Lens cap for setting the aperture and exposure is finally here at DVinfo.net

David Delaney · February 4th, 2008, 09:29 PM

DVinfo users,

I just finished the long road of testing and development of a lighted lens cap called the "Lytecap" - for the Canon HV20/HV30 that gives the user the ability to set the aperture at 2.8 (or any range) whenever they desire. At 2.8, there is 0dB of gain to the image from the range of +6 to -11 when clicking through the exposure.

The Lytecap fits over the barrel of the hv20/hv30 and makes setting the aperture easy as pie.

Have a look at the site :

http://www.lytecap.com

I am a member here, so I hope this is taken the right way - just trying to get the word out to help the hv20 owners and budding film-makers (it will help me as well, I can't lie).

James Millward · February 5th, 2008, 07:20 AM

Very interesting mate!

How does this work exactly (Im not expecting details on design, just what it allows you to do).

Im a newbie to all this, so please forgive me.

Does this device allow you set exposure, and shutter speed separately now?

Thanks for posting
Jim

Chris Hurd · February 5th, 2008, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Delaney

I am a member here, so I hope this is taken the right way.

It's all good, David -- thanks for posting this!

David Delaney · February 5th, 2008, 12:58 PM

The user has always been able to set the exposure manually and lock it, but you were getting camera GAIN with the wrong aperture. With a 2.8 aperture (which you can select with the Lytecap), you get 0dB of gain throughout the entire manual exposure of -11 to +6. This leads to a more filmic look.
This also helps with shooting films or shorts because you can set the HV20/HV30 to the same aperture and exposure each and every time.

Thanks for the props Chris!

http://www.lytecap.com

Michael Panfeld · February 8th, 2008, 10:45 PM

Thanks. Pretty interesting. I have my 35mm adapter (Brevis) always attached to the cam, so I'll wait to see what your version for DOF adapters looks like. Keep us posted.

David Delaney · February 10th, 2008, 03:44 PM

Looking into working out a different version for 35mm lenses adapters. After I get all the orders out, I will continue with the testing. I have only the Letus35A at home, but it should be close enough to the others to have the desired effect.

Thanks for the interest.

David Delaney · February 14th, 2008, 07:29 PM

Ok, I finally put up a video showing a walk-through of using the Lytecap (where I found time to do this, is still a mystery to me).

http://www.lytecap.com/multimedia.htm

David Delaney · February 17th, 2008, 01:48 PM

A note :
If anyone has emailed me about the Lytecap and NOT received a reply, please let me know - my email is giving me a bit of grief...

Dale Backus · February 17th, 2008, 02:32 PM

This really is a good idea. Congrats.

I'm sure it will help a lot of people out there, myself included. For 20 bucks especially.

Like Michael said - would be especially great to see one for 35mm lenses. However i don't know off the top of my head how this would work, because you usually have to zoom out completely in the HV20 when you lock the exposure. (this isn't REQUIRED, but its usually the way you wanna do it i thought). So zooming in and out and having to set the backfocus may be tricky. No more tricky than we already have to do, but i wonder if there is a way to compensate with the Lytecap so no zooming is necessary?

I don't know.

Great job!

David Delaney · February 17th, 2008, 10:19 PM

There isn't any issue with zooming in. The gain stays at 0dB once you set the aperture to 2.8 the first time and lock it. After testing the HV20 1/2 zoomed in and fully zoomed in, I adjusted the exposure from 0 to +6 for both zoomed settings and the gain is always 0dB, so that is great news.
Tonight I actually came up with a way to connect the Lytecap to 35mm adapters, but haven't had a chance to test it out. Fingers crossed.

Chris Barcellos · February 18th, 2008, 12:42 AM

David:

1. Help me out here so I understand. Why is 2.8 magical and how do you know that gain will not be employed.

2. I shoot in Cine mode exclusively, and I see in your demo that this covers TV mode. Does the cap work in that mode too ? I usually adjust my Cine mode setting until I get 1/48 of a second, then I thought I could depend on that in Cine mode, no gain would be added.

Thanks for the cool device ! I shoot with the 35a too, and will be courious how the testing works out, and how it is adapted

Dale Backus · February 18th, 2008, 02:21 AM

Interesting... glad to hear you've got it figured out!

David Delaney · February 18th, 2008, 10:15 AM

Chris,

Barry Green can explain things more elegantly than I can.
http://www.dvxuser.com/jason/hv20/

David Delaney · February 18th, 2008, 11:45 AM

Chris, I have also updated my blog which explains what I did to get the 0db of gain.

Chris Barcellos · February 18th, 2008, 12:30 PM

Thanks for that link to Barry's page again. It does confirm what I have been trying to do with Cine mode. So have you developed a process with your lens cap light that works in Cine mode ?

February 4th, 2008, 09:29 PM	#1
David Delaney Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Niagara Ontario Canada Posts: 1,121	Lens cap for setting the aperture and exposure is finally here DVinfo users, I just finished the long road of testing and development of a lighted lens cap called the "Lytecap" - for the Canon HV20/HV30 that gives the user the ability to set the aperture at 2.8 (or any range) whenever they desire. At 2.8, there is 0dB of gain to the image from the range of +6 to -11 when clicking through the exposure. The Lytecap fits over the barrel of the hv20/hv30 and makes setting the aperture easy as pie. Have a look at the site : http://www.lytecap.com I am a member here, so I hope this is taken the right way - just trying to get the word out to help the hv20 owners and budding film-makers (it will help me as well, I can't lie).

February 8th, 2008, 10:45 PM	#5
Michael Panfeld Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 78	thanks Thanks. Pretty interesting. I have my 35mm adapter (Brevis) always attached to the cam, so I'll wait to see what your version for DOF adapters looks like. Keep us posted.

February 18th, 2008, 12:42 AM	#11
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	David: 1. Help me out here so I understand. Why is 2.8 magical and how do you know that gain will not be employed. 2. I shoot in Cine mode exclusively, and I see in your demo that this covers TV mode. Does the cap work in that mode too ? I usually adjust my Cine mode setting until I get 1/48 of a second, then I thought I could depend on that in Cine mode, no gain would be added. Thanks for the cool device ! I shoot with the 35a too, and will be courious how the testing works out, and how it is adapted __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

February 18th, 2008, 12:30 PM	#15
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	Thanks for that link to Barry's page again. It does confirm what I have been trying to do with Cine mode. So have you developed a process with your lens cap light that works in Cine mode ? __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

February 5th, 2008, 07:20 AM	#2
James Millward Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: England Posts: 53	Very interesting mate! How does this work exactly (Im not expecting details on design, just what it allows you to do). Im a newbie to all this, so please forgive me. Does this device allow you set exposure, and shutter speed separately now? Thanks for posting Jim

February 5th, 2008, 12:58 PM	#4
David Delaney Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Niagara Ontario Canada Posts: 1,121	The user has always been able to set the exposure manually and lock it, but you were getting camera GAIN with the wrong aperture. With a 2.8 aperture (which you can select with the Lytecap), you get 0dB of gain throughout the entire manual exposure of -11 to +6. This leads to a more filmic look. This also helps with shooting films or shorts because you can set the HV20/HV30 to the same aperture and exposure each and every time. Thanks for the props Chris! http://www.lytecap.com

February 10th, 2008, 03:44 PM	#6
David Delaney Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Niagara Ontario Canada Posts: 1,121	Looking into working out a different version for 35mm lenses adapters. After I get all the orders out, I will continue with the testing. I have only the Letus35A at home, but it should be close enough to the others to have the desired effect. Thanks for the interest.

February 14th, 2008, 07:29 PM	#7
David Delaney Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Niagara Ontario Canada Posts: 1,121	Ok, I finally put up a video showing a walk-through of using the Lytecap (where I found time to do this, is still a mystery to me). http://www.lytecap.com/multimedia.htm

February 17th, 2008, 01:48 PM	#8
David Delaney Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Niagara Ontario Canada Posts: 1,121	A note : If anyone has emailed me about the Lytecap and NOT received a reply, please let me know - my email is giving me a bit of grief...

February 17th, 2008, 02:32 PM	#9
Dale Backus Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Cary, NC Posts: 132	This really is a good idea. Congrats. I'm sure it will help a lot of people out there, myself included. For 20 bucks especially. Like Michael said - would be especially great to see one for 35mm lenses. However i don't know off the top of my head how this would work, because you usually have to zoom out completely in the HV20 when you lock the exposure. (this isn't REQUIRED, but its usually the way you wanna do it i thought). So zooming in and out and having to set the backfocus may be tricky. No more tricky than we already have to do, but i wonder if there is a way to compensate with the Lytecap so no zooming is necessary? I don't know. Great job!

February 17th, 2008, 10:19 PM	#10
David Delaney Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Niagara Ontario Canada Posts: 1,121	There isn't any issue with zooming in. The gain stays at 0dB once you set the aperture to 2.8 the first time and lock it. After testing the HV20 1/2 zoomed in and fully zoomed in, I adjusted the exposure from 0 to +6 for both zoomed settings and the gain is always 0dB, so that is great news. Tonight I actually came up with a way to connect the Lytecap to 35mm adapters, but haven't had a chance to test it out. Fingers crossed.

February 18th, 2008, 02:21 AM	#12
Dale Backus Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Cary, NC Posts: 132	Interesting... glad to hear you've got it figured out!

February 18th, 2008, 10:15 AM	#13
David Delaney Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Niagara Ontario Canada Posts: 1,121	Chris, Barry Green can explain things more elegantly than I can. http://www.dvxuser.com/jason/hv20/

February 18th, 2008, 11:45 AM	#14
David Delaney Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Niagara Ontario Canada Posts: 1,121	Chris, I have also updated my blog which explains what I did to get the 0db of gain.