is a 35mm adaptor really important?
 

I am thinking of buying a sony ex1r and most of the movies I see online are shot by people using a 35mm adaptor.

does it really help?
I obviously could use some fine Nikon lenses I have (such as a wonderful 2.8f 105 Macro) but is it really worth it?

i thought a lens like the Fujinon that the ex1r has would be more than enough...

thank you
Fed

35mm adapters basically do 1 thing - they give you a shallow depth of field. For a lot of people this is very desirable as it gives a look similar to big screen movies which were traditionally shot on 35mm film. If you frame up a shot of a group of people in mid close up with the EX1 they could well all be in focus, whereas with the 35mm adapter you could get just 1 in focus and pull focus to another one. Do a search for some examples with the Letus etc., and you'll see whether it's what you want.
Steve

You'll get better results for less money with a Canon Eos 550D (Rebel 2Ti). The days of 35mm adapters are over.

A project using the ex1 and the 7d (for video essentially the 550D):
Honorarium: a Hybrid 7D / EX1 Short at DVInfo.net

from the article:

"The Sony EX1 proved itself, again, as a fine camera. The Canon EOS 7D, however, really heralds the future of cinematography. With a single large, sensitive imager that reproduces 35mm optics in a small elegant package, the 7D is today capable of delivering stunning images that compare with the Red and even motion picture film itself. The option of shooting at a high ASA is a simple, revolutionary change. The days of enormous lighting packages for film shoots are probably soon to be gone. It’s a real watershed."

totally agree, if you're not in the wedding business, and not planning to shoot seminars, where longer than 12 min. shots are needed, don't even spend your money on EX, research the DSLR solution, but there are some differences and limitations compare to the "traditional" approach :)

In the end, it really depends on what you want to do and if a shallow DOF is important to you.

I'm not sure what the big lighting packages bit is about, there's more to lighting than just having enough light to get an image. The difference is controlling the lighting, balancing the levels and having consistency throughout a scene. Natural lighting has been a possibility for many years, unfortunately that big light in the sky tends to move, or is in the wrong place, so the big lighting packages are used to overcome these issues.

Hi Federico,

The short answer is yes, the 35mm adapter will help you achieve film-like depth of field with the EX1. DSLRs have their applications as well. It depends what you'll be shooting in the long run.

You don't even have to live with that limit anymore - the Panasonic GH1 will record as long as there's room on the SD card (about 4 hours on a 32GB card at 720/60P.)

A DSLR can be purchsed for about the same price as a quality DOF adapter.

In my opinion, shallow DOF is way overused by most low budget filmmakers.

anyone know of a good article or place to read about 35mm adapters? i know next to nothing about them, and really want to familiarize myself with them a bit...

Agree with this. Nowadays everybody does it for everything.
Besides aesthetics considerations of resembling film, it may be of better use supporting the narrative of the project through the manipulation of the viewer attention towards important parts of the scene (an object, face, details, etc).
In the old times before video, the shallow DOF of film sometimes was an issue for DPs and directors that wanted everything "in focus" in specific scenes setups.

For your question: Yes, the attachments will do the trick at expense of some stops in exposure. Helps to have a complete follow focus kit.