Canon HV20 + 35mm Lens

Jonathan Neal wrote on 11/6/2008, 5:16 PM
I love my Canon HV20. I also love the look and feel of video shot with a 35mm lens.

So, after seeing things like this: http://hv20.com/showthread.php?t=2825

And wondering if it would work to use something like this: http://deanwolf.net/vlog/2008/01/07/cheapest-canon-hv20-35mm-lens-adapter-ever/

It's temping to buy things like this: http://www.letusdirect.com/cart/letus35-mini.html

Has anyone here had any experience with this?

Comments

Cliff Etzel wrote on 11/6/2008, 6:28 PM
Is this only for Canon HV series cameras??? I own two SONY HC7's and the compactness of this adapter sure would be nice to work with.

Cliff Etzel - Solo Video Journalist
bluprojekt | solo video journalism blog

jabloomf1230 wrote on 11/6/2008, 6:38 PM
That's gotta be a joke. There's no internal glass element onto which the 35mm lens can be focused. Note the last comment on the page. Besides, if in fact, you could achieve some degree of focus, it would be incredibly tedious.
RalphM wrote on 11/6/2008, 6:49 PM
The Letus does have a vibrating or rotating frosted
"glass" onto which the image is focused. I understand that film schools use these adapters with DV cameras to teach film shooting without the cost of film.
Patryk Rebisz wrote on 11/6/2008, 11:06 PM
You absolutely need an HD monitor as the flip out screen is not reliable.

LetusMini isn't bad (i have it) but it doesn't really let you deal with your zoom's lens back focus (so you can't zoom in focus and zoom out).

Here is a pic of my rig:
http://www.patrykrebisz.com/canon.html

you can't really go with less then that.
Jonathan Neal wrote on 11/7/2008, 1:50 PM
Patryk,

That's intense man! Do you have any sample pics or am I seeing those at films.html? Would you be willing to break down what that ended up costing you?

Jonathan
jabloomf1230 wrote on 11/7/2008, 2:54 PM
I was referring to this link not the Letus:

"And wondering if it would work to use something like this: "

http://deanwolf.net/vlog/2008/01/07/cheapest-canon-hv20-35mm-lens-adapter-ever/
Patryk Rebisz wrote on 11/7/2008, 3:00 PM
http://www.patrykrebisz.com/hv20/hv20_stills.html

It adds up really quickly (about $3300 total):
Canon HV20 - $650
LetusMini - $1150
Cavision rails - $120
Ikan HD monitor - $750
XLR box (not pictured) - $140
Monitor arm (different then the one in the pic) - $120
2x long-lasting battery - 2x $130
Lenses were "free" because they were purchased for still photo camera

Pros:
-- the rig is small and can be used hand-held
-- the images are still HD (though not as sharp as camera without the lenses, obviously)
-- you use the blurry background to generate abstract shapes rather then worry of what it means (no more worry about over exposing bg!)

Cons:
-- light hungry (as all mini35 adapters) - be prepared to pour tons of light at your subject/scene
-- both camera and the rig has its own quirks that you need to know before becoming really profficient
FrigidNDEditing wrote on 11/7/2008, 3:03 PM
the only way I can imagine that working is if the light comes through the 35 lens, and then goes into the camera's lens and re-reverses back to to be flipped going onto the sensor, and if the focal lengths are exactly right, they could create a focused image - certainly not worth the hassle IMO, and it would likely create a DOF so shallow that it might not be worth anything, not to mention the fact that it might only be useable in macro work period.

Dave
Konrad wrote on 11/7/2008, 3:35 PM
The cost of most 35m adapters is why Canon is going to sell a few boat loads of the 5DmkII.
Jeff_Smith wrote on 11/8/2008, 9:44 AM
What is the camera sitting on, is that the 10 hour battery for the monitor?
FilmingPhotoGuy wrote on 11/15/2008, 1:48 PM
I bought 2 static DOF adapters which I use on my Canon HF10. I can now use my Canon 50mm 1.2 and 85-300mm 4.5 lenses.

The setup is easy. Look on [http://www.vimeo.com/] and search for DOF adapters.

The way it works is that the image is reflected on a Ground Glass Screen and your cam films off this screen. The image will be up-sidedown but you fix this in post production.
FilmingPhotoGuy wrote on 11/17/2008, 3:39 AM
Hey Patryk,

I totally agree with you. you definitly need a larger preview screen when using DOF adapter stuff. I am inpressed with you rig setup. Please tell me what screen you are using and cable connections as well. I am doing a shoot in a weeks time and am looking at some preview options. I think your Canon has a firewire port, am I right?

Craig