Depth of Field & Film Grain with Any Digital Video Camera

Even those who have never worked with film sometimes long for the shooting techniques & aesthetic effects lost in the transition to digital video. Thankfully, some of that lost magic is being returned to our craft with devices like 35mm adapters, which allow you to marry a 35mm SLR camera lens to a video camera.

This article reviews the full suite of 35mm adapters & accessories available from Letus Corporation. Most videographers will be interested in two primary benefits offered with these products. Firstly, coupling your video camera with a 35mm lens imparts the unique depth-of-field characteristics of your lens to the video camera. Secondly. the ground glass elements found in these adapters provide a traditional film-grain aesthetic.

All of the adapters reviewed below achieve this graininess by vibrating or rotating the glass element to ensure that the resulting effect is indeed graininess and not just a bunch of static dots. Some of the more advanced models even allow you to fine tune the speed of movement, among other parameters, to achieve footage with a custom look. Combine this graininess with 24fps recording and you're about as close to a film aesthetic as digital can offer.

Also worth mentioning is the internal management of image flipping in all of these models. Some other adapters require a separate adapter ring to flip the image, adding bulk and cost to such a setup. The Letus adapters internally flip the image from the 35mm lens right-side up so that your video camera takes in the scene from a traditional perspective. If the image from the 35mm lens were not flipped, the video camera would record upside-down footage.

If you're interested in simplifying your setup and forgoing the management of different lenses & lens adapters, this is also possible. All of these adapters (except the Letus35 Mini) are compatible with two relay lenses (and many to come) manufactured by Letus that can be attached directly to the adapter to totally bypass the expensive camera stock lens.

Choosing the Right Adapter

Every adapter needs to be attached to a camera with a custom filter-thread to ensure a proper fit. Likewise, custom lens adapters are also required to attach different 35mm lens models. Since these components add significant bulk to your video rig, you'll also need a rod support system, which can be customized with rod extensions and support brackets.

While the features offered by most adapters are pretty much similar, some advanced models do allow gains in performance & aesthetic effects. Furthermore, although most adapters are compatible with a wide range of cameras, some are limited to just larger or smaller model cameras.

To choose a setup that is right for you, start by making note of your camera & lens. Then determine which 35mm adapter and lens adapters are compatible with your rig. Next analyze which differences in the features of those compatible adapters are important for your work.

Letus 35mm adapters when used with a Letus Relay lens can totally bypass the expensive camera stock lens The information that follows is designed to help you navigate this process. The videos provide a demonstration of the products and concepts described in this article. The matrix charts are helpful in comparing the adapters & key components you'll need, both for features and compatibility.

The list that follows the charts offers links to product pages for your convenience. While you can buy all the pieces of a complete system individually, it might be worth considering a kit or bundle.

These special packages have been customized to work with virtually any camera rig, including many industry-standard cameras. Buying a preconfigured package includes everything you need to get started, but without the confusing research and tedious planning.

Letus Elite & Ultimate

Letus Extreme & Mini

MATRIX CHARTS

Letus 35mm Adapters
Model	Mini	Extreme	Elite	Ultimate
Camera Compatibility	43mm ring or smaller	All cameras	All cameras	All cameras
F-Stop	F/5.6 and faster	F/5.6 and faster	F/5.6 and faster	All F-stops
Shutter Speed	1/100 and slower	1/100 and slower	1/100 and slower	1/500 (1/2000 in certain conditions)
Upright Image	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Light Loss	1/2 stop	1/2 stop	1/2 stop	1/2 stop
Achromat	For smaller camera	EX1/EX3/HVX option available	Ready For EX1/EX3/HVX	Ready For EX1/EX3/HVX
Custom Condenser	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Lens Style Back Focus Ring	No	No	Yes	Yes
Ground Glass Technology	Vibration	Vibration	Vibration	Smart spinning
Adjust Ground Glass Speed	No	No	No	Yes
X/Y Adjustment	No	No	No	Yes
Lens Mount	Not included	Not included	Not included	Included
Support Bracket	Not included	Not included	Not included	Included
Power (# of AA batteries)	2	2	2	2
External Power Option	No	No	No	Yes
Relay Lens Compatibility	None	All Relay Lenses	All Relay Lenses	All Relay Lenses
Warranty	1 year	1 year	1 year	1 year

Model	B4 Compact	B4 Pro
Letus Relay Lenses
Length	50mm	103mm
Lens Settings	9	12
Compatibility	Extreme, Elite, Ultimate	Extreme, Elite, Ultimate
Frame Size	Academy	Academy

Letus Lens Adapters
Model	B&H SKU
M42 Screw Mount	LTM42SCREW
Canon EF / EOS Mount	LELTCANONEOS
Canon FD Mount	LELTCANONFD
Leica R Mount	LELTLEICAR
Minolta MD Mount	LELTMINOLTAM
Nikon AI Mount	LELTNIKON
Olympus OM Mount	LELTOLYMPUSO
Pentax K Mount	LELTPENTAXK
Zeiss Contax (C/Y) Mount	LELTCONTAX
OCT19 Mount	LELTOCT19
PL Mount	LELTPLMOUNT