Shooting with the Letus

[Timothy David Orme]

So, I'm getting ready to shoot a short film this summer, and a friend of mine offered to let me shoot on his Canon with his Letus 35mm adapter. The only problem is, the only lens he has that's fast enough to really shoot interiors (without a million lights) is a 50mm.

 

I'm wondering how amateur it'd look and how much it'd really be worth shooting something with a 35mm adapter if I can only use a 50mm lens?

[Adamo P Cultraro]

You need to ask yourself what the point is of using just one fixed focal length for the whole movie. Are you doing it for artistic considerations or because you only have one lens?????

 

Also, which letus are you using. The extreme loses only a half stop compared to the 1 1/2 stops of the Flip enhanced. The extreme can handle slower lenses to a degree. I have had both the extreme and the FE.

 

What are the f stops of the other lenses?

[Timothy David Orme]

The other lenses are 3.5. It just seems like we'd need to do a lot of lighting inside, based off the test we ran tonight. Maybe I'm wrong?

[Chris Keth]

It's not that big a deal to light to a bit deeper stop, as long as it's not excessive like a 16 or something. A 2.8/4 or a 4 should be perfectly attainable.

 

The problem I would have with only having a 50mm lens available is with shooting masters. I assume this will be all location work and that tends to be cramped and small anyway, even when you can use wider lenses. If you go that way, take it into account when you scout.

[Adamo P Cultraro]

Again, what letus?

 

The Extreme starts showing static grain from the ground glass when the taking lens is set to F4 to f5.6 depending on the light. You are cutting it close with those others even wide open.

 

Just make sure you have plenty of light, I suppose.

[David Mullen ASC]

I would work very hard on getting ahold of an f/2.8 28mm lens, or something in the ballpark, to go with the 50mm.

[Ram Shani]

you can buy a wide angel adaptur like X0.5

 

and put it on your 50mm fast lense then you will have 25mm fast lens

 

i use it all the time with great result!

 

and i buy it for less then 100$

[Timothy David Orme]

I'm actually not sure if it's the extreme or not.

 

And he does have a 28mm 2.8 that we were planning on using, but when we tested it yesterday we noticed it was vignetting way too much. Maybe there's a way we can fix that.

 

So, I don't know a lot about 35mm focal lengths and lenses because I've never shot 35mm. But from what I understand, 85mm is the 'standard' closeup, portrait style shot. Does that apply to film or is it different?

[Adamo P Cultraro]

It is my personal experience that the focal lengths of SLR lenses really have no bearing on film lenses. On my extreme, I have a 105 and a 135mm for close ups and is still seems "not close enough".

 

As for the vignetting, try zooming into the ground glass more. Is his Letus setup to display 35mm film size? What I mena by that is by varying the zoom on the camera, you can simulate various film sizes all the way from vista vision down to 35mm academy and below.

 

A rule of thumb is this: take an 8 1/2 x 11" sheet of paper, tape it up on a wall landscape orientation. Locate the camera so that the film plane (ground glass of the letus) is exactly 24" from the wall. Fit a 50mm lens (yes, it has to be a 50) on the cam, and then zoom in until the edges of the paper are just starting to be cropped. Bang - you now have a 35mm cinema size frame. Now tape down your zoom so it doesn't move.

 

Try that and then put on your 28mm and see if it vignettes. I bet it doesn't.

 

Also, Letus FEs need backfocus adjustment - it is critical. Put on the same 50mm lens, focus out to infinity shooting at an object that is "infinity" away like a distant house or tree. The object should be razor sharp. If not, adjust the backfocus by either sliding the mount in or out, or adjusting the GG on some models. The Extreme comes backfocused fromthe factory.

Edited February 12, 2008 by Adamo P Cultraro

[Timothy David Orme]

Thanks for your help. He tried that last night and got the 28mm to work just fine. So, it looks like we'll have 1 28mm 2.8, a 50mm 1.8, and a 35-105mm 3.5. It's not the ideal setup, but I think it'll do.

 

Now we're just going to have to run some more tests to learn the limitations of using an awkward unit like that with a glidecam, dolly, jib, etc.

 

Should be a good shoot.

[Anna Baltl]

ive just been ac´ing on a coupple of music videos using a letus and canon photo lenses. the mount of the adapter can be changed easily and the photo lenses came from ebay for about 30euros a piece. i was using a heden/fox remote focus without problems on crane and steady cam. so thats the ultra-supa-extra low budget version. and for the stuff we were shooting the optical quality was just right.

[Adamo P Cultraro]

Awesome!

[Timothy David Orme]

Also, he's found a 85mm 1.8 for like $170, so I might get that for us too, especially for interiors.

[Timothy David Orme]

Hello all,

 

We've been doing some tests with the Letus and it's all starting to come together nicely. Is there a certain aperture people tend to use/like to stay around when working with these 35mm adapters, or is it just about getting enough light for most people?

 

Tim.

[Adamo P Cultraro]

You don't want to shoot below F5.6 on the taking lens or you will introduce static grain from the adapter into your shots. ND and camera iris are your friends; use as much as needed.

[Paul Bruening]

A 50mm is a "normal" size (depending on who you ask) so I don't think it will draw attention to itself. You can change the framing by moving the camera closer or farther from your subjects. This is all real obvious stuff I'm saying, I know. The point is, the viewer may never know the difference. The significant problems will be trying to shoot indoors in tight spaces. That 50 will keep you in kind of tight. You might not be able to get any farther out than mid torso and tighter. Yet, if your director understands that, he or she may be able to work within those limits and still get enough coverage to edit later. One other problem will be in your facial close-ups. I find the 50 warps the nose out a little too much. I prefer a 75 to 105 (Glamor lenses) for faces. But, some here say they love a 50 for face.

 

I believe you can shoot an entire movie with only a 50 and if well considered, no one will know or care. Me? I am a slave to a large lens selection.

[Leo Anthony Vale]

I'm wondering how amateur it'd look and how much it'd really be worth shooting something with a 35mm adapter if I can only use a 50mm lens?

 

'The Last Picture Show' used only a 28mm lens. 'Chinatown' mostly used a 40mm.

 

Certainly two of the most amateurish looking movies ever.

 

'Robocop' used two lenses, 16mm and 24mm, so it only looks half as amateurish.

 

'Intolerance only had a 50mm, but it's too old to even consider.

[Timothy David Orme]

Here's what we have at this point:

28mm 2.8

50mm 1.8

35-105mm 3.5

and a 135mm 3.5.

 

I think we have a good enough selection of lenses. (We were thinking about getting the 85mm 1.8, but I think we've decided we can do without.)

 

Our main concern now is determining what aperture to shoot at or how we might determine what that is.

[Adamo P Cultraro]

What do you mean what aperture? This is determined by your exposure, and will vary from scene to scene based on light. Just don't shoot below f5.6 on the taking lens and you are good.

 

What camera will you be using? Oh, and for every"artist" that used two lenses to shoot an entire feature, there are fifty that used a proper set of primes. Shooting a movie with one or two lenses is like taking a rowboat to england. It can be done,but it is a stunt, and you have to be reaaaaaaaaaalllllllly great to pull it off. The rest of us must use primes. Or at least a couple primes and a zoom.

[Timothy David Orme]

Sure, but don't most people try to light for a particular iris setting for the entire movie?

 

And isn't there a certain range where the focus is best?

[Adamo P Cultraro]

Yes and no. I don't see how you can achieve the same f stop throughout the whole movie. You might have day exteriors mixed with night interiors - how can they all be shot at the same stop? Sure, there will be a range that you will achieve. What will you have to use in a night exterior to keep the stop the same as a day exterior????a Brute Arc? Not practical.

 

The Letus kinda makes that easy for you! There isn't alot of range between a f2.8 lens and the maximum of f5.6 the letus can shoot at!!!!! It's like two stops! Not very much range at all.

 

With lenses as slow as you are using (barring the 50mm), they will be fairly soft wide open, and probably be sharpest just below f5.6

 

As far as focus, I'm not sure what you mean.

 

Go do camera tests and see what you like.

[Timothy David Orme]

Are you saying the Letus can shoot a max 5.6 on the 35mm lens? Why would that be?

[Bob Hayes]

I am thinking of buying a Letus. I have a couple of questions.

 

Can I use it on different cameras? Like a HVX 200 and a Z1U.

 

Are there adapters for each camera?

 

Is there a resolution loss using the Letus?

 

What is the stop loss?

[Adamo P Cultraro]

I am thinking of buying a Letus. I have a couple of questions.

 

Can I use it on different cameras? Like a HVX 200 and a Z1U.

 

Are there adapters for each camera?

 

Is there a resolution loss using the Letus?

 

What is the stop loss?

 

1. Yes

2. No - there is only one Letus adapter. Actually, there are a few models: economy, FE, Extreme...they fit just about every camera out there. You will need a step up ring to fit the threads on whatever camera you are using.

3. Of course not.

4. 1/2 stop with the Letus Extreme.

[Adamo P Cultraro]

Timothy,

 

I've already touched on this in earlier post to you but let me expand:

 

The Letus, more specifically the Letus Extreme is a 35mm DOF adapter that utilizes a vibrating ground glass. Not all adapters use this. The M2 and SGPro, for example, use a spinning ground glass(GG). Anyways, the ground glass is actually where the image is projected upon inside the adapter. If you wee to open up the adapter, you would see the GG - it looks like a microscope slide except translucent, not transparent, kinda frosted white. The batteries you put into the Letus power a little motor that makes the GG vibrate.

 

The problem inherent to all vibrating adapters is that they are susceptible to the pattern of the ground glass showing up as grain on the image when the iris on the taking lens is stopped down too far. I don't know the exact explanation of why they do this - someone smarter than I can chime in here.

 

Suffice to say that if you had your taking lens - and by that I mean the lens you have clipped to the front of the adapter - if you have this lens set to F5.6, and then go to the next stop - F8....etc. etc. you will see progressively more grain on your image until the image will be unacceptable to you.

 

So keep the taking lens set to F1.2; 1.8, 2; whatever the lowest stop you can get away with while preserving image sharpness and not going below F5.6 (When I say below I mean closing the iris further).

 

It's a tradeoff, but totally workable. The Letus shoots glorious images, and the Letus Extreme is as good as any other adapter out there; I venture to say it produces images almost as nice as the $10k P+S Technik.

 

I am using two HVXs and Two Letus Extremes to shoot my feature in April that has Tom Sizemore in it. It will work just fine.

 

Remember that in film, you have many other devices available to you to control light. Shooting the Extreme, you can manipulate the camera's iris as well as add filters, polarizers, and ND as needed to control the light while keeping the taking lens more open than F5.6

Edited February 20, 2008 by Adamo P Cultraro