Canon HV20 w/ Letus 35 flip - Test 1

[ChumpJoe]

Now you need a better mic and you'll be crystal. But then again, the minis from Canon don't have mic jacks which sucks. Great tone though, bro.

[slapbaZZ]

so you have 2 things on your camera, the flip module and the lens, nothing else? no 35mm adapter PLUS the flip and the lens? i wanna make sure lol

[africanmarty]

to see my camera go to this image and you can see whats on it :

hv20[dot][com]/attachment.php?­attachmentid=2890&d=1225397072­

[slapbaZZ]

i have a question, do you have to buy the multi thousand dollar adapters to achieve this look or can you buy the "flip" module and spend like 500 and achieve this look?

[africanmarty]

i have the 'flip' model. so i guess if you like the footage you see in this clip, then yes you just need the 'flip' model ( and a good lens ).

[DavcomBass]

That just looks amazing!!!  I must get a letus! :)

[brfindla]

You can find both the Nikkors on Ebay, the 105mm F/2.5 goes for under $200 typically, right now stuff seem to be really cheap.. as it gets closer to xmas you can expect it to double.

DO NOT spend the cash for the faster version of the 105mm, its not as good. Get AI or AIS versions. .the 85mm F/1.4 Vers goes from about $400 - $800 just get AI or AIS version. This lens is amazing to me. Hope that helps.

[brfindla]

Sorry.. I tried to post two other messages before this that didn't appear. What I said was the 85mm and the 105mm have a MUCH shallower DOF, pretty much wiping out the background.. click on my name and see "wet and wild naked..." (its just a joke) where I use an 85mm to shoot canaries in a cage. You'll see what I mean. Send me your email and I'll mail you a 2mb file from an interview with a 105mm.

[brfindla]

It's probably very much worth mentioning, that if you could only go for 1 lens, I would do the 85mm because of speed. I did an interview inside off of 5 different commercial lights with 500W bulbs (two softboxes and 3 umbrellas (Lowell), and I was still running about 1 stop low with the 105mm, the 85mm just allows alot more light in.. technically a whole stop, but (to me) it seems a whole lot more tolerant of lower light situations.

[brfindla]

I don't know if you have tried yet, but I've gone though about 10 different lenses.. BY FAR the best are 105mm F/2.5 and 85mm F/1.4.. I found the 50mm pretty underwhelming. If you used either of these for the background in your video, it would be dramatically different. Good luck

[africanmarty]

can you please explain further the diff between the 50mm compared to the 105mm F/2.5 and 85mm F/1.4. you weren't very clear.

[kurtgainz]

Wow! That image quality is phenomenal. Im definately getting one. Thanks for the post great work.

[africanmarty]

thanks, means alot :) - marty.

[Andyax]

"She is cold." You: "mmmmm...." Like u care hehe

[africanmarty]

haha i was just trying to get the shot in focus, and was struggling. lol i'm really not that rude lol.

[Andyax]

Hehe. But I understand. When you are trying something cool as a 35mm adapter for the first time, off course you are busy! =)

[CheapCassette]

sick camera

[tsami7]

Where did you buy it for $700? I can't find it any cheaper than $1100!

[jeffbrent]

tigerdirect has them refurb $569.00

I just orderd one yesterday.

[leproducer2]

Do you find that it takes away contrasts, and also diffuses the picture?

[perroxido20]

how much does this adaptor cost??

[africanmarty]

i cost me US$700 brand new.

[perroxido20]

holy shit!

[africanmarty]

haha yer i know :)

[perroxido20]

this adaptor does something else besides

making the film look. because i've heard that this use batteries

[africanmarty]

the batteries make the GG ( ground glass ) vibrate to remove the aperrance of any dust or scratches on it, so the picture looks clean/clear. other wize you would have the grainy look of the gg on your film.

[perroxido20]

ok thanks

[ferreti9]

Does 50mm cuts a lot of the picture view. Is it better to use 35mm f/1.8 wide?

[africanmarty]

i dont think it 'cuts out' anything. It does, what it does and that is it 'shows what the human eye would see' normaly, if you want a wide angle lens i would go for a 28mm lens.

[leproducer2]

What lense and camera are you using?

[africanmarty]

read the discription.

[africanmarty]

this adaptor will fit on any lens, you must just have the right step up or step down adaptor.

[gonnavi]

nice

The adapter that you use is that one with that little vibrating motor?

thx

[africanmarty]

yes thats correct. its the letus 35 flip adaptor.

[perroxido20]

hey, i wanted to ask you a question, I have seen footage from this camera in cinemode that doesn't look like a movie, this one you have does and I love it but others' are diferent. the looks depends on the control of the colors???, well not counting de lens.

[africanmarty]

thats because i useda 35mm adaptor in this clip :)

[perroxido20]

is too much the difference without it???

[rickreynolds1986]

hey marty, i think am gonna buy the hv20 just a quick question: the quality of your films is really good would i get the same quality if i just placed in movie maker for a short fil then uploaded it?

[africanmarty]

hmmm movie maker on xp doesnt support HD, but movie maker on vista does, i do not use movie maker so i cant really comment on it in regards to usage or quality, but i can recommend preimer pro 2,vegas 7 and after effects 7 very highly. regards marty.

[rickreynolds1986]

yeah i have after effects but cant get the bloody sound to work on it! lol i have vista but i prefer xp

[Pagilas]

Hi Marty. Can I use the 35mm adapter lense on PANASONIC 24p MiniDV? Your help will be very much appreciated.

[africanmarty]

yes a 35mm adaptor will for in any camera ( though it must has a manual focus to use it properly ) you must just get a thread adaptor to make it screw on correctly to the front thread on your camera lens. then u can ajust the focus manually with the slr lens on the 35mm adaptor. [ hope that made sence ].

[EZA757]

yeah don't use movie maker..it has the tendancy to lock up and freeze whenever you do numerous editing tasks..really inconvienet.

[rickreynolds1986]

yeah i have noticed that, what do you use?

[EZA757]

i use movie maker for now just for small crap films every now and then. But if your maybe talking about past 4 minutes of video editing on movie maker, you can forget it because it'll just freeze up. I'm determined to get me a Canon HV20, better yet, HV30 which is supposely on sale at Circuit City. So If it means me paying an extra $100 bucks for the HV30, it'd be hella worth it. I do believe it comes with an editing program if I'm not mistaken? I know JVC does.

[perroxido20]

I wanted to get the HV30 too but i read about it and I discovered that this camera is different in the HV20 just for the case and the LCD screen but in the filming, lens etc. it's EXACTLY the same and I'm not willing to pay $100 extra bucks (which in my country is a lot more) for something that's not really more awesome, so i'm getting the HV20. Read about it

[EZA757]

yeah the only small difference between the HV20 is thand HV30 would be like the color and HV30 records at 30p..but 24p on HV20 is good enough.

[oskararnarson]

well, color is veeeeery important

[rickreynolds1986]

how much does the hv20 retail for were you live? i saw one on ebay for £444 english pounds (thats were im from) which is about $888 it was a jap import tho and i hate imports ahhhhhhhh!

[EZA757]

at a reseasonable price its around $899 if you get lucky..but itd be about roughly a $1,000. And think if you were to buy a shotgun mic and 35mm lens with it..total? maybe $1,300. I guess its worth it all considering HV20's reputation.

[Pagilas]

but it does really look like a movie already like one one of those UNIVERSAL PICTURES movies i think

[slackinbr]

Nice vids with the flv's.

videohelp dot com has info on YT's new (as of now experimental) h.264 acc stereo version. Append the URL with &fmt=18 to get it. Unfortunately it converts uploaded stereo flv's to mono. Try u/l'ing a high bit rate, like 4 to 8Mbps 480x360 (now file size max is 1GB) h264, x264, or divx w/320K mp3 or acc vbr or whatever you have. WMV looses sync for me. YT's audio pumping "compressor" distortion peaks get by so perhaps they'll fix it soon.

[danddog5]

hey i got the same camcorder i got yesterday how did you get the fade in the background or the other way around let me no thanks

[africanmarty]

with the use of the letus 35mm adaptor

[Pagilas]

Marty can I use Letus 35mm adaptor on PANASONIC 24p MiniDV camera? (^v^)

[africanmarty]

thank you very much, it means alot :)

[fourthwall1]

nice work, I just got the extreme, I can't wait to upload some videos too, but am having trouble getting the quality to look as good as yours.

I have adobe premier 2.0 and after effects 5.5, do you have any suggestions?

[africanmarty]

thanks for the comment, to be honest this isnt my best DOF testing (its a little soft) look at my clip of the mail box, to me its the best. as for uploading better quality vids on youtube checkout 'How To: Upload Lossless Quality HDV Videos to YouTube' thats the tutorial i use to upload my vids. good luck with your extreme, when you upload send me a link so i can check em out. reagards marty.

[dimitrigregorieff]

What is a Letus 35 flip??

[africanmarty]

a 35mm adaptor used on DV cameras to create depth of field.

[dtasphyxia]

Does the Letus 35 flip make any noise? I plan on using a shotgun mic with the hv20.

[africanmarty]

no its amazingly silent :) i slight vibration can be felt when turned on though.

[mbamber]

What kind of HD monitor are you going to get to hook onto your tripod? Do you have a "focus wheel diy addon" ????

[africanmarty]

i'm in the process of building my HD monitor here a link to it :

putfile[dot]com/pic[dot]php?im­g=7051066

remove "[dot]" and replace with a "." to see website

no i dont have a focus wheel diy addon.

Regards Marty.

[montebello]

Did you only use a 50mm lens for this entire video? Also, is it hard focusing on your subjects? Is focusing easy to do for a beginner? Thanks!

[africanmarty]

yes 50mm nikon lens at F2.0 for the whole shot. It is quite hard to focus it perfectly as i dont have a HD monitor.... yet. becuase those tiny LCD arnt good for focusing.

[montebello]

Beautiful footage!!! I have a question...I have an HV20 and am looking to purchase this adapter, do I purchase the one with the 50mm or 72mm thread size? Did you get the swappable mount or nikon locking mount? In other words, please explain (step by step) how you ordered this setup. I would really appreciate it!!!! Thanks.

[africanmarty]

i got the 50mm version ( as recommended by quyen the creator of the adaptors ) and i got the nikon mount ( as i use nikon SLR lenses ). basically go to the site and state what model you want, what mount you want, and what shipping method you want ( i payed alittle extra for shipping as i wanted mine asap, though there is a free shipping option ).

[stuartcohen36]

Hi I thought the bonus about the Letus was that you didnt need an external monitor as it didnt invert the image? Am I write in thinking it attaches to the camera you dont need rails or anything and its much lighter than the redrock m2...thinking of selling mine and getting a letus instead? Thanks

[africanmarty]

the letus flip the image for you the only thing you need an extenal monitor for is to make your your focus is razor sharp. i have (and need) rail system becuase my 43mm threads are plastic on my camera, i guess if you had metal threads you could get away without a rail system. i havent used a M2 myself but am very happy with the letus. - Marty.

[stuartcohen36]

Thank you for that Marty, You have given me some more confidence in the product...Now off to ebay to sell my M2 :) Thanks, Stuart

[africanmarty]

your welcome :) you'll love the letus, remember to send me link to your footage i'd love to see it.

[delsur2009]

External HD monitor where you got it? thanks and how connect it?

[africanmarty]

i dont have one.. i'm using the crappy lcd and guessing.. lol i'm on the waiting list for a HD monitor.

[delsur2009]

Ok yeah I just wanna congratulate you for being so fast and courteous responding our questions, rare to see the kind you are man. Thanks.

[africanmarty]

Thanks :) Sorry for late reply ( was at work ) If can reply quickly i will do my best to get back to you guys asap. Anytime i can help i will :). Thanks for the kind words.

[tomoya2010]

Greatly shallower DOF sample!

Could you tell me where to get the support rail for Letus35 and HV20?

[africanmarty]

thanks. i got mine from bhphotovideo[dot]com

[olympus7000]

Amazing Test!

You should really put up a video on how you set this all up.

[africanmarty]

if you want to see my camera setup check out this link :

putfile[dot][com]/pic[dot]php?­img=6727372

[tomoya2010]

Thanks! but it would be very appreciated if you could specify which rail system in this online store, when you have time.

Best,

[africanmarty]

sorry. i have the 'Cavision RS-15IIM(250)Rod Support System - for Mini DV Camcorders, Heavy Duty'. Hope this helps.

[telecaribe]

this camera rocks!!!

[africanmarty]

thanks :) i love it too !

[elliott7130]

really nice wow

[africanmarty]

thanks, i think i can do better as i didnt focus on the ground glass properly.

[africanmarty]

Thanks ali :)