Getting Letus for the XH-A1

[Sam Ren]

Hi, first of I'm really new to the whole 35mm adapter world but i had a few questions about the letus adapters.. I've been looking at a lot of footage and pics of rigs etc... and decided on the letus for price/performance. I did have a few questions to clear up before I buy it..

1) I cant really afford the letus extreme because I still need $$$ to buy lenses. Is the Economy as good visually? and is it strong enough for everyday use? or should i go for the FE? anyways im stuck between the economy or FE . I make Short Films, Docs and Music Videos if that helps..

2) Is it ok to buy a Non AI Nikon lens? i know theres threads covering this but I just didnt see anything clear enough for me.. I know the AIS is newer and the Non AI's are really old.. but in one thread it said that some older lenses have really nice glass etc etc.. also that the newer ones have a nicer rubber focus ring? should i get a AI, AIS or Non AI? or does it really matter? also i do have a Canon Rebel XTi with some lenses, would it be better just to use those? I know that I would have to lug my canon camera around if I do use them.. is there other cons? The FE and Economy let you choose between the Nikon locking mount and the Swappable Canon/Nikon mount. is the nikon locking mount much better?

3) Do I need Rails for the economy or FE or would i be ok without em just for prime lenses?


Thanks in advance and sorry if i made these questions sound more complicated than they are heh..

[Shiv Kumar]

Sam,

I have and have used the FE and have upgraded to the Letus Extreme. If I were you, I'd buy the Extreme.

The optics in the Extreme have been improved quite a bit. Also the loss of light in the FE is about 1.5-2.0 stops while in the Extreme it's 0.5 stops. This difference could make the difference between being able to use the Letus for a shoot or not. I've been in this situation myself and wished I had the Extreme (of course the Extreme did not exist at the time). The body of the Extreme is milled alluminum rather than a platic body. You'll want that too, trust me.

You don't mention the canon lenses you have. Plus not sure why you think you need to cart your DSLR along either (unless you intend to use the stopping down trick I posted about).

You should use prime lenses for critical work with the Letus just becuse, you've got a great camera and it doesn't make sense to ruin the quality of your video by using non prime lenses.

For Nikon lenses AIS (after all the research I did) seems to be the best glass. I bought a 50mm f/1.4 AIS brand new from B&H (for sale on ebay right now) and a 100mm f/2.5 from ebay. The 50mm (being new and AIS probably) is way clearer and sharper than the 100mm.

Since you have a Canon DSLR and you can get an EF mount for the Letus you might want to think about buying/using Canon prime lenses. That way, you can use the lenses on your DSLR or Letus. This is what I'm doing, since it didn't make sense to me to invest in Nikon and Canon lenses, especially since I figured out a way to stop down (if required) the EF lenses in order to use with the Letus. You can ask for the EF mount for the Letus FE as well (it's not listed, but you can talk to them. I was given that option).

The other option you have is to rent prime lenses for use with your letus. That way you don't have to cough up the money today and you can use the money you have to buy the best Letus (Letus Extreme) today.

If you're buying the Letus Extreme you'll need rails ($100). The other models you could use without rails (I've used the FE without rails but have bought rails since), but again the A1 was not built to hold such a weight at the end of it's lens.

In conclusion, I reccomend buying the Extreme and rails and renting the lens you need. Since you have a Canon DSLR, I reccomend the EF mount option, rather than the Nikon mount so you can use those lenses with your camera as well.

Shiv.

[Sam Ren]

Thanks for your prompt & detailed reply. So i'll look into some Canon primes i've been needing to get some better lenses for my DSLR anyways. I dont know off the top of my head but i think i have a 300mm,85mm & if I'm not mistaken 55mm canon lens.

So you don't think the economy would be a good deal? Its plastic but it would be better then the FE no? If I went for the extreme right now I wouldn't be able to afford rails or lenses.. I dont know what to do heh..

[Shiv Kumar]

Sam,

Obviously I can't tell you what to do :). Therefore are some marked differences between the economy and the Extreme. Take a look at this
http://www.letusdirect.com/letus35-c...son-chart.html.

If the differences between the economy and Extreme are not something you care for or you're willing to compromise on then sure go for the economy.

From the list of lenses you gave you seem to have the lenses you'll need in the near future (it's probably a 50mm and not 55mm). You may need a wider lens in some situations (a 28mm or wider) depending on how you want to shoot.

If waiting another month will allow you to buy rails then that's what I'd do. The Letus, like lenses you buy is an invenstment of sorts.

[Sam Ren]

Hey thx for the help and the link it's actually really helpful im seriously considering the extreme since it does have a waiting time of a few weeks I might be able to get the rails+lenses before it actually arives ... do you by any chance know what the "new condenser" on the Extreme does?

[Sam Ren]

nevermind on the new condenser, I found in another thread its supposed to fix "hot spots".

[Terry Lee]

Hey Sam - These videos may be lame...but they might help

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts66BV5OTHI