I decided that I would share whatever knowledge I have in my brief time with my EX1 and Letus Extreme 35 mm lens adapter by doing a video blog. I am not an expert, but I have logged some serious hours on both of them.

I created my website initially to get my name out to potential clients and sell my television skills as a freelancer. I have found jobs because of this website, but I have also discovered that there is a huge community of people who are interested in producing quality television. Most of them have commented on my videos and sent me comments through my chat room, forum, vimeo and email.

Many people have emailed me and asked me several questions regarding my homemade dolly system, my modified telescope panning time lapsing, features on the ex1, color grading using Magic Bullet and shooting with the Letus Extreme.

I have found it very difficult to email answers to these questions. The best way to help people understand is to show them.

This is what I am planning to do with Video Blog entries. This is my first. I will try to do more as I get some time off this summer.

I have shot this video in the “Surviorman” technique with multiple cameras alone in the wild (where I like to shoot). I decided to answer the vignette question that many people have asked me. I own cheap lenses, so some of my vignetting could be inside the film lens and not in the Letus. This “webisode” details using the EX1’s zoom lens to push past the Letus innards and remove the black on the sides of the frame. It is important that the ground glass window is close to center in the frame as you push through it. You will see that it is not and I need to calibrate it. I did not talk about or fix any of this in the video.

I am currently having trouble with edge sharpness on the Letus. This is because I adjusted the Letus ground glass back-focus and by doing so, the ground glass plate is not perfectly straight anymore. I will try to fix this (or I may have to send it back to Letus).

One thing to look at here is the fact that the EX1 blows the Sony Z1U and the Sony HC3 HDV cameras away in color and general imagery. When I was cutting this together, I could not believe how bad the Z1U looks against the new Sony CMOS chips in the EX1.

I tried to be as clear as possible, but if you have any questions, please use my forum. For more information on the Letus Extreme (or to purchase one) please check out letusdirect.com.

My webpage is located at tomguilmette.com