 on the video camera to get decent focus across the whole screen. f5.6 would be fair if you didn't care about the edges. The fix presumably will fix this and hopefully allow use of the full SLR image size. i haven't tried with a pre-flip brevis at all.

The improved achromat for the Letus (and apparently same for the SGPro though I haven't tested personally ) works very well but has some vignetting at full SLR as I recall so you need to zoom more.

_ Lenny

Steve Cahill · April 19th, 2008, 01:41 PM

You need to zoom less with the Letus, with the Sony EX1 and the Letus fix.

Phil Bloom · April 19th, 2008, 02:41 PM

look forward to the Brevis fix. Got 3 of the things sitting gathering dust. Yes it's true the camera needs to be very stopped down to get decent edge to edge focus

Juan McFarland · April 21st, 2008, 03:59 AM

This probably isn't your problem, BUT if your EX-1 is not macro focusing at all:
make sure that in addition to the 'macro' switch being on, the focus ring is in the forward 'a/f' position. As you rack this will bring the minimum object distance to around one inch.

Phil Bloom · April 21st, 2008, 04:02 AM

macro focus mode is no good for focusing in on ground glass. It only works for very minor zoom, not for the amount needed to focus in on the gg

Dale Backus · April 22nd, 2008, 09:32 PM

Been so busy haven't had a chance to thank you guys for the help.

We'll have our eyes out for those fixes!

April 18th, 2008, 11:05 AM	#1
Dale Backus Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Cary, NC Posts: 132	Using the Brevis with the EX1 A friend brought an EX1 over to use my Brevis with for a shoot he has this weekend. He bought the CFLE1 from Cinevate and some spacer rings which they said he needed when he called to ask. After replacing the Groundglass and with or without we could NOT get the camera to focus on the glass. With Macro on or off - doesn't seem to make a difference. We can get the camera to zoom and still focus when the image is right to the edge of the Box on the LCD. Is that the actual image or is it action safe or something? Not sure what's going on. Can someone help out with this? Any advice would be great. We

April 18th, 2008, 11:48 AM	#2
Jeremy Hughes Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 276 Images: 2	Seems like almost all the adapter makers are having to add a new acromat in order for the EX1 to work properly. It doesnt have great macro focus and also theyve said the 1/2" chips make a difference. I know the SGPro is having to do that and if you get a LEX, you need to add it on. __________________ www.elevate-m.com filmvideostuff.blogspot.com

April 19th, 2008, 01:41 PM	#6
Steve Cahill Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 321	You need to zoom less with the Letus, with the Sony EX1 and the Letus fix. __________________ Regards Steve

April 19th, 2008, 02:41 PM	#7
Phil Bloom Trustee Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: London UK Posts: 1,939	look forward to the Brevis fix. Got 3 of the things sitting gathering dust. Yes it's true the camera needs to be very stopped down to get decent edge to edge focus __________________ Philip Bloom Cinematographer, Director, Filmmaker www.philipbloom.net

April 21st, 2008, 04:02 AM	#9
Phil Bloom Trustee Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: London UK Posts: 1,939	macro focus mode is no good for focusing in on ground glass. It only works for very minor zoom, not for the amount needed to focus in on the gg __________________ Philip Bloom Cinematographer, Director, Filmmaker www.philipbloom.net

April 18th, 2008, 12:30 PM	#3
Tom Roper Trustee Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 1,891	You can go to the "Basic Setup" video at the Cinevate University. I think the problem is that when you zoom in, the minimum focus distance will increase. If the GG is closer than the minimum, you can't focus on it, thus the requirement for spacer(s). I'm assuming also you aren't using the flip.

April 18th, 2008, 08:34 PM	#4
Benjamin Eckstein Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 380 Images: 1	I think you may NEED the flip. I haven't tried mine without the flip but I believe you would need a ton of spacers to use it without the flip. Works with the flip though.

April 18th, 2008, 08:52 PM	#5
Leonard Levy Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: USA Posts: 1,684	The Ex-1 lens has created many problems for the adapter makers. Dennis is in the process of finalizing his fix for the EX-1. Rather than steal his thunder I will only say that it will be out very soon and it will be different. My tests with the current Brevis + flip indicated that you needed to shoot at f8 on the video camera to get decent focus across the whole screen. f5.6 would be fair if you didn't care about the edges. The fix presumably will fix this and hopefully allow use of the full SLR image size. i haven't tried with a pre-flip brevis at all. The improved achromat for the Letus (and apparently same for the SGPro though I haven't tested personally ) works very well but has some vignetting at full SLR as I recall so you need to zoom more. _ Lenny

April 21st, 2008, 03:59 AM	#8
Juan McFarland Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Honolulu HI Posts: 50	This probably isn't your problem, BUT if your EX-1 is not macro focusing at all: make sure that in addition to the 'macro' switch being on, the focus ring is in the forward 'a/f' position. As you rack this will bring the minimum object distance to around one inch.

April 22nd, 2008, 09:32 PM	#10
Dale Backus Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Cary, NC Posts: 132	Been so busy haven't had a chance to thank you guys for the help. We'll have our eyes out for those fixes!