Bioskop.Inc

I just hope here in the UK that an absolute lock down is announced either today or tomorrow - I do understand that laws have to be passed & as usual politics sometimes gets in the way, but it needs to be done now as people can't be trusted. They've asked us nicely (very British), but pictures of packed shopping spaces, parks & tubes/subways just speaks volumes of our modern times! I'm both lucky & unlucky - I took a part-time job as I decided that the media was becoming a lost cause to me. Unfortunately I'm a key worker & after my 2 weeks annual leave runs out (booked a month ago by some miracle), I will have to go back to work. My fear is that whilst I've been really careful, others have carried on as if its no big deal (quite possibly spreading the virus around like wild fire) & then I have to go back out into the outside world to try to help people! Still no distancing in supermarkets & I keep walking, as pound signs seem to be more important than safety - especially for their workers! Hopefully a full lock down will take place & it will be safe for me to go to/from work each day, but will it? I will have to use public transport, but have the companies cleaned the buses (probably not) or will there be any buses running (i hope so as I don't fancy the 1hr 30min walk each way)? But the icing on the cake was my workplace - no hand sanitizer made available & a really shocking lack of any plan put into place to help us or keep us safe. If someone in the building, where I work, gets the virus, it will knock us all out (colds spread at work like you wouldn't believe) & we are a vital service!!! Hindsight is a great thing, but doesn't help anyone or thing right now! What we really need is for sensible people to keep spreading the word to stay in & only go out if you absolutely have to. But most importantly, if you do go out, keep your distance! Good luck & stay safe everyone

Did say that i wasn't sure of the name of the lens, but I do know that it was a Kowa Prominar - I do think there are a few different types of Prominar, because the one my friend bought had a lot smaller rear element than my Sankor 16D. Anyways, I was always talking about the Sankor/Singer16D (even the 16C or F), never the Kowa. Kowa B&H no question - the others not so much, apart from the In-Flight Kowa, which is stunning, but not as good as a Bolex! Elmoscope I or Sankor/Singer 16D (even consider the 16C or 16F) go for about £250-300 (they've only really risen by about £100 in the last 10yrs, which is strange as all of them can be on a par with the Kowa B&H for image quality, if in good condition) - there was a glut of Elmoscopes in Japan a while back for cheaper & I nearly pulled the trigger just for the blue flares (not all of them have blue, so do some research). I'm pretty out of touch as far as other things are concerned - I bought my B&H for under £300 about 10yrs ago & they can go for £900 nowadays. Personally, the Bolex is the king of dual focus & the Kowa B&H is worth half, if not more than half. The problem at the moment is that there are far fewer lenses about, so lots of inflated prices - be patient & you can get a good deal.

Do not touch the Kowa Prominar 16s (I think that's what it's called, it has a narrow protruding rear element which is silver/metal) - it's not suitable at all, as its for super16 & vignettes like crazy. I mention this as some sellers try to pull fast ones with people mistaking it with it's bigger namesake. Seen lots of Elmoscope I lenses for cheap - same as 16D, but slightly different body & normally has the nice blue flares! Get a good copy & it's hard to beat. And yes start with something not too expensive first - I started with a 16D and was very happy. I then upgraded to the Kowa B&H & then it just got a little silly from there on! The list to end all lists: http://super8wiki.com/index.php/Anamorphic_Lenses#2x_Anamorphic_attachments

If you get a good 16D then that's a really good place to start, but the Elmoscope I is the same rebranded & they are normally cheaper - not the smallest, but none are really once rigged up. I wouldn't worry too much about single focus, as they only really make focusing a little quicker & once you get used to dual focus you can hit the sweet spot very quickly with practice. The whole rack focus thing is a little bit of a red herring, as you don't need to be able to for the majority of things you shoot. If it's narrative you are doing, then a simple Shot-Reverse-Shot is such a common sequence when filming dialogue - so many different options & racking isn't the most common. I have an Iscorama & I very rarely rack focus - if I do, I always shoot another way so I have more options. About going wide or using wide lenses with anamorphic attachments - the wider the taking lens the more distortion you'll get. Longer taking lenses really improve the quality of the anamorphic attachment. And as far as sharpness goes, most films are shot around F4 - 5.6 - shooting wide open is such a skill to be learnt & so easy to mess a shot up that it takes more planning. You mentioned the S8, but it's a fixed focus lens so you'll need diopters & will have to move the whole rig forwards/backwards to get focus. The Isco Widescreen 2000 is the same but slightly bigger. Both are really sharp, but need a lot of practice & are ultimately too limiting. Oh, with a x2 on a FF you could always use a slightly wider lens & crop in post to cut out the vignette - I crop all the time with x2 lenses, even x1.5. My advice would be to get a 16D / Elmoscope 1 or 16H - they're cheap, good flares & have a large rear element.

I've mentioned a few times over the years that this lens is limited & not very practical for many filming situations, but I suppose most people don't like searching too far back into the forum's history. It is a nice little lens & the glass is superb, but best for situations where you don't have to film past 5M & you'll need low powered diopters. You can rack a little, maybe a meter or 2, but not over a long distance - you need a taking lens with a decent amount of focus throw at the 5M mark & the use of a +0.3 or +0.5 helps, as does stopping down the lens a little. I used it for filming concerts, so it was ideal for this as you could focus a little without having to change the diopters all the time & with strong stage lights it flared as well. You can film past 5M, but it won't be tack sharp & Infinity is not an option. I've no idea how much they go for now, but you'd get better value for money going for a dual focus & then add a variable diopter.

Thanks for this, will have to get myself a few now - who knows where we will be in a years time, might not be able to use cards in these old cameras?!

This is the one Takumar that I haven't used with an Iscorama, all the others are some of my favourite lenses to use with an anamorphic attachment. I do use the Tair 11a 135mm f2.8 & it works amazingly well, in fact these longer focal lengths give you better image quality than wider lenses do. The one thing to watch out for when using vintage lenses is to test out where infinity really is - by this I mean that a lot of adaptors play safe & the reading of infinity on the lens isn't always spot on, so you might have to dial it back a fraction. I have quite a few M42 lenses that behave this way, which might be why some people think they can't get a sharp/clear image when using an anamorphic adaptor. So always check the real Infinity mark of your taking lens (add some tape to secure it or make a mark on the taking lens, so if it moves you can adjust quickly) & then add your adaptor - you should have no troubles. NB. I find the Takumar's are some of the sharpest vintage taking lenses to use with an Iscorama & they are normally more reliable (in terms of quality control) than a lot of other brands, especially the Russain lenses.

A friend of a friend is/was the manager of a band asked for my help & I did a few live videos for them, charged them peanuts (£200 for each) as I knew that they didn't have much cash. They asked me to do a doc type thing to promote them, so I quoted £400 & they agreed. However.....they paid me late for one video (6 months) & then asked if they could have the finished doc (which wasn't finished at that time) and they would pay me later. Now it took them nearly 6 months to pay me £200, so in my mind I would have to wait a year for £400 & there was always the chance that I'd never see it. I said no, they would have to come up with at least half the cash first. I didn't hear back from them for a few months, but thought it was Christmas so no biggy. I check out there Facebook page & what do I see......a rough copy of the doc that they had ripped from Vimeo using some pretty bad app/program, as it looked like low res shit. To top it all off, the post on FB said "this is a doc we made about ourselves" - no mention of me, no thanks just them claiming to have made the film they had stolen.....! YouTube took it down within the hour! There are loads of people out there who want something for nothing or nearly nothing...lesson learnt!

The Angenieux 35-70mm is parfocal & is vintage loveliness - also, is about the price range you mentioned, but can be had cheaper. NB: the 28-70 isn't, nor is the cheaper Tokina ATX Pro version of the 28-70mm (some people say that it is, but that is BS - so beware).

A few things first: What does the speedbooster now make your sensor - is it S35/APS or FF? - If it's S35/APS, then the 58mm isn't going to cut it. You'll have to use an 85mm. (if it's FF, then that becomes 135mm). If you take off the Speedbooster & use the native M43, then you'll be able to use the Helios - in fact you could use a 50mm lens or you might get away with something smaller so try a 35 or a 40mm. That's your problem - you're using the wrong size taking lens. The larger Kowa will enable you to use a 45mm (maybe a 40mm) on APC size (with your speedbooster) & a 35mm on M43. Also, another thing to remember is that by using the Sankor 16D you will be getting a wider field of view than 85mm or 50mm, so don't get hung up on that! The Sankor 16D is a nice lens, so just work with it, rather than against it. Also what people tend to forget, or never knew, is that these anamorphic adaptors actually work best with longer focal length taking lenses - the wider the taking lens the more distortion etc. you will get!

Let me add to @mercer comments - cheap doesn't mean bad, but more likely with vintage lenses, just not wanted or not appreciated. Such a subjective & loaded question, especially here! I've owned such a lot & ended up with a full set of Russain [Zeiss copies] lenses - couldn't be happier. But ironically, I use my Tokina ATX-Pro 28-70mm zoom lens the most for pics & any filming I might do. But if I still filmed a lot, I think I would complete my Nikon Ai-S set, as when I look at things I've shot with the 24mm f2.8 or 50mm f1.8 I'm always satisfied - in fact, i'm glad I used them. Not the cheapest, not the most expensive - just good solid lenses that get the job done & more often than not they surprise people.

Yes they should be - they're vintage lenses, so if other lenses of a similar age work, then there's no reason these shouldn't.

@kaylee, I turn 47 next month & am freaking out! All my friends are married, some have kids & all of them have sensible, stable jobs that earn them a good comfortable living - I don't! The last few years, the work slowly started to dry up & I had to get a sensible part-time job. The realisation that I should perhaps move away from what I liked doing, to actually something that would leave me in a more comfortable position has been beckoning me for some time - should this become a hobby has become the question for a while now? Last year, I agreed to help a friend of a friend out with the music he had begun to make - made a video & tweaked some of the music. He offered me to join & work with him, which I accepted as I had nothing better to do. Another friend joined us & we were 3 guys in our 40s just doing something in our spare time, all having fun, albeit living in different parts of the country. We don't meet up very often & there were never any intentions to play live - it's electronic music & I don't think we have the time or money to figure that part of it out just yet. A few months ago we were offered a Record Contract! This has come, pretty much, totally out of the blue & we were all - a Record Deal, Really?! Fuck!!! Shit happens & you never really know what's around the corner or how many corners you might have to turn - try everything, experiment, contact people on the off chance that they might have work or advice to give you! Everyone going down the art type route (not the desk job route) gets down from time to time - if you don't, then you're lucky! But to be honest, my desk job causes me more stress, anxiety etc. then I've ever felt in my life. And the funny thing is, I see my stable, well off friends & they are about 15/20yrs further down the crazy road than I am - you scrape way the top layer of their lives & its far worse than yours. One friend said he wished he never got married & had kids - he was having a really bad day/month/year.....

you'll need a special clamp - Redstan makes the best