XHA1 guy looking for 35MM adaptor
 

So, which one do I buy?

Cinemek?
Red Rock Micro?
Letus35?

I have an XHA1 and shoot MAINLY people interviews indoors and LOTS of car video stuff, usually shot on sticks or Steadicam.

Using Nikon lenses, as I already have a long roster of those.

Budget is MAX $5000 all in.

I would deal with having to flip an image using an on-camera monitor with flip option, I suppose, but I want turn key....recommendations from you pros?

If it were me, I would skip the 35mm DOF adapter and get something along the lines of a Canon EOS 5DmkII.
It won't be very long till 35mm adapters go bye bye. As it is now, people are having trouble selling their used high end adapters like the P+S mini 35.

?? There are so many great threads about which adapter to go with. XHA1 combined with the Letus produces a great image. Just depends on what you want. When it comes down to it all of them in a decent price range are great (subjectively). But what do YOU need...spinning ground glass vs. vibrating, look of the image, look of the adapter. As for the 5dMkII, sure that's a great route to go IF you can deal with the limitations. It is a tool of the industry just like any other tool. Yes it will have more and more updates, and what does that mean for Camcorders?...well they will get bigger and better too.

JS

Interesting approach. I already have a 35MM camera, and the 5D requires manual focus in video mode...but so too do all the 35MM adapters for video cameras, right?

That is correct.

I was under the impression that manual focus wasn't the issue, rather not being able to lock down shutter speed, aperture and ISO settings.

Speaking of DOF adapters, I have a Redrock Mirco M2 Encore and while it performs as advertised, shots require a great deal of pre-planning due to the increase in size and weight to the camera rig.