Steven Dempsey
September 23rd, 2007, 02:59 PM
I've been working with a pre-release version of the new Letus Extreme for about half and hour so these are very initial impressions and I will write again when I have had a chance to work with it some more.
First impression out of the box is that this is a serious professional piece of equipment. There is nothing about it that looks like the old Letus except for the shape. It feels substantial, and the new black metal alloy finish definitely improves the "coolness factor". The finish on the metal is very nice and compliments my XHA1 very well. Top marks from me for the design.
The battery compartment is awesome compared to what I was used to on the older Letus. The batteries are now concealed in the unit, held in by a magnetic closing door and it looks very sleek. I wonder would it ever shake loose if the Letus got bumped around a bit? Probably not.
Gone is the flimsy little power switch and in its place is a big red button that illuminates when you push it on. This helps the user tremendously to know if it's on and to not leave it on by mistake when packing it away. :)
The Nikons I used fit well on the front ring... I would love to hear that audible click so that I could be reassured that the lens is on there securely but it fits so snug right now, I'm not too worried about that. The hex screw (on my model) to switch the front ring to the Nikon fitting was a bit of a pain. I had to go to the hardware store to get a hex set...I only had a standard one at hand which was way too big. I'm also glad I got the set for adjusting the rotation of the Letus so that the ground glass was straight. The Letus Extreme can be rotated so that the ground glass is properly positioned and then locked with three screws. No more mistaken movement and resulting vignetting. I would advise that the hex wrenches be included with the package or go to thumbscrews or phillips head instead. I realize the purpse for the current small screws is to keep the sleek look but it's the practical use of these screws that is more important.
The Extreme is significantly heavier than the original LetusFE and, even though it is a great fit on the lens threads, I would still highly advise users to utilize a rod system.
Useage:
It took me about 15 minutest to get the Letus Extreme on my camera and fitting properly. The screw adjustments were a little messy but I got used to it pretty fast. I would say to put it on again would take 2 or 3 minutes. It definitely feels a little more complicated to mount than the original LetusFE but for good reason. The extra adjustments necessary make the mounting much more solid and professional so it's an easy trade off for me.
The focus and zoom presets I had for the LetusFE worked the exact same for the Letus Extreme so I didn't need to do any adjustments.
The picture quality is better than the LetusFE but not significantly. This is fine because, in my mind, the latest version of the LetusFE was very, very good. What I notice about the Extreme picture is that it feels more like I'm looking at footage from the native Canon HD lens which is amazing when you think about it. There is no vignetting at all and the sharpness is consistent across the frame to my eyes although, at this stage, I haven't done any critical testing yet.
I have also not really tested the light loss of the unit although it is significantly brighter than the LetusFE. The notion of shooting a room only lit by a dull rainy sky using the LetusFE was never an option but the Extreme is capable of capturing a lot of detail in the same environment and, again, feels more like the native HD lens in terms of perceived resolution.... It's certainly not as bright as the native lens but you need to take into account what the actual attached lens (Nikon f2.8 in this case) is capable of doing. A fast lens will allow an abundance of light for the picture. The new system works with a prism instead of mulitple mirrors and is able to retain more light....very ingenious.
The bokeh is very filmic and lacks that typical circular pattern found in earlier Letus models and other adapters on the market right now. The overall picture is virtually grain free which is as it should be and the color is preserved very well.
The static pattern that was visible in earlier versions of the LetusFE, particularly when shooting bright white objects such as clouds, is all but gone. Some of the specks on the ground glass (I'm assuming that's where they are) is still a little visible when the motor is engaged but it's not a huge deal and it needs more testing on my part.
The motor is not silent, of course, and I would definitely say the low hum would be picked up by the built in microphone. It's not a huge deal because any serious or semi-serious productions shouldn't be relying on the built in mic anyway. Any amateur productions won't be affected by the noise as it is slight.
To say I'm excited about the new Letus Extreme is an understatement. It is a significant leap in the world of affordable adapters. There is simply nothing that can touch it on the market right now. It is unprecedented to find an adapter that flips the image and claims a total loss of 1/2 a stop of light. Like I said, I have not critically tested this claim yet but, based on what I have seen so far, it seems about right. With all of these new features, and an initial cost of only $1200, it seems like it's too good to be true. I can assure you it is true and, as critical and discerning as I am personally about these adapters, it addresses everything I have ever seen as a shortcoming in the original Letus or any other adapter out there right now.
First impression out of the box is that this is a serious professional piece of equipment. There is nothing about it that looks like the old Letus except for the shape. It feels substantial, and the new black metal alloy finish definitely improves the "coolness factor". The finish on the metal is very nice and compliments my XHA1 very well. Top marks from me for the design.
The battery compartment is awesome compared to what I was used to on the older Letus. The batteries are now concealed in the unit, held in by a magnetic closing door and it looks very sleek. I wonder would it ever shake loose if the Letus got bumped around a bit? Probably not.
Gone is the flimsy little power switch and in its place is a big red button that illuminates when you push it on. This helps the user tremendously to know if it's on and to not leave it on by mistake when packing it away. :)
The Nikons I used fit well on the front ring... I would love to hear that audible click so that I could be reassured that the lens is on there securely but it fits so snug right now, I'm not too worried about that. The hex screw (on my model) to switch the front ring to the Nikon fitting was a bit of a pain. I had to go to the hardware store to get a hex set...I only had a standard one at hand which was way too big. I'm also glad I got the set for adjusting the rotation of the Letus so that the ground glass was straight. The Letus Extreme can be rotated so that the ground glass is properly positioned and then locked with three screws. No more mistaken movement and resulting vignetting. I would advise that the hex wrenches be included with the package or go to thumbscrews or phillips head instead. I realize the purpse for the current small screws is to keep the sleek look but it's the practical use of these screws that is more important.
The Extreme is significantly heavier than the original LetusFE and, even though it is a great fit on the lens threads, I would still highly advise users to utilize a rod system.
Useage:
It took me about 15 minutest to get the Letus Extreme on my camera and fitting properly. The screw adjustments were a little messy but I got used to it pretty fast. I would say to put it on again would take 2 or 3 minutes. It definitely feels a little more complicated to mount than the original LetusFE but for good reason. The extra adjustments necessary make the mounting much more solid and professional so it's an easy trade off for me.
The focus and zoom presets I had for the LetusFE worked the exact same for the Letus Extreme so I didn't need to do any adjustments.
The picture quality is better than the LetusFE but not significantly. This is fine because, in my mind, the latest version of the LetusFE was very, very good. What I notice about the Extreme picture is that it feels more like I'm looking at footage from the native Canon HD lens which is amazing when you think about it. There is no vignetting at all and the sharpness is consistent across the frame to my eyes although, at this stage, I haven't done any critical testing yet.
I have also not really tested the light loss of the unit although it is significantly brighter than the LetusFE. The notion of shooting a room only lit by a dull rainy sky using the LetusFE was never an option but the Extreme is capable of capturing a lot of detail in the same environment and, again, feels more like the native HD lens in terms of perceived resolution.... It's certainly not as bright as the native lens but you need to take into account what the actual attached lens (Nikon f2.8 in this case) is capable of doing. A fast lens will allow an abundance of light for the picture. The new system works with a prism instead of mulitple mirrors and is able to retain more light....very ingenious.
The bokeh is very filmic and lacks that typical circular pattern found in earlier Letus models and other adapters on the market right now. The overall picture is virtually grain free which is as it should be and the color is preserved very well.
The static pattern that was visible in earlier versions of the LetusFE, particularly when shooting bright white objects such as clouds, is all but gone. Some of the specks on the ground glass (I'm assuming that's where they are) is still a little visible when the motor is engaged but it's not a huge deal and it needs more testing on my part.
The motor is not silent, of course, and I would definitely say the low hum would be picked up by the built in microphone. It's not a huge deal because any serious or semi-serious productions shouldn't be relying on the built in mic anyway. Any amateur productions won't be affected by the noise as it is slight.
To say I'm excited about the new Letus Extreme is an understatement. It is a significant leap in the world of affordable adapters. There is simply nothing that can touch it on the market right now. It is unprecedented to find an adapter that flips the image and claims a total loss of 1/2 a stop of light. Like I said, I have not critically tested this claim yet but, based on what I have seen so far, it seems about right. With all of these new features, and an initial cost of only $1200, it seems like it's too good to be true. I can assure you it is true and, as critical and discerning as I am personally about these adapters, it addresses everything I have ever seen as a shortcoming in the original Letus or any other adapter out there right now.