{"id":1928,"date":"2009-01-28T21:44:14","date_gmt":"2009-01-28T21:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/philipbloom.co.uk\/?p=1928"},"modified":"2009-02-01T19:46:40","modified_gmt":"2009-02-01T19:46:40","slug":"the-letus-relays-are-almost-upon-us-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/the-letus-relays-are-almost-upon-us-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Letus Relays are almost upon us! Updated with picture of EX3 Relay"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s been a tortuous wait. I have been salivating over this since I first saw it at NAB last April but Hien and the team at Letus have been hard at work perfecting their B4 relays for 2\/3&#8243; cameras for the past 9 months and now finally you can order them!<\/p>\n<p>The B4 mount comes in two flavours, the &#8220;compact&#8221; and &#8220;pro&#8221;, although neither are cheap there is a reason for that. I spoke to Hien and he told me just how much money goes into the actual glass for these, let alone the R &amp; D. This really is the AAA grade glass, German in fact, not the crappy (sorry Letus!) Minolta based relay that the old relay adaptors they sold had. There is no multiplication factor. This zooms and focuses perfectly into the ground glass making your Ultimate\/ Elite\/ Extreme better than ever before. No more fiddling with screwing it onto your stock lens, getting focus, not knocking the zoom etc&#8230;This is a PRO product for a PRO market and the first time you have really been able to use the Letus line on a 2\/3&#8243; camera!<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1938\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1938\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/staging.philipbloom.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/pro-and-compact.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"gal[1928]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1938 lazyload\" title=\"pro-and-compact\" data-src=\"http:\/\/staging.philipbloom.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/pro-and-compact-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Pro and Compact\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/pro-and-compact-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/pro-and-compact-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/pro-and-compact.jpg 800w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/300;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1938\" title=\"pro-and-compact\" src=\"http:\/\/staging.philipbloom.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/pro-and-compact-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Pro and Compact\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/pro-and-compact-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/pro-and-compact-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/pro-and-compact.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1938\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pro and Compact<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.letusdirect.com\/248-0-1-3.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1369 lazyload\" title=\"letus-generic-468x60\" data-src=\"http:\/\/staging.philipbloom.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/letus-generic-468x60-300x38.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"38\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/letus-generic-468x60-300x38.gif 300w, https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/letus-generic-468x60.gif 320w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/38;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1369\" title=\"letus-generic-468x60\" src=\"http:\/\/staging.philipbloom.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/letus-generic-468x60-300x38.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"38\" srcset=\"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/letus-generic-468x60-300x38.gif 300w, https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/letus-generic-468x60.gif 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><a href=\"http:\/\/staging.philipbloom.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/image-1php3.jpeg\" data-lightbox=\"gal[1928]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1939 lazyload\" title=\"image-1php3\" data-src=\"http:\/\/staging.philipbloom.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/image-1php3.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/image-1php3.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/image-1php3-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/image-1php3-300x300.jpg 300w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 600\/600;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1939\" title=\"image-1php3\" src=\"http:\/\/staging.philipbloom.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/image-1php3.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/image-1php3.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/image-1php3-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/image-1php3-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"More...\" data-src=\"http:\/\/philipbloom.co.uk\/wp-includes\/js\/tinymce\/plugins\/wordpress\/img\/trans.gif\" alt=\"\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"More...\" src=\"http:\/\/philipbloom.co.uk\/wp-includes\/js\/tinymce\/plugins\/wordpress\/img\/trans.gif\" alt=\"\" \/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p>Here is the blurb from the Letus website about &#8220;The Pro&#8221;:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #888888; \">Pro version of Letus35 Relay Lens Module for B4 mount cameras. 103mm in length from flange. 3\/4 stop brighter than the P+S PRO35 relay. This relay lens will allow you to attach a Letus35 Extreme, Elite, or Ultimate adapter directly to the camera body bypassing the stock lens entirely. Precision calibrated to the Letus35 adapters. We cannot guarantee compatibility with other adapters.<\/span><\/p>\n<address><span style=\"color: #888888;\">Academy frame size<\/span><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"color: #888888;\">12 lens set<\/span><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"color: #888888;\">Razor sharp center and edges<\/span><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"color: #888888;\">Iris ring<\/span><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"color: #888888;\">Back focus ring with lock down<\/span><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"color: #888888;\">Stainless steel flange<\/span><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"color: #888888;\">F\/1.5<\/span><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"color: #888888;\">When coupled with the Letus35 Ultimate, it is the best 35mm DoF adapter solution, period.<\/span><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"font-style: normal;\">The \u00a0Compact as it is called is also an astounding piece of kit. Much shorter, two pounds lighter, these are big plusses, but half a stop slower than the pro, so you need to way up the pros and cons&#8230;<\/span><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><a href=\"http:\/\/staging.philipbloom.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/imagephp.jpeg\" data-lightbox=\"gal[1928]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"imagephp\" data-src=\"http:\/\/staging.philipbloom.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/imagephp.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 600\/600;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"imagephp\" src=\"http:\/\/staging.philipbloom.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/imagephp.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/address>\n<address><a href=\"http:\/\/staging.philipbloom.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/imagephp.jpeg\" data-lightbox=\"gal[1928]\"><\/a><span style=\"font-style: normal;\">Here is the Letus blurb for the compact:<\/span><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"color: #888888;\">Compact version of Letus35 Relay Lens Module for B4 mount cameras. 50mm in length from flange. 1\/4 stop brighter than the P+S PRO35 relay. This relay lens will allow you to attach a Letus35 Extreme, Elite, or Ultimate adapter directly to the camera body bypassing the stock lens entirely. Precision calibrated to the Letus35 adapters. We cannot guarantee compatibility with other adapters.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #888888;\"><br \/>\n<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<address><span style=\"color: #888888;\">Academy frame size<\/span><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"color: #888888;\">9 lens set<\/span><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"color: #888888;\">Razor sharp center and edges<\/span><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"color: #888888;\">Iris ring<\/span><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"color: #888888;\">Back focus ring with lock down<\/span><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"color: #888888;\">Stainless steel flange<\/span><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"color: #888888;\">F\/1.8<\/span><\/address>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"font-style: normal;\">Hien has spent a lot of time perfecting these. I have been bugging him\u00a0incessantly\u00a0to try them out and it&#8217;s always been &#8220;not yet Phil!&#8221;. He really wants this to hit the market in it&#8217;s best possible form, no compromises. I won&#8217;t know until I see them in the flesh for sure but they really look like they have gone all out on these.<\/span><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"font-style: normal;\">Now here is the downside. First off they are 8-10 weeks away from delivery. Secondly, and in this time of credit crunch and worse for us Britishers with our puny Pound they are costly. The Economy\/ Compact is $3500 and the pro $6000. Now that is a lot of money and a big price difference between the two. But you are paying for the highest quality components. This is not an amateur tool. This is a pro product to take on the pro35 at a fraction of the price.<\/span><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"font-style: normal;\">Recent shows like &#8220;Criminal Justice&#8221; and &#8220;Dead Set&#8221; were shot on the Pro 35 and looked great. If this is as good as it looks more and more stuff will be shot like this I am certain of it!<\/span><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"font-style: normal;\">You have a separate iris ring on the relay so you can still keep the 35mm lens wide open if needed and control the light coming onto the sensor via that and the ND filters, so you still have more control over light coming in than a film camera. Very akin to the P &amp; S Technik.\u00a0<\/span><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"font-style: normal;\">I hope to be able to bring you a hands on test in the next few weeks when I get to borrow the prototype units from Hien. I will be testing them out on both the Extreme and the Ultimate, on SD and HD 2\/3&#8243; cameras. I may even see if I get them to work with other adaptors for a bit of fun, like the Brevis and maybe even the Blade if it is available!<\/span><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><a href=\"http:\/\/staging.philipbloom.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/ex3relay.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"gal[1928]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1944 lazyload\" title=\"ex3relay\" data-src=\"http:\/\/staging.philipbloom.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/ex3relay.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"487\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/ex3relay.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/ex3relay-300x225.jpg 300w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 650px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 650\/487;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1944\" title=\"ex3relay\" src=\"http:\/\/staging.philipbloom.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/ex3relay.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"487\" srcset=\"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/ex3relay.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/ex3relay-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"font-style: normal;\">The EX3 relay is also imminent and will be very similar in design. I can&#8217;t wait to test this out too. I also think 1\/3&#8243; relays are in the works as I have convinced Hien that the Canon and JVC users are crying out for them, especially with the new JVC 700 almost here. 1\/3&#8243; cameras are far from dead. There is a huge market there still.<\/span><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"font-style: normal;\">I know I sound like a rabid fanboy but I honestly haven&#8217;t been this excited about something since &#8220;The Phantom Menace&#8221; came out and I know this won&#8217;t be the crushing\u00a0disappointment\u00a0that that was!<\/span><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"font-style: normal;\">I will keep you up to date with all developments and as soon as I get my hands on them I will be posting my results.<\/span><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"font-style: normal;\">Let&#8217;s us hope they are as good as they look!<\/span>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/https:\/\/www.letus35.com\/cart\/Letus-Relay-Lenses\/\">You can pre-order them here<\/a><\/address>\n<address><\/address>\n<address><span style=\"font-style: normal;\">Official Letus dealers ZACUTO are also taking order <a href=\"http:\/\/store.zacuto.com\/Letus-2\/3-B4-Compact-Relay-Lens.html\">here<\/a><\/span><\/address>\n<div class=\"fb-background-color\">\n\t\t\t  <div \n\t\t\t  \tclass = \"fb-comments\" \n\t\t\t  \tdata-href = \"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/the-letus-relays-are-almost-upon-us-2\/\"\n\t\t\t  \tdata-numposts = \"10\"\n\t\t\t  \tdata-lazy = \"true\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-colorscheme = \"light\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-order-by = \"social\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-mobile=true>\n\t\t\t  <\/div><\/div>\n\t\t  <style>\n\t\t    .fb-background-color {\n\t\t\t\tbackground:  !important;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t.fb_iframe_widget_fluid_desktop iframe {\n\t\t\t    width: 100% !important;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t  <\/style>\n\t\t  ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,1],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[1206,1220,1210,1215,1211,1218,1209,1216,1208,1219,1204,1207,1213,1205,1217,1212,1203,1214,1221,1202],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1928"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1928\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1928"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=1928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}