Letus 35A and HDV? at DVinfo.net

David Delaney · April 6th, 2009, 11:29 AM

I was wondering if I should scrap my Letus35A adapter at this point. I have had the usual issues of gravity causing patterns because of the nature of how it is created. I was thinking about buying a new GG from AlexMD over at hv20.
(I would post the thread where he is talking about it and selling them, but I am not sure if it is allowed by Chris).

I am using my HV20 and sometimes my HC1 in my projects now, but I haven't touched the Letus35A in a long time but all of the 35mm adapters has got me excited about it again.

Any thoughts?

Chris Barcellos · April 6th, 2009, 01:22 PM

David:

I have a 35A that I actually attached to a flip adapter also sold by Letus too. Because I had seen how plain the interior of the FE was on a shoot, I had no doubt the flip adapter would work, and it does. In fact, I was able, with the flip adapter, to remove the condneser and original achromat from the 35a, as the flip adapter provides sufficient focusing capability without them.

However, I still had to deal with the grain patter from the vibration in ligher areas. I had bought one of "Daniel" vibrating screen holders, and a Canon focusing screen per his instructions. I promptly broke the holder, but I have now adapted the Canon focusing screen to the 35a, with decent success.

David Delaney · April 6th, 2009, 01:45 PM

Ok, so when you say you BROKE the HOLDER, do you mean on purpose? That sounds like the route I want to go in. Which of Daniel's holders did you buy?
I know that Alex MD is making a great little GG out there for about $40.00 over on the hv20 forum.
How much was the flip adapter? I suppose I could find a used one out there.
All in all, how much was the mod?

Thanks for the reply Chris.

Chris Barcellos · April 6th, 2009, 02:09 PM

David, I had my adapter for about 3 years. I was always fooling around with it, because ground glass seemed to have problem. At one point I tried making a wax ground glass per Daniel. It didn't work out that well. Int the process of taking out the 35a ground glass for that mod, I cracked it down one side. There was still enough ground glass there to actually get full images, so I hot glued it back into the original platten.

Also during that period, I bought the flip add on, for around $500 or $600. As I said, it actually allowed me to eliminate the the original achromat, and the condenser lens. The image got crisper, but still had grain patterns.

Another thing happened along the way. One of the wires to the motor broke, and I decided to buy a new motor with leads. When I hooked it all up, it made the motor run much faster. For a while modded it and I ran it with only one battery. Later I discovered that I needed to put a resitor in line so I could get back to runing with two batteries. Aparently when Letus builds and solders there motors, they put a surface resistor at the motor that isn't obvious.

Still not being satisfied with the grain appearance, this year I decided to add the Canon focus screen. Because the screen is much smaller than the Letus ground glass, I chopped down the original vibrating screen holder I had received from Daniel that had gotten broken just to provide a frame to go inside the frame on the Letus patten. (Those units have very delicate spring mechnisms that will not with stand any pressure. In retropect, assuming he has the same product, I would recommend against it.) It still had enough "meat" on it to hold the screen in place. I hot glued that unit to the Letus patten, and with limited testing, it looked like it might be okay. I stopped shooting with it however, as shortly after that, I got my Canon 5D Mark II, and my spare time has been dedicated to learning that rig. In fact, my Letus with Flip adapter is out to a friend who is going to do some shooting with it.

April 6th, 2009, 11:29 AM	#1
David Delaney Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Niagara Ontario Canada Posts: 1,121	Letus 35A and HDV? I was wondering if I should scrap my Letus35A adapter at this point. I have had the usual issues of gravity causing patterns because of the nature of how it is created. I was thinking about buying a new GG from AlexMD over at hv20. (I would post the thread where he is talking about it and selling them, but I am not sure if it is allowed by Chris). I am using my HV20 and sometimes my HC1 in my projects now, but I haven't touched the Letus35A in a long time but all of the 35mm adapters has got me excited about it again. Any thoughts?

April 6th, 2009, 01:22 PM	#2
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	David: I have a 35A that I actually attached to a flip adapter also sold by Letus too. Because I had seen how plain the interior of the FE was on a shoot, I had no doubt the flip adapter would work, and it does. In fact, I was able, with the flip adapter, to remove the condneser and original achromat from the 35a, as the flip adapter provides sufficient focusing capability without them. However, I still had to deal with the grain patter from the vibration in ligher areas. I had bought one of "Daniel" vibrating screen holders, and a Canon focusing screen per his instructions. I promptly broke the holder, but I have now adapted the Canon focusing screen to the 35a, with decent success. __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

April 6th, 2009, 02:09 PM	#4
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	David, I had my adapter for about 3 years. I was always fooling around with it, because ground glass seemed to have problem. At one point I tried making a wax ground glass per Daniel. It didn't work out that well. Int the process of taking out the 35a ground glass for that mod, I cracked it down one side. There was still enough ground glass there to actually get full images, so I hot glued it back into the original platten. Also during that period, I bought the flip add on, for around $500 or $600. As I said, it actually allowed me to eliminate the the original achromat, and the condenser lens. The image got crisper, but still had grain patterns. Another thing happened along the way. One of the wires to the motor broke, and I decided to buy a new motor with leads. When I hooked it all up, it made the motor run much faster. For a while modded it and I ran it with only one battery. Later I discovered that I needed to put a resitor in line so I could get back to runing with two batteries. Aparently when Letus builds and solders there motors, they put a surface resistor at the motor that isn't obvious. Still not being satisfied with the grain appearance, this year I decided to add the Canon focus screen. Because the screen is much smaller than the Letus ground glass, I chopped down the original vibrating screen holder I had received from Daniel that had gotten broken just to provide a frame to go inside the frame on the Letus patten. (Those units have very delicate spring mechnisms that will not with stand any pressure. In retropect, assuming he has the same product, I would recommend against it.) It still had enough "meat" on it to hold the screen in place. I hot glued that unit to the Letus patten, and with limited testing, it looked like it might be okay. I stopped shooting with it however, as shortly after that, I got my Canon 5D Mark II, and my spare time has been dedicated to learning that rig. In fact, my Letus with Flip adapter is out to a friend who is going to do some shooting with it. __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

April 6th, 2009, 01:45 PM	#3
David Delaney Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Niagara Ontario Canada Posts: 1,121	Ok, so when you say you BROKE the HOLDER, do you mean on purpose? That sounds like the route I want to go in. Which of Daniel's holders did you buy? I know that Alex MD is making a great little GG out there for about $40.00 over on the hv20 forum. How much was the flip adapter? I suppose I could find a used one out there. All in all, how much was the mod? Thanks for the reply Chris.