Not trying to hijack, but is there some site or such that has a shootout between these devices? I mean they range a lot in price from about

$300 for a basic Letus35

to $600 for a basic M1/2/3(cinescreen)

to $3600 for a MPIC

You get the picture.


I'm looking at getting one of these things (MPIC is out for me) and for the work I do I only need "pretty good" not "film quality" results, so I'd like to see some sort of shootout.

Downloaded footage from people's tests is OK to look at, but it's nice to have someone who knows what they're talking about do a shootout and fill us in on all the goods and bads.

Cheers

I would do one if Red Rock, Cinemek, and Quyen sent me units to keep. ;)

dvx is doing a shootout feb 25 or so. Check their DIY section..."Envision" is running it.

Yes that right, im fedexing the SG35 to Norm 'Envision' on Monday.

He doesn't seem to know if the other makers, apart from Letus and 'my35' are taking part.

Alright, I do think it's cool there will be a shootout. But can we open a new thread to cover this?

Thanks guys.

-steev

Split from "MPIC 35mm Imager Review" thread.

I think I can help to arrange our own DV Info Net Adapter Shootout, if we can come to some consensus here on which adapters should be involved, what the testing methodology should be and who can help to put it together (hey Steev?) -- so for anybody who's interested, your input on this subject is certainly welcome here!

Will we have to supply lenses?

I'd been interested in participating in the DVXUser shootout, but they didn't have any Nikon f-mount lenses on-hand, and I can't really part with mine, the only one I've got...

We should test each for:
- the amount of grain
- how easy it is to get dust and speckles inside the adapter (whether any ship with some too)
- how well they are built (are they sturdy or flimsy, can they be opened and cleaned easily if needed)
- whether any have vignetting issues when properly set up
- how many f-stops they reduce light by (although I like the reduction of light since I think it makes it easier to light scenes well)
- how much ghosting occurs

I'd like to see a comparison between the SG35, the Letus35 Flip, Redrock's M2, the MPIC, the $10,000 one, and the G35 (if it's done or even a beta).

Don't forget a chromatic abberation test (to test the quality of the achromat) and a distortion test (using a 50mm lens, so no distortion from wide angle/telephoto) to test the distortion from the condenser. Noise is a big question of course, I agree. (Pointing the adapter at blown out piece of backlit heavy diffusion seems like a good set up.)

Resolution is a primary concern as well, and I disagree that light loss is even a remotely good thing. You can always step down; you can't magically step up, and most of these adapters require 2000w-5000w to light a medium night interior. A lot.

I'd add the following:

1. ISO or EIA charts with and without the adapters with the cam's f/stop constant. That will quickly address distortion issues as well as res loss across the chart.

2. Bokeh, and bokeh DV noise.

3. Diffusion level. Inadequate diffusion can lead to ghosting, but gives less light loss, with a definite difference in bokeh. A focus rack through a point source of light will demonstrate this.

4. Hotspotting! I found an f/stop decrease to zebras quickly showed subtle GG problems. The pattern of zebra fill across an evenly lit ISO 122223 as f/stop is decreased is an objective way to test this.

5. 16:9 vignetting. Testing the adapters with a cam like the DVX100 will not tell the story for HVX, XL2 ect. cams that widen the field of view 15% over 4:3 cams.

6. Noise and vibration.