Hi Trey....
I'm one of those people who have nothing but good things to say. You're right to be suspicious, but the good things you hear are all true.
I have used this exact setup (400 Series P+S Technik and Canon XLH1) for more than two years now and shoot with it every day, and I have been absolutely nothing but happy. In fact, we used to shoot a
lot of 35mm film, but I have not even had the film cameras out of the cases since we started using this setup.
I have absolutely no issues to speak of with the setup. You say you are renting lenses, get superspeeds if you can as the Mini35 (like all lens converters) eats up a little bit of light, and you will appreciate having the extra stop or two for interiors.
Also, get a good follow focus unit (they should be available wherever you rent your lenses). I highly recommend one of the higher-end units, such as an Arri or Chroisel. The inexpensive "Fisher Price" follow focus units usually have too much "slop" (backlash) for real easy use. They work, but are harder to use. If you are also renting a matte box, you will thank yourself later if you get a swing-away, which will make lens-changing a lot easier.
The most obvious piece of advice is to make sure the rental place gets you the right unit. Since P+S Technik makes units that mate with a variety of cameras, you'll be sure to want the one that has the Canon XL connecting lens (and battery). Also, there are several front lens mounts available, I'm assuming you'll want to make sure you get the PL mount.
Get the unit in plenty of time before your shoot, if you can... you will probably want to make a few camera adjustments with the cine primes. My own primes look VERY different compared to the stock Canon video zoom, so I have made different presets (adjusting gamma, knee, stretch, saturation, all that good stuff) specifically for use with the cine lenses. It's also a good idea to set up a Siemens star chart and adjust the unit's backfocus to make sure it's perfect (it's the tiny ring in front of the converter's exposure ring, you loosen it with a tiny allen wrench to adjust).
Let us know how it works out, I'm betting you will be a happy camper...
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
