Juan Le

^Agreed When a camera is more than twice the price of another, it's in a completely separate category; it targets a different demographic and may serve a different purpose.

Panasonic GH3 is pretty solid, however it will be more expensive if you want to get better lenses on it. GH2 would be perfect since you will have enough money leftover for a speed booster which will vastly improve any old cheap vintage lenses.

Philip Bloom did a fantastic review of the camera with some very gorgeous footage. You should check it out. http://philipbloom.net/2014/06/30/gh4/

That was quite a treat! Really cool to see these guys sharing their opinion and seeing their personality comes alive through the discussion. I also appreciate the casual interview format and the production quality behind this video!

Have you tried doing a back to back comparison with the two? You should post a video, I would love to see it!

Should be usable as long as the surface in the center of the glass is clean. Anything around the edge of the glass usually affect the image the least, it's when issue arise in the middle of the glass will you start to notice anything different in the image. From looking at the lens and the input of eludes, it look like this Kowa has been serviced in the past. This meant that someone took apart the optics and put it back together through repair or a research disassembly and etc. As long as it's good glass there shouldn't be any problem really.

It look like Canon is trying to benefit from second mover advantage, after being THE industry leader in the past. I think it could benefit consumers if they can pull it off and offer the product at the price range that is competitive to what's out there now (sony, fuji, panasonic). But yea like what Andrew said I'm more interested if canon will innovate or will they be playing catch up.

Yup, I nabbed that one last minute. It's a great deal since I haven't seen a B&H/16H/8Z version for less than $450 in awhile, and it's supposedly in minty condition. I need to get started on my project so that's why I bit the bullet and just went for it. Btw, those three models are the best of the Kowas because they do not vignette as much as the other versions. This is as reported by Andrew who have used different variations of the Kowas before. You can see the stats on all the models here http://super8wiki.com/index.php/Anamorphic_Lenses

What is your thought on the Speed Booster on the GH4? Low light hasn't been an issue for me ever since I got it.

Well I think the negativity stems from your dissatisfaction that contradicts everyone else's thought on the product and the price; some people would even gladly pay more for it, that is how fair the price seem to be for many. This product fill a niche, but it's not that obscure of a niche. The anamorphic community is a large one, this one at EOSHD is a significant part of that community, but it's not the only one. I don't think the anamorphic shop need to "cater" to us anymore than what they've already done, delivering a solid product for a reasonable price in relative to what's out there. And as per business and business practice, what you've said is still very subjective. It's great that you think about your customers and would offer them a dynamic offer if you were them, but this isn't your product and you should respect that boundary. How would you feel if someone is telling you how to run your own business?

If you want to talk respect, I think it's a matter of respecting the market and the product, over whether or not you are in a position to be making a good deal on a potential purchase. Yannis, the way you expressed your desire to further lower the cost of these products was negatively perceived because you were coming from a perspective of entitlement and cynicism/pessimism. Is the seller not respecting us by only giving a 10% discount to a bulk order? That is entirely subjective, I do not think it's appropriate to pursue this objectively. People that respect the market for these kind of products aren't outraged because they understand the value of a product like this. They understand how much something like an Iscorama cost, and what the alternatives to it would cost. So when product like the FM is released, that doesn't cost $4k, 2k, 1k, those that understand and respect the market will adhere to any price range that deemed reasonable by the majority. The people in this thread that opted in for the sale obviously believe in the product, and know that for the feature they were getting that would be a really good deal. They believed it because demos were provided and nothing were hidden; no one would buy this product if they didn't see what it was capable of first, and we were given that. I agree that more demo would be nice, and a review from somebody reputable would be excellent. But that's not possible yet and that is why I didn't opt in for the bulk purchase, even while fully understanding the value that this product can bring. I just need to see it in action by someone like Andrew before I could be committed to a product so new by a company that is equally as new. So I see where you are coming from Yannis, I just think you could have expressed it in better terms. I hope my criticism isn't too harsh. I am excited to see you all get your hand on it and share your opinion of it so that I may be making a sure and fully informed purchase in the future. Let put all doubts aside and be excited and hopeful for this piece of technology; let be more optimistic! Cheers,

Awesome, thanks a lot Peter! Btw, I follow you on youtube often haha keep up the great reviews! When you're shooting in log then, what I assume is just similar to shooting RAW but in video mode, but not quite as good as RAW due to the nature of video compare to taking a still image.

My best guess is that it's a damaged coating on the optic. Coating damage can happen in a number of different ways. A common way is by rough cleaning/rubbing on the lens that causes the coating to separate or rubbed off. Another I can think of is chemical damaging the coating on the optic through the misuse of cleaning solution and so on. A pristine Kowa shouldn't have any "rainbow effect", none of the anamorphic adapters have that feature unless the optic was damaged or intentionally replaced/tinkered with in some way.

The Kowa is better than the Sankor in that it's sharper and wider. The lens you mention I am familiar with, since I've been browsing Ebay recently. That lens is not in good condition, I can tell you that much. The spot is significant enough to affect image quality, and I'm not even sure if it's serviceable unless you can get your hand on some replacement glass. The cost to fix it alone is not worth it even if you got it for dirt cheap, you might as well just buy a Sankor and be happier with it than a Kowa with a damaged optic in my opinion. If you can't find a decent Sankor for less than $200 you should look into these http://www.motionsix.co.uk/products/#tab-1415324886037-2-6 From some of the demo videos I've seen it look quite promising. You can get them with color coated optics as an option if you want to add a certain color tone to your light flares and pictures. I plan on getting myself a pair to experiment with in the future.

While we're at it, has anyone used these before? http://www.motionsix.co.uk Pretty interesting looking products.