Z1U + Letus DoF adapter

[Y Han Chang]

So I'm shooting in a week with the Z1U + a Letus Extreme adapter, and any tips would be appreciated. I know to keep it under 5.6, so what I'm looking to do is pop on the ND on the cam, have the cam at 2.8, and open up on the lens as much as possible for depth of field.

 

Also, from what I've read, I'm going to shoot 50i then I'll leave myself open to the option of de-interlacing in post, avoiding Cineframe 24 and 30.

 

I may not get replies in time, but any help is much appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[Y Han Chang]

Also... with the workflow... I read that editing with FCP6 in 50i could result in unwanted results with slow motion, dissolves, etc...

 

So should I de-interlace first with DV Filmmaker or another program and then import to FCP and slow it down 4%... yeah um I need some help here.

 

Thanks!

[Satsuki Murashige]

I know to keep it under 5.6, so what I'm looking to do is pop on the ND on the cam, have the cam at 2.8, and open up on the lens as much as possible for depth of field.

Don't use the in-camera NDs - use glass ND filters in front of your taking lens. You don't want to overexpose the ground glass in the adapter which is in front of the in-camera NDs and thus won't help in this respect. You're right that you want to keep the camera iris as wide open as possible, f/2.8 is fine.

 

The Letus Extreme is pretty solid, make sure you have extra AA batteries and check to make sure it's spinning every so often. The only downside is that adjusting the backfocus requires loosening three small hex screws, manually pulling the barrel out a few millimeters, and holding it steady while tightening the screws. Not fun. Also, all the hex screws and support screws loosen on their own over time, so get the proper hex keys from the rental house to tighten the screws every few hours and finger tighten the support screws - if you don't you'll go to change a lens, twisting the PL mount like normal and end up turning the whole barrel, throwing off your backfocus. Also not fun.

 

I AC'd a recent shoot where we started with an Extreme, then switched to an Ultimate which promptly stopped spinning after a few hours, so we had to rush back to the rental house and switch back. The Extreme was fine for the rest of the shoot. Turned out the Ultimate popped a rubber belt connecting the motor with the ground glass. Don't know what kind of belt the Extreme uses but it's something to be wary of. Don't assume that because you can hear the motor that the ground glass is spinning - occasionally check by stopping down and looking for the ground glass pattern by turning the motor on and off. You should see the grainy pattern disappear when the motor starts.

 

Sorry, don't know very much about the Sony Z1U so can't help you there. Good luck with your shoot.