Look what finally came in the mail!

I’ve been looking at 35mm adapters for my HV30 for a while now. With so many on the market, I couldn’t cough up the cash for one just because I felt like I’d be getting the wrong one. Then I saw the Handy35 and thought, if I’m getting one, this will be it. Well, that is until I actually saved up enough money to check out the Letus35. But the thing was, the Handy35 cost me around $900 for the complete bundle whereas the Letus35 would’ve cost me nearly double at $1600. Still, the Letus35 had some great features that made it really hard to reject. Not only does it flip the video so I have the correct image on the LCD (other adapters are a victim of the upside down recording), but there’s a lack of casing with the Handy35. Letus35 pimps you out with a metal case for its adapter.

Yet I had to remember, it’s nearly double the price. For the $700, I could buy more lenses or an HD monitor for the camera. Plus, if I decide to get a new camera, preferably the XH-A1 and whenever I can afford one, I could easily upgrade the Handy35 to handle the new camera (at an additional cost of $90). However, with the Letus35, it seems that I would have to buy an entirely new adapter for the larger camera.

But enough comparing. The Handy35 really impressed me with its build quality when I FINALLY got it (took three weeks total, but it’s coming from the other side of the world). It’s solid and has a nice weight to it. It also  helps that it was fairly easy to put together. No instructions came with it, but the videos online worked just as well. I got around to shooting some test footage and it turned out nicely enough. I don’t think I’m quite used to shooting upside down yet(I will be getting a monitor), but so far the footage looks great for what little I’ve done.

Here’s one that actually had enough movement with the lens to show off that depth of field:

Hoping to use the adapter in an upcoming short I plan on shooting and maybe then I’ll get to really test it.