Help HV40-Letus35 Econ rig

[sahpreemking]

I have a hv40 with a letus35 economy rig with nikon lenses. Everything is connected but the picture quality doesn't seem to be too impressive. I'm running the camera in 24F cinema mode. Here are my questions.

1. Should the image be flipped upside down in the LCD? (its right side up)
2. There is dust and specs on the letus35 ground glass-how do I clean it?
3. What should be my settings in the hv40 for optimal picture quality?
4. When I focus on the subject using the nikon lenses, I'm not getting the blurry background like I have seen in all of the videos?

Thanks in advance

[drapeama]

1. Should the image be flipped upside down in the LCD? (its right side up)
2. There is dust and specs on the letus35 ground glass-how do I clean it?
3. What should be my settings in the hv40 for optimal picture quality?
4. When I focus on the subject using the nikon lenses, I'm not getting the blurry background like I have seen in all of the videos?

1) Even the mini version flip the video so it's displaying correctly on the LCD.
2) The vibrating option should be turned on, otherwise the ground-glass will remain static, and if there's dust on the screen, it will be visible.
3) You can try cinemode in 24F, this will help a lot. Lock the exposure. Use spotlight if you want a noise-free image, but this could require additional lighting.
4) That could be because of the lens itself, what's the specs of the lens?

[sahpreemking]

Thanks for the speedy response.
The Letus35 came with an SKB case and three nikon lenses, I have no idea how to read the specs, what am I looking for?
Also, I used the unit yesterday outside with a ton of light using the 24F cinema mode and it looked hazy to me.
Any suggestions?

[drapeama]

I have no idea how to read the specs, what am I looking for?
[...] and it looked hazy to me.

1) You'll see it in front of the lens, like : "50mm f/1.8"
2) Maybe because of the cold temperature = condensation on the lens/ground glass. Try it after a couple of minutes, the time your gear gets at ambiant temperature.

Also, feel free to post a clip of your footage, like 10-15 seconds. Then we'll be able to see where the problem might be.

[sahpreemking]

Here goes:
1. Nikon Series E 50mm 1:1.8
2. Nikon 24mm 1:28
3. Nikon 85mm 1:2
Also here is a video I shot yesterday in daylight in Miami
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150137719473169&saved

[drapeama]

Also here is a video I shot yesterday in daylight in Miami

I don't have FaceBook. Could you post the video on YouTube/Vimeo instead?
Thanks

[sahpreemking]

no problem

[sahpreemking]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hozc-wkyIME

[drapeama]

Looks great to me, but there's not much (if not at all) DOF in your footage...
I guess you've used the 85mm lens, so you've been able to zoom with that lens? Other than this, it looks* like it's intended to look. There should be more blur in the background, but that could be because of the lens.
Tell us more specs about your rig that day.
Here's two video (shot with another adapter than yours, but just to show how it would look like):

http://vimeo.com/15420307

http://vimeo.com/15434878
You can check here (http://www.hv20.com/showthread.php?31960-Kiwi35-Spinning-Adapter&p=355719&viewfull=1#post355719) for more pictures taken with my setup.

[sahpreemking]

That is what I'm trying to figure out. I don't see any DOF in my footage how do I achieve this?
Everything is setup correctly. The Letus 35 Economy is connected to the HV40 which is set on 24F in cinema mode.
my lenes are
1. Nikon Series E 50mm 1:1.8
2. Nikon 24mm 1:28
3. Nikon 85mm 1:2
I cannot figure out why I'm not getting that DOF look???

I shot some more footage today, I will see if I can throw it together real quick and post it.

[drapeama]

I shot some more footage today, I will see if I can throw it together real quick and post it.

Try that 85mm lens, you should get a nice and visible DOF if you focus properlly on something.

[sahpreemking]

Thanks guys, I found out that I had the letus35 dof upside down. I took it to a camera place and also had it cleaned. It looks great, I will post something once I start shooting again.

[drapeama]

I will post something once I start shooting again.

do you have that nice "shallow depth of field" now? (;) to Janke on that one!)

[Janke]

shallow depth of field

:hv20-smilie77:

[drapeama]

Gna gna gna! :hv20-smilie64: I've learned it! (Did I?)