The Blog of Derek Kovacevic

I’ve had a hankering for a 35mm adapter for quite some time. Everyone is getting that really shallow depth of field look with them, and I want in on the action too, especially since I want to start making films now.

But which adapter to choose?

There are three popular choices: Letus, Red Rock Micro, and Cinevate. I decided to go with the M2 Encore from Red Rock.

Why?

I was initially leaning towards one of the Letus products, either the Extreme or Elite (no way would I shell out $4500 US for the Ultimate), as they seemed to be the most popular lately. My friend owns a Cinevate Brevis and says that constantly having to clean the dust inside the unit has made it almost unusable.

That didn’t sound too appealing, so I quickly ruled out the Cinevate Brevis.

The same friend had worked with the original M2, and said it was built very well, but had issues with vignetting, sharpness, and light loss was around 1.5 stops. Not great.

But Red Rock recently rolled out a new M2 called the Encore and it seems all those issues have been addressed. Better image sharpness, no vignetting, and only half a stop light loss (that’s WITH the flip accessory)!

So the unit itself looks great, but the nail in the coffin for me was the quality of the Encore’s accessories. The follow focus looks great, and it too actually is a new and improved edition of their original one. In addition, Red Rock Micro has good shoulder mount and matte box options. So you can really complete the cinematic experience with those add-ons.

I ordered mine a little more than two weeks ago, so I’m getting a little antsy. The web site says lead times can be up to 15 days, so hopefully mine ships very soon. I already bought a 50mm Zeiss lens, so I just need the Encore.

I’m looking forward to receiving it and testing it out. I’ve never worked with a 35mm adapter before so I’m very eager to get my hands on it. Stay tuned for sample footage.

I can’t believe it’s been two weeks since my last post. I’m having a lot of renovations done, and it isn’t easy to write with power drills and saws screaming in the background.  While two weeks is a bit long to go between posts, something else has happened here that hasn’t happened in 21 years.

The Windsor Spitfires have won the OHL championship.

Taylor Hall scored early in overtime to lift the Spitfires to a 2-1 victory over the Brampton Battalion, thus clinching the series four games to one.

This has been a long road for Spitfire fans who suffered through many lean years. The team was often making headlines more for its off-ice antics than its gameplay. And then there was Barn-gate, the city’s epic inability to build a new arena, meaning our beloved Spitfires had to play in an old (70 years?) arena dubbed “The Barn” for far too many years.

But now with a brand new facility, the WFCU Centre (I prefer to call it “The Hangar”), and solid ownership and management, the Spitfires could be the class of the OHL for years to come.

Hats off to the Brampton Battalion for getting better as the series went along. And a special salute to the London Knights. Wow! Their five game series with the Spitfires will remain with me forever. Five games, five overtimes. That was some of the finest hockey I have ever seen, OHL or NHL. I’m not sure we’ll have a better series in the Memorial Cup.

That’s right, there’s still more hockey to be played. So rest up Spitfires, you’re off to Rimouski to represent Ontario in the battle for Canadian junior hockey supremacy.

Go Spits go!