Letus35HD100 Test Footage

[Tony Tibbetts]

Originally Posted by Henry Clayton

I was under the impression that he'd stopped selling them at beta prices.

Hmmm... I suppose it wouldn't hurt to contact him let him know the tests you plan on doing. He might be willing to give it to you at that price. He's a pretty reasonable guy.

[Henry Clayton]

Originally Posted by Michael Fossenkemper

ohhhh Montana... I'm taking my dad fishing at the base of the Tetons in 3 weeks. Can't wait. What's the weather like there? Should I bring shorts or Jeans?

I'd say bring mostly shorts, but a pair of jeans & a sweater in case the unpredictable weather takes a dip, as it di last weekend. It was the most blissful blamy weather on Friday, & Saturday until Monday, rain & chill. But or the most part it's glorious. I'm in Livingston right above Yellowstone Park in the south of the state, so pretty close to the Tetons.

[Henry Clayton]

Originally Posted by Tony Tibbetts

Hmmm... I suppose it wouldn't hurt to contact him let him know the tests you plan on doing. He might be willing to give it to you at that price. He's a pretty reasonable guy.

How should I get in touch with him? Through the e-mail function here or do I find his e-mail address at his website? (i.e., in case he prefers one for business & one for the forums, assuming they're different to begin with.)

[Tony Tibbetts]

quyentle@hotmail.com is the address I send e-mail to. I'm pretty sure it's the same one thats on his site.

[Bob Hart]

It may be a sin to mention P+S Technik's name in vain, however, their operator manuals and information on their Mini35 and Pro35 are for the most part valid and very helpful for understanding the general principles and limitations applying to the alternative non-coherent image relay devices.

I highly recommend them as a read. I think they are still downloadable as .pdf files from their website.

[Devon Lyon]

Henry:

I think your idea is great and you should approach Quyen with the proposal to put the LETUSXL through a battery of tests under different conditions. I personally own a LetusXL and use it on my CanonXL2 with 4 different Canon FD SLR lenses and really like the lens. Do I use it for everything? No. Are there certain types of shots that I wouldn't be without it? Yes.

Also, I've found Quyen to be very helpful and have met him on two ocassions. He does have a family and he does have a very legit day job. The fact that his emails are short is simply his style and English is his second language. I will totally stick up for the guy because he is making a beta product because he has a passion for this.

[Henry Clayton]

Originally Posted by Devon Lyon

I think your idea is great and you should approach Quyen with the proposal to put the LETUSXL through a battery of tests under different conditions.

Sounds great, guys. I've been in touch with Quyen & I'm going to get the ball rolling.

I'll start a separate thread when I get started with this. Could be a couple of weeks. I'm going to put them up on a wiki, so other people can add the results of their tests & experiences as well.

H.

[Devon Lyon]

Probably a totally basic question, but what exactly is the definition of a wiki? I know there is an Adobe wiki I sometimes reference for Premier Pro, but never really asked what it means...

[Henry Clayton]

Originally Posted by Devon Lyon

Probably a totally basic question, but what exactly is the definition of a wiki? I know there is an Adobe wiki I sometimes reference for Premier Pro, but never really asked what it means...

From the largest & most well-known wiki in the world, an article dealing with wikis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki

See also the Wikipedia article on depth of field adapters, in which the Letus35 & Queyen Le is discussed: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field_adapter

I think the name is kind of silly, but I'm really fascinated with the potential of the technology right now. My personal wiki has been of tremendous use to me in organizing many of the elements that make up my life. It's sort of like having a fluid encyclopaedia devoted to everything that is of particular importance to you.

And as a way of creating a collaborative knowledge base, I think it's unsurpassed as far as a computer technology goes.

This thread has really evolved pretty far away from its origins!

[Michael Maier]

The weak side of wikipedia is that anybody can enter any information they want without any standards or verification. I think you can even alter information and articles others have posted.

[Henry Clayton]

Originally Posted by Michael Maier

The weak side of wikipedia is that anybody can enter any information they want without any standards or verification. I think you can even alter information and articles others have posted.

That's the core feature of wiki technology & what gives it its power. It allows for unprecedented collaborative power. Everybody who wants to be is an editor. There are large bodies of philosophy that underlie the concept, but it would be too much to go into here.

Such a framework does contain within it the potential to be abused. However, it has been found as an empirical rather than hypothetical matter that wikis with a sufficient user base & level of activity in fact have very little abuse. And what abuse does take place is rapidly corrected. An IBM study found that on average, vandalism on Wikipedia was reverted within five minutes. An informal poll of a number of experts in their fields done by the Guardian UK newspaper found that the quality of the articles in their fields was generally quite high.

The point is that Wikipedia requires different modes of authorship, editorial practice, & reading from a traditional encyclopaedia. This brings strengths & weaknesses, but the result has been something that is extremely useful & in some areas even far surpasses the Brtitannica, such as computing technology, topical information, popular culture. & countless specialised departments of knowledge.

35mm adapters are never going to make it into the Britannica.

H.

[Bob Hart]

If there is anyone feeling generous, who has tested the Letus35 flip version, either conventional or the beta relay version into the JVC HD100, would be willing to send me a PAL camera tape of HDV images, this would be greatly appreciated.

I would send new replacement tapes back or footage from my own project for comparison, whichever is preferred.

[Joe Carney]

I would like some for ntsc also. I'm interested in the HD100 version, but with the acromony surrounding it, I'm wondering if it's worth waiting for. I really want an alternatvie to the RedRock solution. I do not want to have to use the HD100s' lens to accomplish a nice 35mm look and P+S Teknick is way to expensive.

Hope a viable HD100 version is available soon.

Good Luck

[Ted OMalley]

I'm with Joe - looking for the same thing. Joe, did you ever find a solution? The JVC adapter option is a little out of my price range.

[Bob Hart]

Now that the rush on older metal barrelled Nikon 35mm f1.4 lenses seems to have abated a little and ebay prices not as savage as they have been, a 35mm f1.4 might be a viable relay alternative to the Minolta 50mm lens for recovering a larger width image off the GG into a HD100.

It would be a fairly easy cobble with Les Bosher's HD100-Nikon F adaptor added on the back and a Century or Cinevate achromatic dioptre on front.

Quyen's original achromat if it can be cut away from the Minolta lens without injury, might be best as distances from his achromat forward through the appliances should not otherwise need to be altered.

A new tubular bridgepiece from the Nikon to the flip housing would need to be designed and made.

Newer Nikon 35mm f2 lenses are said to be as sharp wide-open as the earlier f1.4 at f2.8 so this might also be an alternative, since most sensible shooting with any adaptor should be lit to around about f4-f5.6 for relay aperture.

A word of caution on the metal barrelled 35mm f1.4 Nikons. Earlier serials used thorium glass which is radioactive and deteriorates optically over time with a faint "beerbottle" warm cast. This can be resolved with normal white balance.

Through-the-lens illustrations of lenses on ebay against a white background show up the defect if it is there unless the images have been doctored. Sometimes the through-the-lens images are shot against a coloured background which will mask this defect.

The metal barrelled Nikons of this generation will likely have dried lube and the focus movement may be very stiff.

This lens should not be mechanically loaded for relay on a Letus35 until the lens has been serviced with a lube suitable for aluminium threads.

Otherwise pressure galling under the added loads imposed by the unsupported Letus35 body may seize the threads irrepairably.

Over the standard cost of Quyen's LETUS35 flip for HD100, one might expect to have to spend an additional US$400 to US$600 for the lens and maybe a similar amount for Les Bosher's precision adaptor and perhaps another US$100 to make up the new bridgepiece.