The HV20 SGpro thread [Archive] - High Definition Digital Video Forum

Mal

2007 March 27th, 19:05

Okay, the virgin HV20 & SGproRev2 footage:

http://hv20.info/sgprohv20-test1s.jpg

FULL SIZED PNG FILE (http://hv20.info/sgprohv20-test1.png)

Small QuickTime movie:
http://hv20.info/sgprohv20test1.mov

(Ooops again, didn't zoom in enough, well, that's it for now....)

t-hype

2007 March 30th, 11:49

I'm not familiar with the SGpro. Is that an adapter that lets you use any 35mm lens with a camcorder?

Like, in the photo, is that a regular camera lens or what?

Mal

2007 March 30th, 12:01

Yes, that's it; the adapter has specific lens mounts, in this case it's for Canon FD lenses.

xcgeek

2007 March 30th, 12:48

Mal

2007 March 30th, 12:50

The "problem" with the EOS lenses is that they need to be controlled electrically. These adapters work best with MANUAL lenses, where you can dial in the IRIS manually; hence the FD series lenses (FL also work).

As far as look & feel: they (these adapters) are meant to create a shallow depth of field (DOF) using appropriate lenses. Since these small digital cams have a VERY deep DOF they can be spotted as being small digital cameras. Using an 35mm adapter and the HV20 being HD, it might be quite hard to see that it's a tiny $1000 cam.

So to summarize: the HV20 has 24p cinema mode, the 35mm adapter adds a grainy look and shallow DOF = GREAT COMBO! :)

t-hype

2007 March 30th, 15:53

Sounds cool. How much do those things run?

I've got 2 or 3 old manual lenses from my dad's 1970's Canon. I could be on my way! :hv20-smilie77:

Mal

2007 March 30th, 16:03

Prisma

2007 April 2nd, 13:09

What kind of 35mm lenses do you use with the Letus35?

What about the indie35? have you guys ever try it?

Rawfa

2007 April 8th, 16:11

You can also take a look at www.cinevate.com (the brevis35 has truly amazing results with the HV20) and http://www.redrockmicro.com (the famous M2). But I guess the letus35 is the least expensive.

Mal

2007 April 8th, 16:49

Yes, all those are good too (never worked with them, but the results are awesome).
I like the SGpro though, I guess I just have to upload some good footage that does it justice! :)

Rawfa

2007 April 9th, 03:07

I'd love to see that, Mal. I'm a huge fan of 35mm adapters...and I'm huge fan of the HV20...so there's no loosing here :D

Tomtebo

2007 April 9th, 15:31

Can it be better than Canon Hv20 camera and a 35mm adapter? I mean, for that price is outstanding!

Avene

2007 April 10th, 07:00

Mal, have you fixed that vignetting with your SGPro rev2? From the footage you posted at the start of this thread. I have the older SGPro rev1, and will hopefully be picking up a HV20 tomorrow, providing I've received payment from the sale of my old camera. Which reminds me, I'll need to grab a 43mm to 58mm upsize ring.

Mal

2007 April 10th, 07:20

Mal, have you fixed that vignetting with your SGPro rev2? From the footage you posted at the start of this thread.

Well, I needed to zoom in more....but alas, no more testing done as of yet. You might beat me to it! :)

duzzit_madder

2007 April 10th, 17:18

Not that I'm anything special, because I'm not, well maybe to my dog I am but only because I feed him, the SGPro is my adapter of choice. I've worked with my friend's letus and I've checked out a Brevis and I have to say...

Call it lazy but I don't like the idea of having to fidget with the set up to get a good consistent edge to edge picture every time I put it on. The SGPro with rails keeps the edge to edge picture better than any of them.

Your millage may vary and certain restrictions may apply because it is JMHO.

Tomtebo

2007 April 11th, 01:54

Iagree with you on that. I have seen alot of footage with letus, bevis and sgpro. And i have to say, Sgpro gives the best DOF and resultat. I have dying, waiting for a canon Hv20 with an sgpro rig and now i have seen it. And it's stunning!
I mean. Canon Hv20 for wery nice price. Hdv, 25fps cinemamode And on top of that, true DOF with a Sgpro Adapter. You have saved alot of money to buy just that, than some other fancy camcorders..

David

2007 April 22nd, 00:04

Small QuickTime movie:
http://hv20.info/sgprohv20test1.mov

That looks sweet!
My guess is that the footage was NOT shot in Cinemode. Can you confirm?

Mal

2007 April 22nd, 07:55

That looks sweet!
My guess is that the footage was NOT shot in Cinemode. Can you confirm?

You know, I am not sure about that now. My guess is it WAS, although it probably shouldn't of been. The Sgpro adds plenty of "filmic" quality to the footage as is.

David

2007 April 22nd, 13:55

You know, I am not sure about that now. My guess is it WAS, although it probably shouldn't of been. The Sgpro adds plenty of "filmic" quality to the footage as is.

The reason I guessed that it wasn't in Cinemode is because of the latitude. Very few, if any, of the cinemode clips I've looked at have clipped whites, while the non-cinemode setups on the camera are more contrasty and you see more blown out bright areas.

But that's why I was asking, I was trying to figure out if the addition of the SGPro into the equation changes the overall look in that respect.

D_Odell

2007 April 25th, 15:42

Great footage Mal!

I’m very interested in the combo of SGpro and HV20.
But I have followed discussions about the HV20 and read that the OIS function doesn’t really help if you have a really shaky film.
What I would really much appreciate is of course more screens from you, but also if you could walk after a person,
to see how it will work out, if the OIS sucks or actually works...
Cause the camera has great picture, that’s clear. But the shake possibilities, how about them together with the SGpro?

Big thanks for a screen!
/David

Avene

2007 May 12th, 12:08

I just hooked up the HV20 to my SG Pro a couple of days ago. It's the older SG Pro, not the Rev 2. Apart from some slight vignetting with a Nikon 28mm f2.8 lens, the results are promising. Here's a frame grab using a 100mm f2.8 Nikon portrait lens.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/228/494816327_aec9894bd4_b.jpg

Mal

2007 May 12th, 13:30

Looks awesome, Avene!!

Avene

2007 May 15th, 02:30

Mal, thanks. Apparently SGPro Rev2 is much better.

crobs808

2007 May 31st, 16:27

Can you get an adapter for EOS lenses or just the FD lenses (I have both sets, and think this adapter idea could be quite cool.) Also, what are some advantages in terms of look and feel that these adapters and lenses can offer. (I am primarily a Canon EOS photographer and have not done much video work I am going to pick up my HV20 tomorrow.)

this is good to hear. i myself own a canon 20d and a canon 5d. with the 24-70mm lens and the 70-200mm lens. i have a hv20 and am looking for a 35mm adaptor to let me use my $1,500 and $3,500 lenses on my hv20.

MAL, will this do it? where do i get it AND does it come with the EF adaptor? i already have EF lenses, so i would like to get an adaptor for the hv20 that will build apon my existing hardware.

thanks

Mal

2007 May 31st, 16:40

MAL, will this do it? where do i get it AND does it come with the EF adaptor? i already have EF lenses, so i would like to get an adaptor for the hv20 that will build apon my existing hardware.

thanks

Yeah, crobs, running the EOS lenses with a 35mm adapter poses a couple of issues, namely the aperature control; which is the main reason older, manual lenses are preferred (canon FL or FD).
There's a [annoying] trick to use a EOS body, and slap the EOS lesn on it, set the aperature, then remove the lens, and mount it to the 35mm adapter (at least that's what I remember reading, never tried it myself).

Then there's also the BIRGER ENGINEERING EOS controller:
http://www.birger.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=ef232_home
that would allow control of aperature and focus.

But I think the easiest would be to chose manual Nikon or Canon lenses.

crobs808

2007 May 31st, 16:42

You've got MANY options. Cheapest (purchased) one may be the LetUs35: http://letus35.com
The SGpro, I forget, maybe $800? I can't recall exactly...http://sgpro.co.uk
....there you go: £430 ($820) + the lens mount is additional.
No, not very "cheap", but it's a great adapter.

darn,
well, shipped/total to the USA it is $1,078.01 with the FD mount. $25pounds cheaper for other mounts, but still over $1,000 USD...too steep for my needs right now, though it is far superior to the brevis35 i must admit. wish i could find some hv20 using the redrock M2 adaptor to compare it to.

~ crobs808

neocastillo

2007 May 31st, 16:55

darn,
well, shipped/total to the USA it is $1,078.01 with the FD mount. $25pounds cheaper for other mounts, but still over $1,000 USD...too steep for my needs right now, though it is far superior to the brevis35 i must admit. wish i could find some hv20 using the redrock M2 adaptor to compare it to.

~ crobs808

Have you considered the letus35a? Just wondering because you say that $1,000 is too steep for you. I have seen some awesome results with the Letus35a. Its starts at $350 for the letus35a. Just thought I'd let ya know.

crobs808

2007 May 31st, 16:57

Then there's also the BIRGER ENGINEERING EOS controller:
http://www.birger.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=ef232_home
that would allow control of aperature and focus.

But I think the easiest would be to chose manual Nikon or Canon lenses.

why would you not be able to manually focus? the manual focus/auto focus switch is ON the lenses themselves, not built into my canon 20d or 5d body, so focus shouldnt be a problem, correct?

~ crobs808

neocastillo

2007 May 31st, 17:04

why would you not be able to manually focus? the manual focus/auto focus switch is ON the lenses themselves, not built into my canon 20d or 5d body, so focus shouldnt be a problem, correct?

~ crobs808

Yes the focus could be contriled without that device but not the aperture.

Rikki

2007 May 31st, 17:14

I have a range of Nikon glass here, AF-S lenses with manual aperture, is there something I can use on my HV20 ?

neolinski

2007 May 31st, 21:22

anyone tried Letus35 on HV20?
let me know :)

Mal

2007 May 31st, 23:06

anyone tried Letus35 on HV20?
let me know :)

http://www.hv20.com/showthread.php?t=8

DSleep

2007 June 19th, 17:52

Norbert

2007 June 20th, 07:21

I agree with Dsleep, I have my eyes on this combo. More HV20+SGpro footage, please! :D

Prokopi

2007 September 16th, 08:54

mal, would to see more sg pro footage with your HV 20. I am planning on getting a brevis in the next few weeks but have seen some sg pro footage that looks amazing. it seems like the sharpness and bokeh is maybe a bit better.

what length are those rails on your rig?

Bokeh is actually dependant on lens and shutter shape not the 35mm adaptor so make note of the lens used on footage where that impresses you. Its true that the sgpro does offer great clarity and dof but every adapter has its pros and cons. Ive done a lot of researching and im settling with the Brevis. It has the lowest light loss compared to other adpaters and is the quickest and easiest adapter to set up. Being completely honest the massive wait time on the sgpro (over 3 months right now) compared to the 3 days on the brevis swung it in the end.

Norbert

2007 September 16th, 09:45

Actually, the bokeh you get is also depending on the ground glass in the adapter and from all the videos I have seen shot with the different adapters, SGpro's ground glass always seems to render the most convincing bokeh (preserves more of the lense's bokeh) to my eye. The Go35 comes pretty close but the Brevis is not bad either.

Take also into account that a spinning adapter like the SGpro might work better at faster shutter speeds than a vibrating adapter if that's important.

Talusman

2008 September 2nd, 20:21

SGpro rev2 + HV20 seems to ROCK!!! Footage in a bit...

http://hv20.info/sgprohv20.jpg

Hey Mal, what size step up ring is that and where did u buy it from???

2008 September 2nd, 20:57

Hey Mal, what size step up ring is that and where did u buy it from???

I believe there were two though, maybe 43-58 and 58-72?
I bet I bought them from B&H.

Talusman

2008 September 3rd, 01:58

I believe there were two though, maybe 43-58 and 58-72?
I bet I bought them from B&H.

Thanks. The threading on the HV20 is definitely 43mm, right? (mines coming in the mail - dont have it yet)

lovenara

2008 November 13th, 03:51

Hi
Is the SG pro for depth of field only?
Maybe i can fake DOF in postpro.
L

SirDodes56

2008 November 17th, 21:34

Hello my name is Cote Vanidestine and I was wondering what everything is on that picture. Could you tell mer exactly what is on that please?

Thanks

Hauser Prod.

2009 March 25th, 13:59

so I just got my Sgpro rev3 (lovin it so far^^) and was wondering why some people use an additional spacer tube to reduce vignetting??? what's the idea behind this???

offtake

2009 October 17th, 17:02

Mal, thanks. Apparently SGPro Rev2 is much better.
I've got a second-hand SGPro, that look like the adapter from Mal. But I'm not really sure whether it is the SGPro Rev 1 or Rev 2.

Where is the difference between those adapters and can you (Avene) post a picture of your Rev 1-adapter?

[edit]
Pic of my SGPro with fresh spacer-tube-mod:
http://bfilms.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/p_2048_1536_0f52f769-c060-44af-ade3-c8f771f5f5531.jpeg

The spacer is needed to increase the distance between camera and ground glass of the adapter. With compact cameras (something with small cmos-/ccd-chips) you have to zoom on the ground glass. With a quite short distance the camera can't get the ground glass in focus at higher zoom levels. With that spacer-tube you can fix that problem. This is the release for those mods...

Sorry for that bad English... :(

Greets, offtake