richg101

it depends on the other options chosen. but in most cases untinted will look significantly different to a normal helios. a standard helios will have a natural slight hue to flares, such as a blue or amber hue to the orbs (depending on age of the helios 44), while an untinted flare factory will instead have a clear hue to the orbs which will be the same colour to the light source. the removal of the original optical coatings on the elements is a contributing factor to some of the contrast, glow and flare prominence. But no single option alone contributes to a particular look as certain options can counteract or enhance others. naturally if someone asks for a quasi f1.5 version (which have very low contrast even when set to 'low' contrast) It would be a little crazy to also request a 'stupid' contrast level. Whereas, selecting a variable f2-f16 standard aperture and a 'stupid' contrast level, non tinted etc gives the user the option to tone down the amount of contrast loss by stopping down a bit. An modern multi coated anamorphot with deep blue, modern looking flares used with a FF58 'quasi f1.5', non tinted, 'stupid' contrast level for the taking lens will result in an image a lot less clinical, with the orbs created by the flare factory being influenced by the colour of the anamorphots flares alongside the colour of the light source. This as a result creates a more integrated look with the flares from both the anamorphot and the flare factory becoming more as one with each other. The addition of more internal reflection within the taking lens also further boosts the aesthetic and colour cast created by the flares of the MC anamorphot. And due to the less prone flaring of an mc anamorphot, and its length applying a lens hood effect on the very flare prone flare factory you will have a lot more controlled flaring which is more dependent on a bright light source being in frame to activate the flaring properties.. Hope this helps / makes sense:) fyi. if someone wanted a standard helios 44 with no change in optical properties, but freshened up on the outside, we can do this. just let us know. also, we can leave elements as standard and replace aperture to oval etc.

Thanks for your order Nick.:)   And welcome to the club...  The exclusive club.....     'Club Dog Schidt'

  Hi Man.   Personally I feel matching it with an Amber / Orange tint is a nice move.  Or non tinted would also be a nice option.  Going very low contrast for use on iscorama's or other anamorphics with a bit of length works amazingly because the anamorphot acts like a hood/shade, toning down the amount of ambient light and flares/low contrast is more dependent on if a light source is in frame.  When you do get some bright light source in frame the whole thing comes alive, and does a good job of visually gluing the qualities of the anamorphot to the taking lens.  looks more integrated if you know what I mean.    Blue/green tends to work best with the Century and other more modern attachments which tend to have a blue horizontal flare.  The tints from the Flare Factory won't change the colour of flares from your anamorphic attachment.    

I have one labelled 'iscorama - anamorphot - 1.5x - 36 - isco gottingen' on the front and it has a distinctly different front element colour to your above photo of Andrews isco36.  Mine has a very faint amber coating, no blue or purple to be seen on mine.  I have seen ones labelled like mine and the same as on image of Andrews, but with 'MC' added to the labelling.  These had a blue coating like the above image.  I wonder if Andrews has newer glass in an older body?  Or they were using the older front printed rings without 'MC' on them during a transition from the manufacture of single and multi coated versions?  I suppose being hand made in smaller numbers they will have been less continuity in parts used??

ps.  Also take a look at my topic about custom taking lenses.  At the moment only 58mm is ready, but we will do a 35mm, 90mm and 135mm soon.  They'll be a little more expensive, but still very reasonable and if you got a set we would match each lens with similar contrast and colour, or remove the optical coatings all together for a very low contrast look - which will be superb on a Iscorama, as I have found with the 58mm.  Andrew here at EOSHD has been sent one with this in mind.  Tinted to match the single coated iscorama.  Hopefully he will chime in when he has had a chance to play with it:)

for the 5d sensor? I'd suggest a set of Rollei Zeiss primes. 50mm f1.4, 85mm f2.8, 135mmf2.8 Maybe a bit of vignette on the 50mm but the 85mm will be stunning. I use 35, 50, 85 and 135 on an iscorama 36 with aps-c sensor, and have been playing with the idea of a van diemen mod however I have also thought about machining a custom rehousing to match the rollei zeiss styling. This is the type im refering to:-http://www.ebay.com/itm/Carl-Zeiss-Sonnar-85mm-F2-8-f-Rollei-Rolleiflex-QBM-/380447471625?pt=DE_Foto_Camcorder_Objektive&hash=item58946fb809&ssPageName=RSS:B:SHOP:US:101 The 85mm is such a good match for the iscorama, as is the beautiful 135mm sonnar.

Lenses now available.. http://www.etsy.com/shop/DogSchidtOptiks Priced with a camera mount of your choice. Showreel of clips:- vimeo.com/61688656 See more footage:- vimeo.com/meltingbloke/albums Check our options PDF document:- http://dl.dropbox.com/u/85427217/Flare_Factory_58_Options_ETSY.pdf Info Sheet:- http://dl.dropbox.com/u/85427217/Flare_Factory_58_Info_PDF.pdf FAQ Sheet:- http://dl.dropbox.com/u/85427217/Flare_Factory_58_FAQ.pdf Also Available in Arri PL,

looks like my previous post is proof.  maybe i need to focus on non anamorphic old lenses:)  That Lomo looks amazing

lomos do just about cover full frame from what i have seen.  and look unreal!  literally some of the nicest stuff.  not amazingly sharp but very beautiful.     see this video.  final shot is stunning, and vignette adds a lot imo.  looks like lack of sensor coverage rather than lens barrel length originated.  to me this is some of the nicest looking dslr morph I have seen; http://vimeo.com/60629595

indeed. I see next to no difference in image quality between samples i have seen of either the LA7200 or the optex/century. The ability to go wider on the la7200 seems to be the reason they command a high price. though in any case large sensors + wide lenses + big apertures + 16:9 converters = image quality issues no matter what diopter is used. Just my opinion, but i certainly wouldnt be willing to fork out the going rate of £400 for a century/optex + £200-250 for a tokina if the results were going to be as sub par as i have seen from movies shot with them on the 5dmk2 and 3. I actually love the century 16:9 at f5.6 - f8 in daylight with a 35mm taking lens on a aps-c sensor, but feel the optical detail is only just there (coming from a lucky owner of a iscorama). I imagine even better results would come from a 25mm on m4/3. IMO the full frame sensor needs an iscorama , LOMO or other big boy in order to yield results worth the expense, effort and hassle. If your plan is to optically de-coat a century, optex or la7200, use it on a 35mm taking lens at f5.6 or smaller apertures and use a tokina +0.4, using a sensor of aps-c or smaller I think this is a lovely idea to get softer, lomo-esq style. And is something I am personally thinking of doing to replace the cumbersome Iscorama ps. I have owned and used a Century 16:9 converter.

  LOL.  Diopters...  So his affordable LA7200 then turns into a £1000+ system due to needing 90mm+ achromats in order to gain your so called benefit of width.  He said that the price of an iscorama is not viable so why would spending a lot of money on top of his initial purchase be any different?   I'm very aware of the use of diopters, and the fact that the LA7200 is just about the most diopter unfriendly anamorphic solution there. is...         I'm not going to sink to your level by trying to be condescending.  Don't get so upset when people question your advice.

top gear is on netflix if anyone uses it

width is pretty pointless when you can't get a single shot sharp and all with horrible CA.  The LA7200 struggles on APs-c, let alone a full frame sensor.  It seems to be a regular point I try to make, but IMO just because a lens doesnt vignette doesnt mean its actually providing a decent image.  LA7200 will result in the thread starter having to resort to f11 on his wide lens, meaning everything will be in focus from infinity to 2ft.  with no option for any selective focus.

IMO the best bit of advice is to forget trying to gain wide angle as you would do normally with a full frame sensor and typical lenses.   a good f2.8 85mm or even a 135mm f2.8 zeiss will be beautiful and will yield good results on most half decent anamorphics and use the centre of the glass, and thus will likely help tone down some of the drawbacks created by a full frame sensor - they have a habit of being less forgiving on anamorphics (which most are designed for 8mm or 16mm sensor area).   85mm 2.8 would be a great standard prime and would create a very cinematic look on portrait shots similar to the look you would get with a 50mm on super35mm sensor size

Nice idea!  Count me in.

stunning images here

Very clever indeed John.  Bypass most of the blades so four can be shaped accordingly.  I played with the idea of a variable aperture but kept away because of the complexity.  also, due to the variation of lens adaptors (some rotate more than others) the aperture mechanism would need to have a orientation adjustment to ensure the aperture was always vertical.  I think since this is effectively an 'effects lens' concept most users of a custom aperture such as an oval will want the effect as prominent as possible - the f2.8 1.5x is superb on the Iscorama 1.5x and takes the image a little more similar to the proper oval bokeh from a 2x anamorphot. 

The Ikonoskop has a lovely 'painted image' look to it.  i'd love one of these!

Indeed. so you can choose an aperture that suits best your shooting technique.   examples:-     using a 1.5x anamorphot +  f2.8 1.5x oval aperture Flare Factory 58 you end up with very convincing 2x ovals.   using a 2x oval f5.6 Flare Factory 58 on a Century or LA7200 creates a very convincing 2x look a bit like lomo IMO.     using a f2.8 1.5x oval aperture Flare Factory 58 on its own and cropping will allow you to intercut between stuff shot with true 1.5x anamorphots + standard helios for stuff like ultra close ups or shots that need an easier focus pull from a prime lens.   Obviously the smaller the aperture, the more it has an effect on the overall flare characeristics.  Ie. a f5.6 2x oval wont be as low contrast as a standard variable f2-f16 round aperture   http://vimeo.com/61360303

Hey Andy.. This vid should explain what the circular masks do... http://vimeo.com/61341672

  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Satec-DyaliScope-Cooke-Double-Speed-Panchro-40mm-f-2-Anamorphic-Prime-Lens-Arri-/111004216882?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&nma=true&si=9eS%252BY8%252FkEQxEAvrOeMrKfUFfgrc%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc     You mean one of these?

  @ James.   Thanks for this.  I am taking this comment on board and am currently playing with profiles using more saturation to determine how much your suggestions have an impact on my footage.  I appreciate your effort here with this comment and your logic

http://vimeo.com/61224397   password is:- ???     Can you guess which anamorphic lens this is?  Clue?  It's a bit like a Lomo 'square front' in physical appearance.

Hey Julian.    I have various sources.  I have bought a few large lots from a supplier I found in the former USSR, and bought single units too.  It depends where I find the right ones.  Certain serial numbers are better donors than others.   It's sad how cheap the standard helios lenses actually sell for on ebay, considering just how wonderful they are - actually I prefer to the original Biotar.  Only due to the high numbers available + the lack of perceived value is a project like this viable.  The low price for the donor parts allows for more time and effort to be spent in the workshop, and for covering the quite large hourly rate of the laser.

Hey guys. Cheers for your enthusiasm! :) Price will be around £95-100 on ebay or £85-90 direct via paypal (removing the ebay charges so I'll pass on the savings). This is a fixed price so will cover any option in the pdf list. (**edit** - price has been set to £100 for DSLR and Mirrorless mounts, and £200 for Arri PL) Since some apertures are orientation dependent (ovals need to be perfectly aligned) we wanted to add a mount into the cost that is non thread based so we can set aperture alignment specifically to the mount in our workshop, and avoid a complex alignment by the user should their m42 adaptor have a different fully screwed in position. We recommend EF mount since it is widely accepted, is very secure with less play than most others and is easily adapted to mirrorless via dumb adaptor if you wanted to. Shipping UK: £8 Shipping Worldwide: £15 If anyone wants one of the first batch then please pm or message via the facebook page and I'll get back to you before the ebay listing goes up. Things are taking longer due to sorting controlled tests and a bit of text so people have a better idea of the effects of each option. A rather crazy lens option combination is on its way to Andrew in Berlin at the moment so hopefully he'll be able to put it through its paces and give his take on the concept. I wanted to get a copy to Andrew first since he provides us with such a good community here and the fact that he is likely to give his honest and impartial view of what type of shooter / shooting style the Flare Factory 58 might benefit in a real situation.