When I shoot with a 35mm adapter, I usually mix the shots with native-lens shots. I use the native lens shots for motion control and the 35mm lens for blur control. And to a certain extent I have to make the choice about my priorities for each scene before choosing whether to use an adapter or not.
Image Control
Although I didn’t discuss it previously, the perspective of most video camera lenses is not the same as a 35mm film lens. If you see a shot of the same set, side-by-side with identical framing and zoom you’ll see what I mean. All lenses distort the image in some way, but 35mm film lenses distort the image differently than a 72mm or 82mm video lens.
Look, a $250 still-camera lens is not going to reproduce the exact image that a $300,000 prime lens will. But a 35mm lens on an adapter like the Letus is going to look a lot more like film than the native camera lens.
Ease of Use
The Letus 35 Extreme adapter is much easier to work with than other adapters I’ve used. There is a handy step-by-step guide available at the following location.
And I found that this was really all I needed to setup and use the adapter.
Depth of Options
The options are exactly where you want them: choice of lens mount. It’s the options that are missing that make it valuable. So I’m going to say that in this case, less is more. I don’t want to have to buy a different condenser lens for my HD camera or to choose between different screens.
Performance
Fantastic performance. Again, this is a situation where less is more. I want a 35mm lens adapter to provide solid, reliable depth blur control. And that’s what it does.
Value
It may be more expensive than the Redrock Micro we compared earlier, but I think the Letus 35 Extreme is an incredible value, especially because of its easy setup and automatic flipping of your image.
Final Comments
After using the Letus 35 Extreme, I would have no reservations about buying one. If you are comparing kits, remember that rails and a follow focus provide a lot more control and safety than using the adapter alone.
