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03 Mar Canon 5D Mark III-next step in DSLR Revolution or just another camera?

Uncategorized | Studio B Team

Wowzers! It’s here, the long awaited Canon 5D Mark III! Once rumored to have 4k recording capabilities, xlr inputs and a built in espresso machine, the final specs of this much anticipated ‘uber-hyped’ camera have now been released! The Mark II has become a staple for Studio B shoots.  It’s fairly rare these days that we go out on a shoot without it. If nothing else it’s a great second camera when we are shooting on the Red Epic or Arri Alexa, and we often use it simply for production stills. Lets see if the Mark III Can replace the Mark II as our go to DSLR.

FROM THE 5D -MARK-II

TO THE 5D-MARK-III

Looks like they took what worked so well and stuck with it. Definitely a good thing.

So, in the end, why do we care? Lets break down the features.

New features include:

  • ISO sensitivity range from 100 to 25,600 (50 to 102,400 extended)
  • Digic 5+ Processor and 22.3-megapixel full-frame CMOS Sensor
  • 1080p recording @ 30/25/24fps and 720p recording at 60/30fps
  • Close to 30mins of uninterrupted record times w/automatic file splitting at 4GB files
  • Duel Compact Flash Type I/UDMA and SD/SDHC/SDXC Card Slots
  • Built-in headphone jack
  • Manual Audio Level Control with 64 levels (which you can adjust during movie recording) ZOINKS!
  • New 61-point autofocus system (same as the one found in 1D X)
  • HDR and Multiple Exposure modes
  • In-camera RAW processing
  • Comparative playback function (view two images side-by-side on LCD)
  • Scene Intelligent Auto mode
  • Support for high-speed UDMA 7 Compact Flash memory cards
  • 3.2-inch, 1.04 million-dot LCD
  • Optical viewfinder with 100% coverage

In video mode, it also has better noise reduction, so when you are at your crazy high ISO it won’t look as grainy as you think it should. It also claims better file compression and better overall picture quality, thanks to the digic 5+ processor. This camera is set to ship in late March and will retail for $3,500 smack-a-roo’s, over 1k more then its predecessor.

As for Still only options, I know there are a bunch but I’m not a still guy so I couldn’t tell you what they mean. If this is important stuff, post a response letting everyone know why still shooters would care about the Mark III.

So, now is the 5D Mark III a replacement to the Mark II or just another option in the world of DSLR? And, is it worth the extra cash? It’s really going to come down to image quality, if there is really that big of an improvement and if all these little features add up to a whole lot in the work that you do.

To single out the audio improvements, most people won’t be needing audio features for their DSLR anyways and without the inclusion of at least duel mini inputs, its not a feasible audio recorder anyways.

Even better low light recording? Well, more of a good thing is an even better thing, so if that does all it is supposed to, I can see that being a major factor. Longer record times, yes please. Time code, its about time. So yeah, there are improvements, but does that warrant a $3,500.00 price tag?

Soooo, whats my final take? We will get a couple of Mark III cameras in the studio so we can have it as part of our arsenal. Although the new features aren’t revolutionary, they are welcome additions, and since we’re already big fans of the 5D Mark II, I say ‘bring it on.’

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31 Jan Studio B Rentals in 2012: New Gear Rundown 2011 (Part 2)

Uncategorized | Studio B Team

Hello again, I’m back with part 2 of our new gear run down. We’ve got a lot on our plate over here, so I am going to get right to it.

But before we get back to the list, here is our first piece of new gear for 2012, drum roll please……

RED Epic Camera Package

This is the big one for 2012, we have finally received our RED Epic Camera Package here at Studio B. This camera is currently one of the hottest camera systems in Hollywood, having been used on the upcoming Spiderman film, Alien prequel and the long awaited prequels to the Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit.

We have it outfitted with all kinds of fun toys to make the camera has easy to use and streamlined as possible. For more details of our package and the specs of the camera, click here.

Ok, now back to the 2011 list.

Sachtler Cine 30 Tripod System

The most heavy duty tripod in our collection, the Cine 30 head can handle payloads up to 77lbs, this is the tripod you need when you are really maxing out your camera rig or using a massive lens that really needs the support. It can also be a great answer for an average camera setup, offering super smooth camera moves for any shoot. Specs here.

Matte Boxes

Arri LMB5 Clip on 2 Stage 4×5.65 Matte Box

This is a really hot item that has been getting a ton of use since we got it in our hands. This simple but ultra effective matte box allows any 80mm, 95mm or 114mm lens handle a matte box without rods. If you are going handheld or if you are trying to keep your kit light, this is the perfect item to make that happen.

Chrozsiel Super Wide 2 Stage 4×5.65 Matte Box

A standard Mattebox, it will attach to 15mm rods at either narrow or studio spacing, it comes with step down rings to fit 114mm, 110mm, 95mm and 80mm lenses. It comes with a single eyebrow and 2 4×5.65 lens trays, which also fits 4×4 filters. It works great with any of our camera systems, as long as you are using a lenses that matches the above specifications. Click! for more info.

Keep your eyes peeled for more content on this blog in the next week or so.

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21 Jan Studio B Rentals in 2012: New Gear Rundown 2011 (Part 1)

Uncategorized | Studio B Team

Hello camera junkies and non junkies!

First off, let me introduce myself, as I am new to this blog. I am Alrik Bursell, the Rentals and Equipment Manager here at Studio B Films.

Last year was a rush and a blast. We were slammed with so many different jobs, so many different shoots and so many different wonderful people coming in and out of the office all year round. We were also bestowed with a plethora of ‘fancy pants shining new gear’, that I am sure most people don’t even know that we have. Almost all of it is on our website (the rest will be shortly) but I am going to do a run down of all the shiny new toys we have in rentals that we acquired over the year. So, lets begin!

New Gear in 2011

Arri Alexa Digital Film Camera

Bam! Is this a big one or what? One of, (if not the number 1) top digital film camera working in the business today, and we got one here in our humble little office. We have used it to shoot a number of our latest videos and its always out of the office on rental. Please check our website for more info. But to summarize: Shoots to Apple Pro Res Files (in a variety of flavors), has 11 stops of dynamic range and it has one of the best sensors out there. But don’t trust me, the super awesome Roger Deakins who shot pretty much all of the Cohen Brothers Films, The Shawshank Redemption and countless other classic films says “[T]his camera has brought us to a point where digital is simply better”. And thats not just a fancy sound byte, he is currently shooting the latest Bond Movie Skyfall on the Alexa Studio Camera with Master Prime Lenses, using a Codex Deck to record in ARRIRAW, presumably at 4k, thank you very much IMDB.

Sony F3 Camera

The hot camera this time last year (and still hot in my opinion) the Sony F3 basically took the excellent pmw-EX1 chopped off the lens and threw on a pl-mount, at a very reasonable price tag. The dream camera for indie film makers and on a budget DP’s/Camera Ops, the F3 offers a great looking super 35mm sensor which captures very beautiful images with the ease of use of an EX1. Add the fact that you can send an HD-SDI signal out to a variety of digital recording decks, like the AJA KiPro or KiPro Mini to record directly to Apple Pro Res, then you have got your self quite a package. I am going to do a blog post about the F3 in the next week or so, so keep your eye open for that. For more details on the F3, guess what, click here!

Lenses

Arri/Zeiss Ultra Prime Lenses

Another major addition to our arsenal, we use these almost on a daily basis. We have a 6 lens set, which includes a 18mm, 24mm, 32mm, 50mm, 85mm and 100mm lens. You can find all the lens specs here. These are not quite at the level of the Master Primes, but from our tests, the quality jump versus the price jump from the Ultra Primes to the Master Primes, is not quite worth it, especially if your final video is not going to exceed a resolution of 1920×1080. These are the top lenses that we have to offer here at the Studio and they would be a perfect match for the F3, Red Epic, Arri Alexa or any PL Mount camera.

Zeiss ZF and ZE Cine Modded Prime Lenses

(Please note, the lenses in this pic are not cine modded!)

More lenses! We already had a handful of the Zeiss ZE Primes for our 5D’s and 7D but we decided to go ahead and flesh out the set to a full set of 6 lenses: 18mm, 21mm, 32mm, 50mm, 85mm and 100mm macro. We then had local DP Jason Joseffer take them into his lab and add custom delrine gears for our line up of follow focuses and we slapped step up/step down rings to make the front diameter of the lenses uniform at 80mm.

We also have a near identical set in the ZF .2 series from Zeiss, including: 18mm, 25mm, 32mm, 50mm, 85mm and 100mm macro. The main difference between these two sets is the aperture control. On the ZE series it is electronic and speaks directly to the camera, giving you your iris control through the camera display. The ZF series uses a manuel iris ring, which you control on the lens barrel and there is zero electronic communication with the camera. Jason also did the cine modding on this set, but in addition of adding the gears, he ‘de-clicked’ the manual iris ring, allowing for a smooth exposure adjustment, on the fly. For more info on these baby’s, check out the ZE Lenses here and the ZF lenses here.

Break!

Like I said, we had a really big year, and there was a lot more gear that we got our hands on which I still need to get to, but I want to get this out in the world so I’ll be back with part 2 next week.

Thanks for reading and keep your eyes on this blog, as I intend to bring a new post to you guys and gals on a more regular basis.

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09 Sep Safety First!

Uncategorized | Studio B Team

Archiving Your Tapeless Media!

sxs-big

There is no doubt that we have entered into the second generation of Digital Cinema. Not only have cameras gotten cheaper, smaller and better in quality, they have left behind the very thing that gave video its start – TAPE!

From consumer handycams to EX3’s to RED to Alexas, most of our cameras are shooting to some sort of solid-state digital media.

So now what?

With all this technology and ease, comes a little bit of fragility. It is almost certain that in the last few years – as this card or drive-based technology has become more readily available – you have lost footage. Either through an accidental erasing of a drive or the failure of an external hard drive, you have lost something. And at that moment you said,” I wish I had a TAPE!!”

But then you re-shoot, come to your senses and realize that tapeless shooting is just too easy and smooth to turn your back on. It’s just so simple to shoot to a card, ingest it and edit. Think back to tape ingests- long hours of mindless logging, eaten tapes, expensive decks and endless tape formats. Now, it’s all right there and ready to go.

All this is great, but, indeed, the question still arises, WHERE IS MY HARD COPY? Without the safety of a tape on your shelf, what do you have? A fragile hard drive perhaps or an Xsan or RAID, if your lucky. The question always pops up: What is the best workflow and archiving method?

I always suggest a full and complete workflow, which we adhere to at Studio B.
This tried and true archiving method goes something like this: No matter if it’s a small EX1 shoot, a P2 Varicam shoot or a RED shoot, we always archive the drive directly. We always, copy over the “raw” drive first. We then use that new “folderized”, RAW drive as our master and release the P2 Card or Red Drive back into use on production.

From that “folder master” we then create the QuickTime files in Final Cut. However, in doing this, we set the Capture Scratch to a separate drive. Thus, we have an archived master and a work print on the QuickTime side. Our footage exists in two places- SAFE!

This way, if your QuickTimes ever did become corrupt or lost, you would have your master drive on hand and can recreate them. This is a pretty safe system, and to be exceptionally safe, we often back up production drives to a separate RAID, in effect creating a back up of the back up.

Once the edit is all said and done, we have adopted an LTO (Linear Tape Open) system for final archiving. This is a linear system that simply spools all your data onto 400, 800 and now 1200 gig tapes. It’s just a stream of ones and zeros of your entire project, that if the need ever arose in the future, could be brought back online and everything will be there. The LTO will contain your archive, your source material, and your project files- EVERYTHING. And they last up to 75 years without degrading.

Some people out there have taken on Blu-Ray Data DVDs as their preferred method of archiving. We found that Blu-Ray was slightly more expensive and still a bit too fragile in the end. Blu-Ray is potentially faster than recovering from LTO, but in the end we decided to err on the side of caution and cost-effectiveness with LTO.

We are now offering this service for projects being produced in the Bay. If you have a large project, that has been shot, edited and mastered 100% digitally, we can create an LTO tape for you so you can breathe easy. Give us a call and we’ll help get organized on drives and prepare for LTO archiving.

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23 Jul Broadcasting Live from Your Backpack with the Tricaster TCDX300

Uncategorized | Studio B Team

tricaster-tcxd300

New toy! One of our latest additions is the Tricaster TCDX300 and we were psyched last April when we had the chance to try it out on our fellow nerds at the Twitter Chirp Conference. This amazing little black box is small but mighty: it has the power of network-style TV broadcasting, jammed in its 20lb body – so light in can fit in your backpack. It’s completely self- contained and we were able to live cut a three-camera shoot of Twitter’s live event.

 

These portable tricasters are really revolutionizing the capacity of independent production companies to offer a higher caliber of live capture at conferences, concerts, sports events and just about any other live video multi-camera event. At the Chirp Conference it was readily apparent how much viewers rely on webcasting – even though they were at the actual event, the entire audience had our webcast running on their laptops and were watching online for a better view.

 

Check out the surrealist photo below taken by our Rental Manager, Josef Shafer – those are all the laptops, tablets and handheld devices broadcasting our video.

Chirp Conference

Take a look at this clip and see the TCDX300 in action…


 

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17 May Say Hello to KiPro, say Goodbye to Digitizing!

Uncategorized | Studio B Team

Say good bye to digitizing! Meet the KiPro from Aja:

Aja KiPro

Aja KiPro

Awww! Breath a sigh of relief- finally, no more agonizing hours of digitizing! With the new KiPro you are ready to edit as soon as your wrap. No more tapes! Isn’t this what you and your clients have been wanting for years? Yeah it is!
For a long time here at Studio B, as I am sure is true with your team, it was always a time-suck and a money-waster to digitize footage after a shoot. Not only was it a pain to dedicate an edit suite and an editor to the digitizing process, it was always tough to justify invoicing your client for this time, they will always question that cost. And this is not to mention the cost of and the ware and tare on a VTR. Bottom line is, digitizing was the last thing you wanted to do after a shoot.
All that has gone away now!
This thing is amazing. It is just what we all had been calling for, for years now, and yet again, Aja has heard these calls and made a great device. They always seem to nail it over at Aja, and this new “box” from them is no exception.
The KiPro, if you don’t know, is a small “on board” recording device that will record any signal in Apple’s ProRes codec. You can hit this box with anything from a composite signal from an older prosumer camera to an HD-SDI signal out of your new Varicam and it will record it to a small drive that you can edit from directly!
It’s like magic!
Not only will it eliminate digitizing and wasted time, it will breathe new life into your old tape based cameras and effectively bring it up a notch to the level of card based cameras.
Because the KiPro records at ProRes (HQ) which is pretty standard these days for creating your Final Cut Pro projects, it will match up all your footage so you don’t have too. In other words, no more converting different formats or codecs, it’s just good to go.
For example, here at Studio B, we have a new Varicam 3700, which shoots to P2 cards. When we ingest the footage from these cards, we “log and transfer” them into ProRes HQ quicktime files. But then we are often shooting B-roll or second camera with our older HDX-900, also from Panasonic. With this tape based DVCPRO camera, we used to not only digitize these tapes, we would need to convert them to ProRes as well. This would slow our edit down by hours, if not days. But now, we use the KiPro, along side the HDX-900, record straight to ProRes and now it’s even faster than the Varicam.
The other beautiful thing about using the KiPro is that you are tapping the output, which is typically wired to the sensor, not the VTR of a camera. What this means is that, because the BNC or Component output of a camera is NOT compressed, that you are getting a HIGHER quality image. Generally speaking the compression ratio is quite high on older tape cameras, and then you also compress slightly on the ingest as well. This will bring the quality of your next project way up.
If you have a project that simply has a small turn around time – perhaps, your client wants to fly away with the digitized footage, this will make it a breeze. All you would need to do, is set the KiPro’s drive to transfer footage to a second hard drive, while you wrap your cables and your client walks away with the footage…And at a super high quality nonetheless.
This device is also a great value. For a relatively cheap rental, you can continue to use your slightly older camera, but bring it up to the level of the latest generation of card based cameras. It is a great addition to any production, no matter the size of the crew or budget. And, just think about how much you’ll save on tape stock.

I was sold on this thing when it was still just a glimmer in some engineer’s eye. And seeing it in action I am absolutely in love with it. The interface is straight forward, the work flow is very simple and integrating it is a breeze- JUST ONE CABLE!
Come see this thing in action for yourself, come on by the Studio or give me a call for your next rental! RENT THIS TODAY!

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19 Feb Oh 5D, why do I love you so?

Uncategorized | Studio B Team

Oh 5D, why do I love you so? You are not a video camera and you have terrible audio… But damn baby, your pictures look good.

Canon 5D Mark II

Canon 5D Mark II

This may be a little late in the game to be swooning over the Canon 5D Mark II; but after the hype, after the buzz, we here at Studio B, finally bought one of these things last fall. Now, after a few months of shooting both stills and video with it, we have a lot of love and praise and just a few small criticisms.

Just pulling this thing out of the box and playing with it, we immediately saw what great images it can create. We also realized at a fraction of the cost of other cameras, this camera produces similar picture quality. The images, even with a stock zoom lens, are sharp, crisp and have a beautiful depth of field. This is the strongest “case” for these cameras. The shallow focus and the resolution are striking. They give the 35mm adapters a run for their money. In it’s compact, lightweight shell, this camera, effectively produces the same images as an EX1 with a Letus adapter. Of course you are not getting the audio, the gamma options and the clean workflow, but as in every camera, despite it’s functionality, the important part is the image. It’s all about getting the best quality picture for the best value and that is what the Canon 5D offers. At the end of the day, the images are stunning.
There are some basic criticisms I have about these cameras. However, if your budget is small, but the quality needs to be high, these are reasonable issues to work around.
My main issue with the 5D is the audio set up; there is only a single mini input and the metering is always on auto. Indeed, you can plug in a mic or a mixer, but every adjustment your sound guy makes, is moot, as the camera will override it. This makes recording to a stand-alone unit almost a necessity. And with that, you get into sync issues and slating issues. However, you can nonetheless get decent sound or at least a scratch track onto your memory card, so all is not lost.

The other big issue for me is the interface of this camera. Since it is a still camera, it speaks to you in ‘still photography’ terms. It is this basic language and menu structure that I don’t like. If you are coming to this camera as a veteran of video, you will be confused about where and how to change things. Where as you normally pick up a new camera and know exactly how to operate it within a couple minutes of playing around, the 5D will have you scratching your head and reading the manual. The menus are basic and the physical button pushing is slightly annoying. Again, this is a small price to pay for such high quality images.

If you couple this camera with a small jib or some kind of shoulder rig, your production quality sky rockets. You can get such high quality dynamic shots from this camera on a Zacuto rig or a dolly move, always maintaining that much desired shallow focus.

We offer the Port-a-Jib traveler here at Studio B and I have seen clients come back with shots from the 5D on the jib that look like a million bucks. The compact size and light weight design of this camera can get you into corners and tight spots, or do narrow pushes and tracking shots that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to physically achieve. You cannot argue that the 5D gives you incredible range and versatility; the possibilities are endless.
If you haven’t gotten to play around with one of these 5D’s yet, you should come down to Studio B and check it out. We can talk all about it; the functions, the pitfalls, the bright side and the work flow. If you couple this camera with some of our other small budget choices, like the port a jib traveler you can raise your production value easily. Or throw this on a Zacuto hand held rig and get some rock solid hand held shots that will make people think you had a steady cam and double the money.
I still am a bit skeptical of HDSLR’s in general, as they are NOT video cameras, with all the ins and outs and buttons and menu options. But these things will change over time and our two worlds of video and photography will continue to merge their technology. And soon enough these cameras will be neck and neck with traditional video cameras much in the same way digital photography has all but phased out 35mm film. All I can say is, they have some perfect applications right now, and if they fix the interface and the audio, these things will be unstoppable.

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04 Dec John Mayer in ProRes 4444 with the Panasonic HPX-3700 (P2 Varicam)

Uncategorized | Studio B Team

We recently got to do a shoot with Adobe for John Mayer’s latest music video. Since it was to be a greenscreen shoot and placed into a pretty high-profile piece we decided to pull out all the stops. The timing worked out pretty well because it coincided with Apple releasing the nee ProRes 4444 codec which would allow us to do a 444 capture on the fly and then key directly in After Effects without super-heavy files. So, we lugged our 8-core Mac Pro with the Kona3 card down to LA and installed two 1.5TB Seagate Barracuda drives (RAID 0 for throughput) into the mac. We needed the Kona3 because we wanted to pipe the super-clean dual link image from our brand new Panasonic HPX-3700 (P2) camera. We decided on the Varicam over the RED ONE because there were some pretty great reactions to it during the ASC Camera Test that was conducted in LA. Then to help insure that we’d get a crystal clear image, we put some Digi-Prime glass in front of the full-raster 1920 X 1080 imager of the Panasonic Varicam. Also, since this was an Adobe gig, we bypassed Final Cut Pro altogether and used the Kona VTR Xchange utility to capture to ProRes 4444 and then could drop the files directly into After effects to do our test keys.

john_mayer_prores444_kona1
Here’s the dual-link interface from the Kona 3 control panel.

john_mayer_prores444_key_test1
Doing an on-set test-key on the footage with imagery from the boards.

In the end, the footage was some of the cleanest we’ve seen. Even with the heavy shadowing from the dummy green furniture that we placed on set, the key came out great (with some rotoscoping here and there). All in all, it was a very smooth process combining the Panasonic HPX-3700 with the Kona 3 and the new Apple ProRes 444 codec. Bring on the next one!

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10 Aug High Noon for High Def

Uncategorized | Studio B Team

If you haven’t heard about this event, you should check out this video, and stayed tuned for the exciting results…

This event, the Camera Assessment Series, “the shoot out”, was a chance for the ASC and it’s members, and really all of us in the industry,  to put various, next generation HD cameras side by side, to see what all of these flavors of HD/4K have to offer.  This is the first, truly industry sponsored chance to see the advantages and disadvantages of these cameras and thier post production work flow.

We here at Studio B are anxiously awaiting the results of this test, as two cameras in our inventory were part of this test- The RED ONE and the new Panasonic VARICAM 3700.

I have a good feeling that the 3700 and the RED ONE, both, will stand up next to these other high end cameras.  I believe that these two cameras have something to offer our filmmaking community and industry, besides smaller budgets.  I think these cameras look great and are relatively easy to use, both in the field and in the edit room, especially in comparison to some of these other cameras.  The 3700 can shoot- stand alone- untethered from any external recording device and then the P2 workflow is slick these days.  The Red is very similar, perhaps a bit more difficult to navigate and manipulate, but also eleminates a lot of the combursome set ups of cameras, like the Viper or the D21.

At any rate, all of these cameras have their strong points and thier applications.  They all have the project that is right for them.

We, here at Studio B, are simply pleased to offer at least two of these HIGH END cameras when you shoot with us, or if you are needing that next level rental! Stay tuned for the results of this test and more comments as Studio B gets deeper into this realm of next gen’ HD…

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11 Jun The Letus Ultimate, is the ULTIMATE!

Uncategorized | Studio B Team

A few months back Studio B was one of the first places to get the new Letus Ultimate, 35mm DOF Adapter. I think we have serial number 21 –it was fresh out of the oven! And let me tell you, this thing IS fresh! It is the 35mm adapter we have been waiting for. It gives you crisp images, it’s super easy to build out and is extremely user friendly.

img_0639

Here at Studio B, we tried other brands as well. Between hefty price tags and annoying build-outs, other adapters were often more trouble then they were worth. And as a rental item, the other brands were a mess to deal with. There were too many parts, too many adjustments; my shooters and clients were always calling back with questions and problems.

Finally, engineer, Hein Le, at Letus has nailed it with the design of the Ultimate – it lives up to its name. Of course, all the basic elements are included: it flips the image, it has spinning glass and it delivers images with great depth of field. But what sets the Ultimate apart is its precision engineering and subtle extras that save you so much time and headaches. The adapter has an actual back focus ring, the achromat lens is ground wide so it won’t vignette on wider lenses of new cameras, it has a digital read out for accurately adjusting the spinning glass to shutter speeds and the rail system is straight forward and requires only a 1 size Allen Wrench!

Here at Studio B, I have sent out the Ultimate on an EX1 and the results are simply stunning. I am not going to go as far to say it looks like RED footage or F-35. But for this price point, it makes incredible images.   From my most green young shooter to my most vetran DP’s, they are all reporting that this Letus in indeed the ULTIMATE!

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