Adapter help

Yes, you'd still need lenses. The adapters are made to fit a certain type of lenses. My last film was shot with a redrock micro for Nikon lenses (the make them for other lens brands as well). I knew several photographers who used nikon cameras, so I was able to borrow a wide selection of nikon lenses to use with it. The shallow depth of field is a by product of using a "real" camera lens instead of the fixed lens many digital cameras come with. The big bulky apraratus you see is needed to stablilize the adapter on the camera.

A DoF adapter/35mm adapter are just basically different words for the same thing.

If you have a look at that second link you posted, which is the Redrock Micro, there are a few extra things on there than just the adapter. The box with the big 'M' is basically your adapter, and that's what you'll attach the lens to. So basically you've got a camera, attached to an adapter, attached to a lens. The way these adapters work is they take an image from your lens, and project it onto a piece of glass the size of a 35 mm frame. The camera then films this image.

The other stuff thats on that picture looks like a follow focus attached to the lens (which you don't *need*, you can just use your lens' focus ring), and then a mattebox up the front (again, which you don't actually *need*).

The rails along the bottom keep the whole lot together, and which is usually recommended, especially if you're attaching the whole lot to a tripod. The 1st link you posted is basically the same setup, just with a different camera.

So yes, if you bought a Redrock M2, or a Letus35, you would still need to buy a lens. But thats all you 'need' for the nice filmic depth of field. The rest is just accessories. Have a look at this link for a basic setup you should be looking at.

FINALLY! I started getting into this stuff in like Nov. of 08 and I've trying to learn this adapter thing but never really got it because of vague explanations. Dude, frXNtier, you cleared it up perfectly, i mean perfectly dude thank you so much. Perfect.
Cheers.

Actually I do have one more, hope you don't mind. Ok so say I got an Xh A1, which I hope to get soon. I buy the adapter thing and hook it on I still need a lense right? What lens am I looking for?

zepplin said:

Actually I do have one more, hope you don't mind. Ok so say I got an Xh A1, which I hope to get soon. I buy the adapter thing and hook it on I still need a lense right? What lens am I looking for?

Click to expand...

Yup, you still need a lens. You're going to be looking for a lens from an SLR (still) camera. You'll notice that the Redrock M2 has multiple mounts that you can buy with your adapter, so if you have Canon lenses, you would get the Canon mount, likewise with Nikon or Olympus or what have you (take a look at this link for the lenses I'm talking about).

Two things about the lenses. Firstly, if you're only getting one to attach to this adapter, make sure it has a manual aperture control. A lot of lenses have apertures controlled electronically by the camera, which means to set the aperture, you need to first attach it to a DSLR and then set the aperture. If you have a manual aperture control on the lens, you can simply change the aperture from the lens (obviously...), without the need for a DSLR nearby.

Secondly, most people will advise you to go for a prime lens (i.e. one that *doesn't zoom*), as they are 'faster' and let in more light. Ultimately though, it is up to you which lens you go for, based on the way you like to shoot.

Hope this helps a bit