EDIT: For those of you who don't know, this is the Letus35 adapter from
www.adapterplace.com

First off, I must say that Quyen Le is the master in shipping. It came well-packed (Shink-wrapped, wow!) in a box marked fragile with the little chippies. Yum. And within a week of ordering it I believe, too!

The adapter looked exactly like the picture. Although he doesn't provide many pictures, here's some for you all:

http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/2593/letus1a7ua.jpg
http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/1576/letus22co.jpg
http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/7761/letus39pe.jpg
http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/1193/letus46tp.jpg
http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/889/letus56pl.jpg
EDIT: they should work now.

Right out of the package it was ready to go, batteries installed. Since I saw no instructions I simply assumed I was good to go, and tried focusing my camera on the screen. Almost immediately I was dissappointed--the screen was out of alignment with the center of my frame! I figured my camera was out of whack when, suddenly, I realized I had forgotten a step: I had to adjust the distance of the macro lens from the focusing screen and tighten the screw. Silly me. After carefully fitting it properly and turning the screw a few good times, I had a good adapter.

it's not noticable, but I think I see a condenser between the macro lens and the focusing screen. I was getting distortion for a bit but then after adjusting the macro lens distance the image was coming out perfectly.

From the mechanical point of view, the adapter is very solid. I'm a tinkerer; I had no problem buying this adapter because I knew if it broke down I'd be able to fix it myself. Along these same lines, I know when something is built solidly or sloppily. And this is solidly built. I think the motor will burn out before anything else fails. I do have a question for Quyen though: how is the focusing screen being held in the frame? It's barely touching the edges of whatever's holding it in there and I don't see any evidence of glue anywhere.

The only other gripe I have is that on this condenser/PCXL is one or two small specks of dirt. They're not too noticable in the video, but they're there all the same, and you can't get rid of them unless you take out the macro lens (which doesn't look like a pretty process) and wipe them off yourself. It's...just...irking me...

Besides that small factor the rest of the optics are refreshingly clean and free of specks.

I'll have more video tests comparing it to my static adapter soon.

The links do not work.

Try now. I changed servers.

Hi Ben,

First, I would like to thank you for unbias review of my Letus35 adapter.

Second, I have to thank the post office that delivered the product to you that quick. I sent it out just before midnight Saturday and you received it today, Wow!

I shrinkwraped your unit before I realize that the batteries are still in there. My wife said, just give the lucky customer 2 extra batteries. I consider you are lucky. I don't ship batteries with the units, so anybody order the Letus35, please keep this in mind, for you who received the Letus35 without batteries, please don't complain :)

Thank you for pointing out that my unit got dust in there. I just bought the air compressor now (should have bought it earlier huh) and hope this will solve the dust problem from now on. Sorry about that.

As you take a closer look to my unit, I don't use a lot of glue. The GG just snugly fit on the rectangle window and won't fall off by any chance. The motor also fit tightly in place. As you all notice in the new Letus35 design, it's slightly different than the Free info Letus35 with different kind of motor, size and shape.

For instructions, I thought people understand my design, just silly me. Thank you for pointing this out. I will post instructions on my website later.

I received a lot of email giving me a word of support, I do need that. Some also gave me a free offer to build my website to make it looks better. Wow, what a world we have here at DVinfo.

Thank you Ben, thank you all that support me to deliver better products everyday, Thanks again.

Quyen

Any still frames or video yet?

Quyen....

just wondering how you got 1.23 and if you still considered thaT to be accurate or if you had been able to refine the accuracy??


thanks,
sarena

I just took apart and reassembled Quyen's Letus35. The design is very simple, yet extremely clever.

The screen is suspended from three small plastic "sticks" that are mounted to the front end inside with rubber grommets. Think of a three-legged table with wobbly legs mounted sideways, with the top of the table being the screen. The motor is a self-contained vibrator about the size and shape of a dime, but obviously a bit thicker, that is mounted directly below the screen. When the motor is turned on, the screen shakes and because plastic and rubber is slightly bendable, the screen vibrates. Think of it as a diving board and a person jumping up and down really really fast on it. Holding a screen, lol. It was extremely easy to take apart and put back together for cleaning, which was why I did it in the first place--those little specks of dust got the best of me. All in all, even more solid than I expected. And because everything's mounted so firmly within rubber or plastic (even the lenses) I suspect it could easily hold up to a few drops from 4-5 feet onto solid ground, although I won't be testing that, lol.

Should either the macro lens or glass fitting at either end of the unit break, they can easily be popped out and replaced with similar items. The macro lens is a 58mm +10 and the glass is a 49mm UV filter. Simply unscrew, pop out, pop in, and screw in. You'll have to ask Quyen what rectangular PCXL is in there, since I can't recognize it...but should you find a replacement, that can easily be popped out if it's frame and replaced also. Very nice Quyen :). Me very happy.

hi, very intersting adapter but from the test footage, I hear a hissing noise in the background. Is this the motor? Also how is this compared to the new micro35 and the not yet released guerilla35 in terms of light loss and other qualities?

Thanks.

Ben,

There is also some grain noise where the light is shining. Do you have some other brighter footage to look at. Besides that, it looks good (the interview movie that is).

Dmitry Yun

The video is the very first one taken without any improvement. The motor noise now is much quieter.

Ben

The rectangle lens is at
http://www.surplusshed.com/pages/item/l3385.html
I would like to see the test footage from the GL2 too. Wuld you please post some that we all can see?

Thanks.

Quyen

Ain't none of 'em as quiet as the G35. ;-)

And sorry guys, but I won't have test footage up for a while. This whole school thing's got me occupied a lot. If I find time though I'll see what I can do.

Just recieved my letus 35.
I'd just like to echo Bens observations on this item.
It looks to be a well thought out and produced design and Quyen is a master of shipping!
Great job Quyen!
I'm just waiting on a couple of lenses to get started!

Thanks Douglas. I am expecting some negative feedbacks to come some day. I heard today, one man from New York saying he heard a lot of negative things about this product, I asked him to send me a link or some info and he didn't. If you find something like that, please let me and all the people here know. I personally want to find out what is really really bad about my product that I've never heard of. If things indeed go wrong, I will take an extra step to correct them. Thanks.

Quyen.

Quyen,
I'll keep a lookout for you.
When I get my lens next week I'll post a more in depth review.
Unless there is some MAJOR flaw, I don't see how I can be dissapointed.
Again, great work!

Quyen, wanted to quickly thank you for the quick shipping of the Letus35, prompt e-mails and advice on lens choices.
I echo everyone's comments on the solidness of the design and the ability to effortlessly swap out parts in the event that something should break. Awesome!
The only problem I'm seeing is the possibility of the 72mm threaded end of the adapter coming into slight contact with the 20x lens of the XL2.
If my measurements are correct it is either a hair's breadth away or touching it when screwed on all the way.
The lens on the XL2 is fairly convex and Chris Hurd, on the main Watchdog site, reported that it had a problem excepting a Century 6x wide angle that fits fine on the XL1/XL1's 16x.
Century has made another adapter that fits onto the XL2.
At this point I'd say for anyone getting ready to test this adapter with an XL2, they should leave on the UV filter( they hopefully purchased along with their XL2) and mount it to that instead of directly to the camera lens.
Stacking glass is not fun but it's better than a scratched or damaged 20x.
If anyone has found the same results or completely different results I'm sure Quyen would like to hear about it.

Thanks Eric, a UV filter is a good option to protect the original lens. You can test if it touch by putting some kind of paper/film in between when screw it in. If it can be moved, it's fine, if it can't then it touched. I am waiting to see some test footages on the cameras, thanks.

Quyen

Hello, Quyen. I was thinking of something similar. Although I suppose the sheer fear of lens damage has gotten the better of me. Perhaps I can do a multiple series of tests with the adapter screwed on in ever tightening phases. Nice and easy. I'll try and get to this and let you know the results.

Okay, quick turn-around on this.
I took a small piece of paper and placed it between the Letus and the 20x lens and powered up the camera.
The results were slight movements in the paper when settled at the fringes of the lens but it stuck going towards the middle when moving the camera about enough in order to make the paper slide.
This was not quite fully screwed on which tells me the lens adapter would most likely make contact with the 20x if fully screwed on.
This is not the most scientific of methods but I think it does address the issue as to whether the glass elements are coming into contact and I would say there is about a 95-99% certainty.
Bottom line?
Get a Tiffen 72mm UV filter for a spacer. The well in front of the filter's lens is deep enough to accomodate the XL2's fairly convex lens.
My Canon 50mm 1.4 is en-route and once I get it I will post my results about other aspects of the adapter.
Thanks again, Quyen.
Hopefully someone else will post with results of their own or a more accurate method of testing this to be 100%.

I can't believe I got my 35mm lens today!
There are still some good people left on Ebay!
Okay.
I'm using my trusty vx2000 and the 50mm canon f1.4.
Putting it all together the first time was actualy very easy.
It was a little akward threading the Letus onto the VX but it went on just fine.
The Canon lens fit perfectly the first try.
After I adjusted the orientation of the imager, I then had to zoom in to fill the screen.
I noticed the bottom of the GG imager drops off the frame before the top does. It's a small amount but it's there with my camera.
It seemed like I had to zoom in just a bit more than necessary to fill the frame.
OK then.
I did the quick viewfinder flip trick so I can see the image right side up but still backwards.
I shot some simple rack focus shots across a table at different objects.
Looks go so far.
It seems to lose very little light. I would guess 1 stop or less as Quyen has said.
I went out to the back yard to get some bright sunlight shots.
More radical depth changes this time. Racks from a foot and a half to near infinity.
This is the first time I've ever had shallowness and the ability to isolate with a video camera. I'll need alot of practice to make this stuff look good.
Back inside I hooked up to my Sony pvm-1354q monitor.
I didn't take the time to capture or process the image in any way because my computor resources are being taken up by my first feature that I'm just finishing editing.
Oh yeah, I turned the monitor upside down so I don't have to stand on my head!
Grain? What grain?
I looks to be *almost* non existent.
I'm no expert on these GG adapters but, I haven't seen any better test shots posted around.
The image looks really smooth save for 1 tiny speck of dust that I can't seem to locate.
I did turn the vibrator on and off a couple of times to see what it looked like.
The grain would come into focus and then just sorta disappear almost like applying a gaussian blur to it.
This design is simple, elegant and light weight.
I would highly recomend this as THE minimum cost solution to your depth of field needs.
I have a total of $200 dollars into this so far.
Another $150 for a couple of more lenses and I'll be good to go!
If nothing else, this is great training for the day ,someday, when I have a real budget and might use some top notch, pro gear.
Playing with the DOF is gonna be fun, I know I'll learn alot!

I did the quick viewfinder flip trick so I can see the image right side up but still backwards.


Just a tip, most camcorders have a 'mirror' mode that is on by default, but you can turn off in the cams settings menu's, therefore getting a properly orientated image using the magnet flip method. My panasonic cam puts it under 'selfshoot on/off. Maybe something to try.

HTH,
Wayne.

The VX2000 doesn't use magnet, it uses physical switch that require open up the plastic cover or drill a hole on the plastic cover then use a stick to turn the switch on. The stick need to be hold down for the image to flip, otherwise, it will be back to up side down with this adapter on, thanks.

Quyen

Yep, no mirror mode on the VX.
The switch flips it over but not backwards.
Just takes a little getting used to.
I almost forgot, the piece of dust was on my VX lens!
DOH! My Bad.
All clear now.

Douglas,

There is a mode that can work with the switch on VX2000. After pushing the switch, go to menu ?ETC/DISPLAY/V-OUT and it will correct the orientation for you.
The frame on the Letus35 is 1.5"x1" = 38.1mm x 25.4mm, a little bit bigger than the 36x24. Losing a little bit will give you a hair smaller than the regular 35mm frame. If you want to adjust, loosen the flat screw then adjust the macro lens' orientation a little bit, it will give you the full 24x36 frame. Thanks.

Quyen

Thanks Quyen, that works great!
I didn't realize there was an adjustment for the macro lens.
Funny thing this VX, I put the pin in to flip the lcd but it remains backwards until I push the menu button, then it mirrors while the menu is displayed.
But closing the menu returns it to backwards.
It will record while the menu is on however.
The only effect the display/lcd/v-out has is to turn the info on and off to the external monitor, unless I missed something.
All in all, more than I could have hoped for.
Thanks again.

I also just quickly wanted to thank Quyen for all the help and EXCELLENT cutomer service provided.
We are looking forward to be testing the LetUs35 in the very near future...

Cheers,
Marius
http://vidled.com

when do we get some pro footage?

or any footage would be good.
this thread was started on august 22 and no ones posted anything yet?

footage from a progressive camera would be really nice ;) maybe a dvx100?

Obin Olson,

Are you going to post some soon? thanks.

Quyen

Maybe most/some of us are still waiting on lenses? Mine should be in Friday according to UPS. Chomping at the bit myself.

I'm currently filming an advertisement with my adapter for film class. The due date is the 20th, so I should have footage up around then.

I believe Quyen will be making mine tomorrow (Wed) and when I receive it I'll be shooting some test footage using my DVX100. I'll post something soon after that.

Jon

Looking foward to seeing it. Something we really need is some test footage. May you be the first to provide it.

Wayne

How much light loss with this adapter?

How much light loss with this adapter?

I think Quyen said it was about one stop.

it's a goo design, I have a beta unit for the dvx I am shooting some HD with the unit, looks good so far but I am going to try some new achromats and see if we get better/shaper results

About probably means a little more than one stop, or he would have said under 1 stop. Hmm, how the M2 does in order to lose zero light?

it's a goo design, I have a beta unit for the dvx I am shooting some HD with the unit, looks good so far but I am going to try some new achromats and see if we get better/shaper results


Obin, you are also using a micro35, right? How do they compare in your opinion? Do you feel the Letus35 is a better or more efficient design with the vibrating glass? How big is it by the way? Could post some of your HD clips done with the Letus35?

I will not compare untill I get a proper achromat, lets just say I like the design of a non moving gg.

Michael Maier

We test light loss with f1.4 lens and it lose about 1 stop. That means the adapter lost less than 1 stop itself. Check the link below to compare between GG and Ariel image, thanks.

http://www.letus35.com/split.mpg

Quyen

I will not compare untill I get a proper achromat, lets just say I like the design of a non moving gg.

Ok, I got you. But if I read between the lines here, I would say that means,
"the Micro35 is sharper, but I will not get to a final conclusion till I test the Letus35 with a higher quality achromat (So the Letus ships with a lower quality achromat?) to see if the problem is in the achromat or in the adapter. But I prefer the Letus35 design."

By the way, the Letus also has a moving gg right?


by the way, are you testing any other adapters like the G35 or the Mighty Pico?

Michael Maier

We test light loss with f1.4 lens and it lose about 1 stop. That means the adapter lost less than 1 stop itself. Check the link below to compare between GG and Ariel image, thanks.

http://www.letus35.com/split.mpg

Quyen

Thanks for the information.

Aerial means?

The gg side is actually brighter.

I've completely removed my post here! ! !

Now, Quyen, please explain the meaning of AERIAL?

Grazie

I am sorry that the GG and aerial text has been swapped. The Aerial side is actually GG side, and GG side is Aerial side,

Quyen

Now, Quyen, please explain the meaning of AERIAL?

As far as I learn, I understand aerial image is thru the lens, nothing blocking, everything is in focus. I don't know if anybody have a better definition of this word. Thanks.

Quyen

Thank you.

Grazie

Just got my adapter today and even though I haven't tested it with a camera yet, I can make a few comments.

Everything is very well built and SOLID. Except for the lack of cosmetic values like fancy logos, it feels like something that came out of a factory. The image on the GG is excellent (I'm using a canon fd 50mm f1.4 lens). Also, one of the main points of contention on this adapter is the noise produced by the ... errr... vibrator? I have to say I was very skeptical, because all the vibrating mechanisms in my cellphones make a lot of noise. The one on the Letus makes negligible noise! If you hold the adapter close to your ear, you'll hear the vibrating noise. If it's, say, 8" away from you, then you'll just feel the vibrations on your hand but that's it.

Overall, very impressed and will try to post a demo video soon.

Thanks

It isn't a particularly poignant example of the capabilities of the adapter, but we filmed this little *ditty* (thanks Bill) in its entirety with it:

http://media.frozenphoenixproductions.com/gloryhill3.mov

Enjoy.