Bokeh
Bokeh is a word that originates in Japanese, and is a way of describing the aesthetic quality of the blur that occurs when something is out of focus.
To complete my exploration of the Letus 35, I brought out the Redrock M2 adapter and shot the same scene, same lens, same camera, side-by-side. Here is an excerpt from two shots so that you can compare them.
When I look at the above images, the first thing that I notice is that the Letus35 image may have slightly better detail, perhaps some additional contrast, and it may be a slightly warmer image. Look at the color of the lemon. It’s all very, very, close, of course. Certainly these minor differences would be easily matched in post. They are very subtle differences.
The second thing that I see is that the Bokeh is different. Look at the blue block of light coming in the window on the left and how th
e light wraps round the soldier’s sleeve. The M2 bokeh looks more blurry to me, and it even seems to impinge on the red sleeve of the soldier. The bokeh in the same area in the Letus 35 Extreme shot is less blurry. It doesn’t wrap as much around the edge of the soldier’s sleeve. It’s subtler.
Look at the sleeve right near the lemon. In the Letus shot there is some detail and reflection in the blur, whereas in the M2 image that reflection has been more blurred away.
Which blur is better? That depends on your personal preferences. I like them both.
What control does the Letus 35 Extreme offer?
Blur Control
The Letus 35 Extreme adapter puts 35mm film-style blur control in the hands of microfilmmakers. It’s beautiful. It is easy to use compared with other 35mm adapters. And it just works.
Frame Control
The image flip included in the Letus 35 Extreme design is incredibly valuable. Unless you’ve tried shooting for a day with the image upside-down, you can’t appreciate how difficult it is, and to what extent people will go to try to flip the image to restore normal frame control. This feature puts the Letus 35 above other adapters that do not do the flip. After using both, I would never buy an adapter without the flip capability in it again.
Now there is more required here than simply the ability to focus the image. Without a follow-focus, the chances of moving the framing while adjusting the focus are high. The longer the lens, the further the focus ring is from the tripod mount-point of the camera. When the focus ring is 18 inches or so out from the mount point, there is tremendous torque. A little bit of movement on the focus ring, or on the zoom on the 35mm lens, is translated through leverage to a lot of force on the camera. The bottom line here is that simple focus movement is going to move the camera slightly left-to-right, bumping the framing of the shot every time you change the focus. If you shoot only still focus shots, it is not a problem. But if you are going to be focusing during a shot, like a rack focus, then you will need a follow focus, lens gear, and rails to mount the follow focus on. Of course that’s the case with all 35mm adapters. So it’s more of a side note than a commentary on the Letus adapter.
Motion Control
A 35mm adapter inhibits your ability to do moving shots. Period.
First, it puts the camera out-of-balance. Most rail systems just raise the camera and place support rails beneath it. Letus offers a rail system that includes a forward mounting plate that moves the tripod mount point forwards so that you can balance the camera with the adapter and 35mm lens. Zacuto also has a new rail system that provides improved balance for 35mm adapters.
Something people don’t think about is that you have to manually focus and manually zoom with a 35mm adapter. The “back focus” has to stay fixed. What that means in a traveling shot is that you have to have one hand on the focus ring of the 35mm lens. And you have to have one hand on the record button. That doesn’t leave a lot of flexibility for carrying or mounting the camera with adapter in a stabilization system or on a jib. To do that you need remote-control follow-focus, which can get expensive.
