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  My efforts to trade with Redstan for a clamp have thus far not met with success. Does anybody know of an alternative that would work with this lens?

Hey, pulp_writer - many thanks for these tests. I have both the Som Berthoit 17-85mm and the 17.5-70mm, and this is the first indication I've had of how they might perform.    I've gambled and picked up a range of lenses early - Som Berthiot zooms and more practically, Kern-Paillard Switar primes - in hope of beating the inevitable rush. The real time to do this was right when the M4/3 format was announced - if only! - but I still saved quite a bit over where these lenses are now, and where they'll be going after the BMPC hits the streets.   I'm going to stay on the lookout for tests of the Switar 50mm, 25mm, 16mm and 10mm, as they're small and well suited to keeping a low profile with the Pocket Camera. Thanks again for your work.

I wouldn't write off this camera just yet, there's a chance moire has been fixed and the card controller is faster than previous ones, those two things alone could make this a hell of a great s35 sized sensor camera, which to me is still preferable to full frame for video work.

Just want to throw out my personal opinion on hawks : For some reason in the anamorphic community, hawks have gained this god like top dog on the podium position, and professionally I have no clue why. To me it seems to be nothing more than an unattainable price tag, yielding almost no one ever actually using them. People tend to think the best is the most expensive. This is so wrong. I worked on a feature that used hawks latest and greatest anamorphic prime set, and let me tell you.... They (in my opinion) suck. Not only are they a trillion dollars, they are soft wide open, certain lenses edges are soft, and they have over engineered them to the point where they completely lack any sign of character. No flares, no interesting optics, nothing. On top of all that, if you really do your homework, look at X-rays they've taken of a brand new hawk lens next to a 1970s lomo lens, and you won't find but one difference in the optics or mechanics. The whole reason I'm part of this community is because I've seen so much done with so little.. Finding weird lens combinations, or trying lenses that were not supposed to be used in some manner, that's what's its all about. Price tag means nothing. Experience is everything. I recently had the privilege to test out arri's new anamorphics set along side with cookes new anamorphic set (still in development). After talking with the guys who made them, and then actually getting my hands on them and trying them out for myself, there was one huge difference between them. Arri had spent so much time engineering the lens to be "perfect" that it lacked (in my opinion) the most important part of the lens, character. When I talked to the Cooke rep he said they were specifically designing the lens with old anamorphic characteristics in mind, no multi coating etc. that's what you want, reguardless of its price tag. Don't believe the hype before you get your eye in that viewfinder.