I finally have my Letus35 Flipped Enhanced!
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
A quick look at how I got here
A friend of mine (Thanks Zrano) was flying to Singapore and so managed to get him to get one for me (can't get a DVX around my neck of the woods). First video I shot was on the same day I got it, at a beach near my house called Jerudong Beach. Edited it, and posted it on YouTube and got some positive comments from friends and family. That experience and seeing the output from the DVX and editing on Final Cut Pro (Thanks Moe for showing me how to) being well received got the adrenaline going and I was definitely hooked. So the weeks went by and I made more videos: DVX102B Low Light Shots, then Jerudong Park Advert, and a friend's son's 'One-Month' birthday dinner (here), and only just recently during our Australian Holiday . All of my videomaking experience turned out as rewarding as ever, perhaps even more than the previous ones.
But there was an itch I wanted to scratch. Watching all the cool Letus35mm videos on DVXUser.com and videos by Cory in particular made me REALLY want the Letus35. So I worked a second job, after making enough dough, finally paypaled the money over to Quyen and 5 days later, on the 17th October 2006, I became a very proud owner of a Letus35 Flipped Enhanced!
First Thoughts on the Letus35FE
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ZOOOOOOOOOM...!!!
Once at home, I proceeded with haste to gather all the essential items together: DVX: Checked; Letus35: Checked; Nikon F1.4D lens: Checked; Batteries for the vibrating mechanism: Checked! Attaching the adapter to my DVX was not difficult but wasn't easy either cos it was difficult to hold onto it all together while worrying it won't fall and smash into little pieces so decided to do all this while staying as near to the floor as possible and on a soft carpet!
The Joining Ceremony
First thing I did was remove my DVX lens hood. Once that was off, I tried to screw one end of the Letus into the 72mm thread. It wasn't easy at first, but eventually I figured it would be easier to take my Nikon Lens Skylight, screw it onto the Letus35 first, then screw the Nikon filter + Letus35 onto the DVX. This was easier because I think the thread on the Nikon is probably machined more cleanly and fitted more snugly onto the DVX than the Letus thread. Tell you what, there was definitely alot of screwing around trying to attach the two sides together (that was simply the Learning curve: subsequent screwing was much faster and less painful - sorry sexual puns not intended).
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I tried shooting during the 5pm sun and it was good. At F1.4 with the late afternoon sun, I was getting Zebra lines set at 80%, which means my 1.4 was giving me plenty of light and VERY shallow DOF.. Beautiful! At this point, I was almost drooling but was careful not to drool onto the DVX! I have to zoom in at around Z92 to make sure there was no vignetting and set the autofocus on (it now keeps hovering around 68-72). Switched the EVF to on to assist focusing and I was ready to go.
Off I went to shoot my two dogs (not literally so please don't call the SPCA). One of my dogs, Powder was scared shitless and kept barking at the contraption, while Yuki, my other dog just stood there, all feminine and regal literally! Now the DVX without the Letus35 was a little heavy if you hold it free hand after a while. With the Letus35, the camera was now a little too heavy to hold free hand, and became front heavy (I decided to buy a monopod for the timebeing to help in that department which I have done today - see what I mean my journey jas pretty much been one of spending! this is an EXPENSIVE hobby, and I'm not even making any money out of my DVX at all)Picture quality was GOOOOD, soft but good! Loved the shallow DOF (sorry I haven't got any screen grabs just yet!). Later that night I tried the adapter out with only a 60w bulb and I could get a decent image at +9 gain (VERY grainy but still visible at that light level). This weekend I will be going out to shoot something so I can edit a short video and post on YouTube (or is it GooTube now?). When that's done I will post the link and you guys can have a look at it. In the meantime, check out the pictures of what I can now officially declare as an extension of my manhood!
Quyen Service - 1st Rate
Ok I am not getting a free Letus35 at all for saying this but Quyen is one dude who knows the meaning of customer service and most people who have bought the adapter from Quyen can attest to this too. One of the reasons why I chose the Letus35 was because everyone on DVXuser was saying how good Quyen was at responding to emails, which he is. Now since I am so far far away from the US, I couldn't afford to get from someone who would drop me like a hot potato once he's received my money and I am glad to say, Quyen has not done that. Since ordering the item, he has been aswering all my emails very promptly with useful info (though his emails are usually short, so maybe he's not that chatty or just VERY busy cos my boss' email is similar - extremely short cos he's so damn busy). Anyways, Thanks Quyen. I hope you don't stop answering my emails :)
Pictures Galore
Ok Here are the pics of my manhood.
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DVX in Singapore is S$3700 at videopro in Simlim Square
dude seriously! that thing is gorgeous!
Thanks Mizi, it looks even better in real life..
Dude where did you find the Letus35FE Nikon to buy? I can't find it anywhere! Can you email me back please at trickedprizm@aim.com .... thanks alot ... great cam.
I really enjoyed reading your blog about the letus35. especially the comparison of size with the eggs. :-))
I've ordered my letus 35 a week ago and since they tell on their page shipping time between 3-4 weeks, time seems to stand still. :-(
That's great, good shooting. The Letus units are great, but whether you have the Letus, Redrock, Cinevate or the Mini35 you need the best prime lenses - Nikon AI's. You can see a selection of prime lenses just for Cinema Lens Adapters at our site Lenses35.com. Mike, Lenses35.com
Very amusing idea
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