cannon xh a1 or hv30 and letus at DVinfo.net

Luke Oliver · February 17th, 2009, 03:00 AM

i need a second camera. One to set up on the church at the back while im at the front, ( mainly for cut aways if i get in troube) for some steadicam shots on my merlin and if the light is too low to film the dancing and evening stuff ( not totally necessary as my sony v1 isnt too bad)

which would my money be more best spent

or would it be wiser to save the letus for my sony and or cannon.

i like the idea that the Hv30 and letus is light and easy

Just lookng for some opinions if people have time to answer??

many thanks

luke

Richard Wakefield · February 17th, 2009, 04:35 AM

I know 2 people with a Letus and HV30 setup, and both are generally disappointed...it's seems to be too small and fiddly a setup to get anything decent all of the time. And plugging in an external viewing monitor seems a bit overkill?

I'd say you either need to go the whole hog and get a Letus (or Brevis, or SGBlade) for the XH-A1, or just get the 5dmk2 (but only good for short burst shots, not whole ceremonies!)

Every setup out of the ones above has clear pros and cons.

Luke Oliver · February 17th, 2009, 04:53 AM

cheers rich , ill wait and get the sg blade, looks dam nice
ill save my pennies and get that.

thanks again

Richard Wakefield · February 17th, 2009, 07:39 AM

yeah and spot the fool who bought a letus extreme, just before the sgblade came out, :O

got some 'ok' test shots with the letus on saturday though:
Letus Extreme Test Shots on Vimeo

Yang Wen · February 17th, 2009, 07:50 AM

I've used the HV30+Letus Mini combo.. It worked just fine for preparation segments. And that is the ONLY part of the day I've used that combo with. For the rest of the day, if you have another shooter to get b-Rolls, I'm sure the HV+Letus will capture some wonderful shots that you won't get with the A1. However, if you are a sole shooter like me, then the Letus has little use for the rest of the day other than perhaps shooting the free dance, provided there's enough lighting.

Luke Oliver · February 17th, 2009, 09:12 AM

can u not send it back rich and say ur not happy???

i almost did the same as u and by off chance heard about it , still the letus looks great form all the stuff i have seen

may sound a bit dont judge a book but the black and red really draws me in

luke

Luke Oliver · February 17th, 2009, 09:13 AM

just saw your footage , looks great, i cant wait to achieve that DOF

Richard Wakefield · February 17th, 2009, 09:17 AM

oh don't get me wrong, i don't regret it at all, it's was just a wee bit gutting the SGblade is something produced 'locally' and i could have tried it before buying it.

i'll re-assess after a few more go's of it :)

Tom Alexander · February 17th, 2009, 11:43 PM

You can get very nice images from the HV30 and a Letus, but its not a good set up if you need to move quickly at any point. Plus, the Letus does not help with the low light sensitivity. For filmmaking, it might be another story, but for event videography, I gotta think the XH-A1 would be a better choice.

Jason Robinson · February 18th, 2009, 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Alexander

You can get very nice images from the HV30 and a Letus, but its not a good set up if you need to move quickly at any point. Plus, the Letus does not help with the low light sensitivity. For filmmaking, it might be another story, but for event videography, I gotta think the XH-A1 would be a better choice.

THis is what I was thinking. I don't own either XHa1 or HV30, but the LEtus has been reported to cut a full stop or two off your light. And or weddings you just cannot afford that.

Yang Wen · February 18th, 2009, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Robinson

THis is what I was thinking. I don't own either XHa1 or HV30, but the LEtus has been reported to cut a full stop or two off your light. And or weddings you just cannot afford that.

One thing that always bugged me about the adapter industry is the fact that NO manufacture ever mentions or reminds a potential customer the additional loss of light one would suffer due to the fact that you have to zoom-in to fill the GG in the frame. All prosumer camcorders have variable aperture zoom lens so once you have zoomed-in to fill the FOV with the GG, you typically loose another 1 to 2 stops... The HV30 for example has maximum aperture of f1.8 at full wide, but only f2.4 or f2.8 once I have zoomed in sufficiently to fill the GG of the Letus Mini in my frame.

John Stakes · February 18th, 2009, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yang Wen

the additional loss of light one would suffer due to the fact that you have to zoom-in to fill the GG in the frame.

I never thought about that. But MAN you need a lot of light when using these things!

BTW do pricier camcorders have variable aperture zoom lenses? Do they need "adapters" to create a shallow DOF?

JS

EDIT: Sorry Luke, I agree with the others, XH A1 is the way I would go.

February 17th, 2009, 03:00 AM	#1
Luke Oliver Major Player Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Guernsey , Channel Islands Posts: 242	cannon xh a1 or hv30 and letus i need a second camera. One to set up on the church at the back while im at the front, ( mainly for cut aways if i get in troube) for some steadicam shots on my merlin and if the light is too low to film the dancing and evening stuff ( not totally necessary as my sony v1 isnt too bad) which would my money be more best spent or would it be wiser to save the letus for my sony and or cannon. i like the idea that the Hv30 and letus is light and easy Just lookng for some opinions if people have time to answer?? many thanks luke

February 17th, 2009, 04:53 AM	#3
Luke Oliver Major Player Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Guernsey , Channel Islands Posts: 242	re cheers rich , ill wait and get the sg blade, looks dam nice ill save my pennies and get that. thanks again

February 17th, 2009, 09:12 AM	#6
Luke Oliver Major Player Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Guernsey , Channel Islands Posts: 242	re can u not send it back rich and say ur not happy??? i almost did the same as u and by off chance heard about it , still the letus looks great form all the stuff i have seen may sound a bit dont judge a book but the black and red really draws me in luke

February 17th, 2009, 09:13 AM	#7
Luke Oliver Major Player Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Guernsey , Channel Islands Posts: 242	re just saw your footage , looks great, i cant wait to achieve that DOF

February 17th, 2009, 04:35 AM	#2
Richard Wakefield Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Surrey, UK Posts: 680	I know 2 people with a Letus and HV30 setup, and both are generally disappointed...it's seems to be too small and fiddly a setup to get anything decent all of the time. And plugging in an external viewing monitor seems a bit overkill? I'd say you either need to go the whole hog and get a Letus (or Brevis, or SGBlade) for the XH-A1, or just get the 5dmk2 (but only good for short burst shots, not whole ceremonies!) Every setup out of the ones above has clear pros and cons.

February 17th, 2009, 07:39 AM	#4
Richard Wakefield Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Surrey, UK Posts: 680	yeah and spot the fool who bought a letus extreme, just before the sgblade came out, :O got some 'ok' test shots with the letus on saturday though: Letus Extreme Test Shots on Vimeo

February 17th, 2009, 07:50 AM	#5
Yang Wen Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 991	I've used the HV30+Letus Mini combo.. It worked just fine for preparation segments. And that is the ONLY part of the day I've used that combo with. For the rest of the day, if you have another shooter to get b-Rolls, I'm sure the HV+Letus will capture some wonderful shots that you won't get with the A1. However, if you are a sole shooter like me, then the Letus has little use for the rest of the day other than perhaps shooting the free dance, provided there's enough lighting.

February 17th, 2009, 09:17 AM	#8
Richard Wakefield Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Surrey, UK Posts: 680	oh don't get me wrong, i don't regret it at all, it's was just a wee bit gutting the SGblade is something produced 'locally' and i could have tried it before buying it. i'll re-assess after a few more go's of it :)

February 17th, 2009, 11:43 PM	#9
Tom Alexander Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: Ontario, Ca. Posts: 121	You can get very nice images from the HV30 and a Letus, but its not a good set up if you need to move quickly at any point. Plus, the Letus does not help with the low light sensitivity. For filmmaking, it might be another story, but for event videography, I gotta think the XH-A1 would be a better choice.