New Brevis Rails and their EX1 Fix the XL Diffuser

Reviews

Yesterday Mr. Fed Ex man arrived bearing goods from the former colonies, Canada to be precise. I sent my couple of Brevis adaptors back to Cinevate to get them upgraded to the latest spec and to get the new XL diffuser. Their fix for the EX1 edge focus issue. 

Also in the box was a nice surprise, the proteus rod support system. Their new design which is about 1000 times better than their last rod support and really very very clever, not just that it works really well.

First up I tried it with my dear friend, the Letus Ultimate.




 

The Design is very clever, you have two adjustable knobs on each side of the raised plate and combined with the rod gribs on each end you have complete control over the height and pitch of the plate. You can have it set up so instead of the shape I had in you can have it pitched right back taking up less space on the rails. I set it up like this to get the best overall balance with my ex3 and adaptor as well as leaving space to get the tripod adaptor plate in exactly the right spot.

I found putting the Ultimate on to be no problem at all, in fact I was so impressed I am planning to take these supports with me to Russia at the weekend with the Ultimate as well as my Zacuto set. This should be a good chance to try them out.

The problem in the past with both the Letus rails (fixed in their new ones) and Cinevate rails is they put the camera too high, here you have total control over how high you want so you can set it to the optimum height for your adaptor, mattebox and FF.

The Brevis with flip mounted beautifully onto my new EX3, I just used the Letus support for it which was fine, but on a proper shoot I would use the Brevis support which is more solid as it is designed for the adaptor. I found my 45cm carbon fiber rails too short for this set up so I used my older 60cm hollow carbon fiber instead. But I recommend the solid ones as they are far more sturdy but still lightweight. 

 

It’s quite a long set up as you can see, both with the Letus and the Brevis. A bit too long so I can’t wait to get a relay for both of these adaptors. It would shorten the rig by a good 6 inches or so. Quite a difference!

 

Here are some screen grabs from a few very quick test shots. I was impressed that the edge to edge sharpness issue with the EX1 has now been solved. The XL diffuser was the solution Cinevate chose as opposed to a new achromat that Letus chose. It seems to have worked. The images looked pretty nice! No visible grain and nice Bokeh

 

 


This wasn’t a proper test of either, this will be done over the next couple of weeks but from my initials impressions Cinevate have done a remarkable job with both products, especially the rails. The new diffuser is SO much better than any of the other diffusers especially the CF1. 

32 comments

  1. Philip,

    My company just purchased and a couple EX3s with the Letus Extreme and the zataco rail system, will I need a special adapter for the rails to work with the EX3 and the Letus?

    Thanks much.

  4. Bill, how did you get to that conclusion? Don’t jump the gun!

    I haven’t tested the Brevis apart from half a dozen shots. From my initial tests all the problems with the Brevis and EX1 seem to be fixed. Cinevate have done a marvelous job I just wish it hadn’t taken them so long to get it out!

  5. Good article on the proteus rails. I just received my proteus rails this week, only I am using the short links which allow infinite high adjustment from 0 to about 2 inches.Very light and very adjustable, making it very easy to mate my RR matt box with my camera. A little difficult to remove camera, no quick release plate, but I will find out how big a deal that is next week on assigment.

  6. Philip,
    I am interested to see your findings on the new CFXL. I received mine last week along with my MP.1 upgrade. My initial findings have found a fair amount of vignetting on the EX-1, which really disappointed me. I called Cinevate and they thought they may have installed the wrong diffuser (the CFX not the XL) so they sent me another. I tried it today but no difference. Dennis’ tutorial shows best setup at Z69/70, but I had to push through to Z77/78 to get rid of most of the vignetting but it still was not gone. Would be very interested to hear your setup and findings. I may jump ship soon (I’ve been using a friend’s Letus Extreme for the last 7 months waiting for Cinevate to provide their fix).

    Thanks,
    Benjamin

  10. Philip. Right now I am looking at getting the ultimate, mostly because I am dealing with so many issues with getting my ex-1 to work with my M2 adapter. However, I am facing a bit of a dilemma because Brian Velente over at Redrock has said that they are going to release a new light-loss upgrade that will make their adapter the one with the least amount of light-loss on the market (even beating the ultimate). On top of that, he claims that Redrock will subsequently be releasing a flip upgrade to work ‘beautifully’ with the ex-1. So my question is this, if I get the EX-1, how soon do you think it is likely to be no longer the leader in it’s field? I really like what you are doing with the Letus, but the last thing that I want to do is drop $4,000 only to find that the ultimate no longer has it’s staying power and that there is something better out there for the same amount of money. Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

  12. Philip,

    I also bought the fix and rails. I love the rails. I am not sure about the fix. I get slight black left and right edges and a little fall off. Check this out and comment when you have time:

    http://www.morrisbrothersfilms.com/vivitarbrevis.html

    First shot in video is a 50mm Nikon. The rest of the shots are with a Vivitar Macro Lens. EX zoom = 72. EX f-stop = f5.6

    High rez still at bottom of page.

    What settings do you use to get rid of fall off and edges?

    Thanks,
    Jason

  15. Jason, not done a proper test yet. As soon as I do will blog it.

    luke, there is always something better coming up. Right now…the best available adaptor is the Ultimate, easily

  16. Hi Philip,

    Thanks for all the valuable info and insight. We’re ordering an EX3, and probably the Ultimate. Which model exactly of the Proteus should we get? “Shorty” or not and which length? Also, there is a support piece mounted to the rods in your picture of the Letus with the Proteus rods. Does that come with the Letus or the Proteus? Or is it ordered separately from one or the other?

    Finally, we don’t have any lenses as of yet. I can’t seem to figure out from the Letus website which brands/mount types can be used, Canon EOS? Nikon F? Zeiss? We’ll be buying new lenses also. What would you recommend to work nicely with the Ultimate?

    Thanks!

  17. Hi Philip,

    I dont know what to do….
    I have hair growing in places that previously didnt have any!!
    HELP!!!!

    sorry but i couldnt resist…seems you are the 35mm adapter agony aunt.

    serious question now…
    On the ex1 I have to zoom in miles on my sgpro rev3..I think its the flip module(same problem with letus stuff too)..
    you have just tested the brevis..is their solution any better?

    Many thanks
    Craig

  21. Benjamin. Can you please contact me.
    I have exactly the same problem with my Brevis that arrived yesterday. I am surprised by your post, because Cinevate was acting very surprised. I definitely want a solution or a refund, this is totally rubbish. Did Cinevate come up with a solution for you? I feel pretty ripped off!
    Anyone who has this solved, please contact me before i throw this piece of 1500 dollar sh*t out of the window…

    Barry Johnson, johnson.bs@gmail.com

  22. As far as I know Barry, the Brevis is not pretty bad on the EX1. There could be an answer around the corner that I got in the post today. I will report back soon…dont throw it away!! Cinevate are aware of the dark edges of the EX1/ Brevis combo with the fix…

  23. Any further details on Brevis coupled to EX? I’ve just upgraded from shooting on Z7 with Brevis to EX1 and had a rude shock with vignetting issue. Now discovering there are plenty of others in the same position.

    Is it possible it’s a Sony alignment prob that varies from EX to the next?

    Compliments on the Stuck on You clip and the choice of VU track.

    Mickey
    michael@afterglow.net.au

  24. Hi Mickey. It’s not an alignment prob it’s the spherical aberration of the stock lens. It basically needs a special achromat to “straighten” it out. Letus have made one, Shoot 35 I believe are making one, Cinevate have something in the works but I don’t know what. Their new diffuser for the EX1 does have dark edges.

    Thanks for commenting.

    Phil

  25. I’ve posted about the issue on the Cinevate forum and waiting for response. In meantime, I wonder if the Letus achromat will fit and work on the Brevis flip.

    If somewhere between reviewing new gear, posting, blogging and of course shooting you had a spare half hour to test the Letus achromat on the Brevis, I’d be in your debt. Hard ask. But I’m sure I could google a London off-licence that home delivers beer. Or something.

    Re dark edges on CFLX diffuser, I could swap this with previous diffuser and test.

    Regards

    Mickey

  26. Hi Mickey

    Well…there IS a way using the Letus flip instead of the Brevis flip…Hien has made it work using the Brevis. I could ask him and find out more. Also I have some fiber screens from a guy in Greece that may help too, but I haven’t had a chance to try them out yet…

    Phil

  27. Hi Phil

    By all means if you can pop the questn re hybridising the adapters. Guess it’s more complex than swapping the Brevis w/ the Letus achromat, right?

    Got reply from Hubert at Cinevate stating EX optics vary from one unit to another and the curvature of field is a ‘hard nut to crack’. I am going to test my adapter on a mate’s EX3 and see if it’s better.

    As for fiber screens in Greece, Hubert says Dennis is os on business and in other posts the latter’s talking up new static screens, etc. Maybe he’s chugging on retsina right now, doing patent deals with the Greek fiber screen king. All very exotic.

    Mickey

  28. Howdy again

    I have been looking at the letus store, and grappling with the urge to buy a Letus and sell the Brevis. But I should make sure of something first…

    I assume you’re shooting with the EX-optimised achromat. You sure you couldn’t test it on your Brevis? Just it, not the flip, that is, to see if it fits and shows up vignetting? As far as lenses go, I often shoot interviews on a Sigma 28-70 2.8 which Cinevate say is not suitable.

    Kind thanks

    Mickey

  29. Thanks for that, pbloom.

    And the Letus flip on the Brevis? I’ve also posted at Letus but no response yet.

    Also still yet to test the Brevis on a couple of mates’ EXs but I’m not hoping for much.

    There an off-licence near you does home delivery?

  30. Hmmm, not sure if buying Letus flip to put on Brevis is worth the effort and expense. Preferable to ebay the Brevis and buy Letus.

    Watched yr precis of Letus Extreme and Elite. Without seeming like cheap bastard, if I were to buy an Extreme, would I still be able to adjust back focus even though you say it’s fiddly? Ninety per cent of time I shoot with one lens so minimal adjustment needed.

    Flavour of off-licence product? Red, white, amber, bubbles? I looked for Aust wine but the labels for os are often different. Level of extravagance? Address?

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