Zacuto DOF adapter

[John Jencks]

I was wondering if anyone had looked into the adapter they are building at Zacuto. I have been very impressed by the products I have used from Zacuto in the past (their rod system is particularly special). The designs on the website of the adapter make it seem to be a little different from others and their price is so high that they must be doing something different (maybe this last assumption is dangerous). Anyway, does anyone know anything solid?
Thanks
John

[Dennis Hingsberg]

Where on their site does they say they're building a DOF adapter? The one you see in the pictures are the Redrock M2.

[Sam Jankis]

Zacuto Adapter

Will this adapter have a holographic diffuser? Hmm...

[Dennis Hingsberg]

$12k-$15k including a set of prime Zeiss.

Delivery first 1/4 of 2007. Very interesting indeed.

How much light loss?

[Bob Hart]

Given they have a specific adaptor for each lens and the lenses are Zeiss for Nikon and no other, I wonder if they have gone for a purely optical system, which has been suggested as possible but so far very difficult and expensive.

[Charles Papert]

A bit late to the game, but interesting nonetheless. Someone needs to proofread their description of the system, however--at times I thought I was reading a translation.

[Dennis Hingsberg]

Bob, I missed the part that says the you need a specific ZLA (Zacuto Lens Adapter) for each ZF Zeiss prime lens!

So either the GG (or whatever is being used) is in each ZLA or there is just one in the ZCA (Zacuto Camera Adapter).

Interesting indeed.

I've emailed them for details on shipping dates, separate prices & light loss. I'll let you know what I hear.

[Sam Jankis]

I'm pretty sure the ZLA will have the imaging element. And the imaging element will likely be a vibrating (due to small size it would have to be) holographic diffuser.

I'm more interested in their imaging element than anything... good bokeh with less light loss than the competition (Movietube and Mini/Pro35) - it'd be the holy grail.

Cons I see so far:
- you can only use the (expensive) Zeiss lenses
- from the drawings, the ZLA/ZCA combo would make a long, unwieldy setup
- a seperate ZLA for each lens?!
- lens changes would require ZLA changes
- the Zeiss lenses aperture rings have click stops - at that price, I'd rather get a set of these


Questions:

1. Do the Zeiss lenses breathe much?
2. What's the point of having expensive/sharp/uber-fantastic lenses when you're shooting a projected (read: softened) image with HD (considerably lower res than the 35mm film the Zeiss lenses were made for)?

[Toenis Liivamaegi]

Sure it`s possible to make an adaptor that`s better than mini or movietube but there are better ones out there already for at least 10x less there are no room for expensive adaptors any more.

Shipping time and the price is about the same as RED`s, I wonder how on earth could someone justify buying Zacuto`s adaptor given that no matter what all DOF adaptors will ruin original ergonomics of almost any camcorder and all those breathing Zeiss primes will run you something like $4K when purchased separately.

RED costs 17.5K and Zacuto`s adaptor minus lenses would cost let`s say 10K plus a HVX200 for 5K. Am I missing something here?
It`s only 2K difference at the start but for that extra 2k saved you wouldn`t have a cam as capable as RED. Of course I`m not talking about actual system costs here for neither package.

IMHO one of those two has the momentum already and the other will remain an exclusive rental item if not crappy rendering, then again only time will tell.

Oh my,
T

[Dennis Hingsberg]

I received an email from them after inquiring about the Zacuto.

They said it's too soon to release any information about the Zacuto products right now but they are looking at a June release. (info only or product I'm not sure)

Looking at the design it's easy to speculate there is no built in flip. Now I'm wondering if this isn't a pure optical 35mm adapter which in other words does not incorporate a GG screen at all? It's the only reason that explains why you need a unique adapter for each focal length lens.

Obviously if this product is going to compete in the market place they will have to factor in the price so perhaps by the time it's released it will drop in price.

To Toenis's point about RED, this is the same thing that had me thinking when considering a new HD cam and 35mm adapter.

Panasonic HVX 200 (non gray market) = $5,300 USD
PS Technik Mini35 = $10,580 USD (with connecting kit and 2 lens mounts)
Grand Total: $15,880 USD

Now seriously think about this?

When I did the math I was moments away from making a reservation with RED. The only reason I didn't is I need something to shoot with NOW not July/August 2007. Also nothing against RED, Jan or the team but no matter how awesome, smooth, amazing, lucky, etc.. things are going for the RED team it's extremely likely they will be late with delivery and even if that's not true I speculate there will be minor quirks to iron out that "may" prevent RED from being ready for prime time. (readers. please do not take this out of context. It's a realistic probability.)

So until then I continue on my quest to move from my PS Technik mini35 & Canon XL2 combination into a HD solution that will get me by until the next new wave. If Zacuto can't get me there until mid-year then I'm still better off with the HVX and renting the mini35 series 400 as it is needed, and perhaps picking up a 3rd party 35mm adapter for works with less rigor required.

Well there's my 2 cents.

(On a side note - man is the weather ever bad here in the Ontario region today! Freezing rain and a lot more coming later)

[Alvise Tedesco]

Where is it?

(Or "where it is"?... Oh my english grammar..)

[Dennis Hingsberg]

Yes, does anyone know where this left off? Seems a year has passed since this discussion thread.....

[Ben Winter]

It's my understanding that Zacuto scrapped their adapter.