Shakey image with Letus 35A

[David Delaney]

Has anyone had problems with the video being shakey/vibrations? I wasn't using rails on it, but it is a highdef HC1 camera and the video was ok on the LCD, but when I captured it, it was awful and unusable because of the shake. Anyone has a similar problem? Is it image stabilization?

[Bob Hart]

There's more we need to know before help can be given on this one.

In normal use, the motion of the groundglass is so gentle that it is barely detectable.

Is the image shaking random or is it constant?

Is it accompanied by noise in the audio?

Is the shaking movement large or small, fast or slow?

Is it apparent with wide-angle and telephoto lenses or just the telephoto lenses?

Does it occur only when you adjust focus on the SLR lens?


For random fairly large movements, the likely culprits are :-

1. The security of the SLR still-camera lens in its mount.
2. The security of SLR lens mount itself in the front of the LETUS35.
3. The security of the fit of the LETUS35 to the camcorder.
4. The SLR lens itself. Many plastic bodied lens assemblies are sloppy enough to move the image.

Any vibration from the groundglass being converted to movement of the appliance itself is unlikely due to the dampening mass involved.

The artifacts of vibration can appear as constant periodic very slight weaving motion of the image, maybe some blurriness in one direction across the image or every second or third interlace line in the image becoming sharply defined. These artifacts are generally evident only on telephoto images.

It is not recommended to select steadyshot "on" when using an adaptor as the optical properties have been changed. Any steadying counter-motion applied by the camera is no longer harmonised to the motion cues it is getting.