Redrock has long been a name associated with 35mm adaptors, and their M2 adaptor is a very popular model. The unit we tested came with the adaptor, rods, follow focus control, Micro X? flip accessory, quick-release system and adaptor rings. I like that you can purchase these items in a bundle or as separate pieces, depending on how you want to customize your setup.

The first question you want to ask yourself is this: What kind of 35mm lens am I going to use? You can order the M2 with mounts for Nikon, Canon, Minolta, Olympus, Pentax and PL lenses. In this case, older lenses developed before the advent of all these new-fangled SLR autofocus and auto-exposure drives are better, because they offer the full manual controls that you will need to use the adaptor effectively. There's quite a thriving market now for older SLR lenses, so you should be able to easily find one that meets your needs.

One caveat about using 35mm lens adaptors is that, in most cases, due to the way the optics are arranged, the image coming to the camcorder is upside down. This is fairly easy to fix in post by just flipping the image, but it is very distracting during shooting, especially when you are trying to tilt and pan backwards. If you're lucky enough to have a camcorder that can flip the image in the viewfinder, then you'll be fine. If you don't, a common technique is to simply attach the camera to an external monitor, and turn the monitor upside down on set. Included in our package was Redrock's Micro X? accessory that fixes this problem by attaching to the adaptor and flipping the image to the correct orientation before it gets to the camcorder.

The M2 contains Cinescreen II, a new ground-glass element that improves light transmission, sharpness and contrast over the previous model. One difference between the M2 and some other 35mm lens adaptors is that Redrock incorporates a rotating image element that minimizes dust particles and grain from the ground glass in your picture, unlike adaptors that have a static image element. This does mean, however, that you have to turn the adaptor to On, and it's powered by one 9-volt battery.

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