Bioskop.Inc

No no no. Zach's making his first Short Film & it's going to be EPIC....I promise you?

Probably too much craziness going on here for the likes of him?

After a while you get to see through all of that over embellishment - it's the tone of the writer that is the biggest give away. I lost all interest in him ages ago & I do believe it was his post about using ETTR on 8-bit DSLR footage that was the final straw - everyone knows you ETTR with RAW & only RAW, shit I wouldn't do it with ProRes HQ let alone DSLR codecs. (I'll stand corrected if that post wasn't him, but I think i'm right). It's sad really, but there are a lot of lonely people out there that need validation. However, the only problem with not telling the truth, is that you WILL slip up sooner or later. God I miss ZACH, at least we all know where we stand with him!

Right from the offset this account was weird - why would 2 people share an account? It makes absolute no sense whatsoever! As far as the multitude of posts go, what did he really offer but his opinion & most of it was presented in a manner that was boardering on being condesending - I do believe he claimed to have used every single camera around, but could never post any footage to prove his points. I stopped reading what he wrote a long time ago because they were long winded BS & offered nothing of great importance - he recommended a lens or a camera, big fucking deal! Anyone can do that. So this guy, young or old, dentist or radiologist, innocent or guilty, filmmaker or fake should just go & live out whatever fantasy he's built for himself somewhere else. I'm as confused as the next person, but he's definitely slipped up in this thread & it'll be impossible for him to ever post here again.

This to me is reason alone to Close their account or Ban both of the Saadawi's. I've never understood why they share an account & you never know who is actually posting - it's free to join after all, so why? I know people steal other people's work & pass it off as their own, but when it happens between 2 people on the same forum it is certainly time for the Moderators to act. As far as the scam goes, I don't think we'll ever get to the real truth of the matter, but I hope people have learnt a valuable leason - PayPal or nothing. If a refund occurs, then all well & good. However, it really is time that these 2 people uncouple & present themselves as 2 distinct individuals.

As a rule of thumb, simple recipe lenses do work best & the least amount of MC the better. A good copy of the Helios 44-2 58mm f2 is one of the best, if not the best. The Super-Takumar 55mm f1.8 or 50mm 1.4 are good (not the SMC versions). The Nikon Ai-s 50mm f1.8 pancake, as are the other ai-s lenses (don't go E version, they're not in the same league). As for 35mm, I have found the Mir-24M 35mm f2 (M42 mount) is an amazing lens. But in the end it's all about personal taste, so it's your choice/opinion that counts.

I have shot live stuff with the pocket & this type of bashing is absolute Bullshit. The screen isn't that bad & you switch out the battery when you change the SD card - how fucking difficult is that! These are all minor things, especially when you consider the image from the pocket shits all over most other cameras in its price range. I really wish people would stop spreading this kind of stuff - the Pocket isn't a PINA to use, it's an absolute joy. I point, I shoot & I get the shot - hardly any post needed, because the image captured is exactly what I want.

I've shot quite a few live music events & I always get my shots - never even thought about reframing, not once. In fact, most of the time i'm able to sync stuff from one song to make it look like it belongs to another - perhaps I'm just used to knowing what will work & what won't. And yes the Pocket's DR in ProRes (RAW's a luxury one can't afford when filming live stuff) is exactly what makes my task that much easier when editing it all up. That's the other thing as well, if you film but don't edit, you tend to be out of the creative loop - I'm always thinking about the edit when I film stuff, it would be stupid not to.

Just on the over inflated prices thing because people are falsely claiming B&H are better (they've said this when they were cheap) - probably minute differences to be honest & not worth getting worked up about. I don't use step rings to attach to my taking lens - Redstan Clamp gets it up close & personal. Personally, I don't abide by the getting the rear & front optics as close as possible - I love the light bouncing around inside, it gives you extra internal lens flaring. Also, don't forget about the coatings on the taking lenses - Gold is what you're ideally after.

Calling bullshit on this one. Bought mine years ago for £200 - cheap, same price as the other versions. Yes prices have risen, but they have for all of them. As I said, these are old lenses & some will be in good condition, some won't be. Doesn't really matter, in the end, which version you get - just don't buy one of those brightly coloured pieces of shit because they come from Isco (they are fucking awful & have pretty much Zero anamorphic aesthetic - sterile & nasty). Any of these Kowas (8Z, 16H, Elmo II, B&H) are great x2 Anamorphics - dual focus, but that is of very little concern. I really prefer the Sankor/Singer 16D, but hey its all a matter of personal taste.

I wear glasses - if I want things smoothed out, I just take them off. On a serious note, until TV is properly 1080p, I'm just going to stick with a HD TV - 720p upscaled to 1080p looks fine & Blu-Ray is about as sharp as I can handle. Also, 4K TVs are waaaaaay more expensive than HD TVs. As far as filming things goes, BM Pocket produces one of the best images that I've seen/used for quite a long while (10yrs or so) - it's not about sharpness, never has been, never will be. Look at what most DPs say - they're trying to soften the image & that's for cinema, which you would've thought needed a bigger/better resolution for the bigger screen. So you can take your sharpness and....... If you buy a 4K camera to re-frame & then downscale to 1080p - what a complete & utter waste of time. Learn to frame/film properly & appreciate the beauty of a great camera. I'd prefer to rent a proper 4K camera with a decent codec, instead of using something with a crippling 8-bit mess.

The only time i've seen/experienced a 4K image properly is at the cinema. TV or Streaming is HD & 720p at that. Buy a 4K TV? Why? I can't watch anything worth watching in 4K on it, so where does that leave me? I'm still waiting for 1080p HD TV/Streaming......

Just to settle any confusion: The Kowa for B&H was made under specific guidelines for B&H & the quality control had to be better. Now whether the one you buy is still in good condition is another thing - age, use etc... Not to sure about the Elmo II manufacture, but it might fall into the same category as the B&H - however, the smaller rear element suggests it's just a re-branded Kowa. Flares can be dependant on the coatings, but different light sources can also have an affect on the resulting colours of the flares. Finally, the bigger the rear element the better - as it can be coupled with a wider range of taking lenses (this is why some people consider the Iscorama 54 to be a better buy than the 36 or 42 - flexibility of taking lenses).

If you look carefully there are lots around at decent prices - £150 to £250. I personally call that a bargin for what you get, especially considering you'd have to pay nearly £1000 now for the Angenieux original. Don't think Andy has inflated prices at all, only the people who are trying to rip lazy people off. Look & you'll find a bargin - even if you have to buy from, say, Japan.

You're right about him being down to earth & such a nice guy to boot - very knowledgable & not trying to force you to buy something, if advice is all you want. He has introduced me to lots of lens options, for video, that I wouldn't have even considered. You can send him things to repair/clean up/convert etc.. or buy what he has - all excellent quality & not too expensive.

Been so busy that I haven't had a chance to try this yet - also need a step down ring, which is on order. Just to clarify something: I just stack the 2 Anamorphics together & since I'll put the 54 at the end - all I need to do is set the taking lens & Kowa B&H to Infinity, then focus with the 54 (which will need a diopter or 2). My initial thoughts would be that the DOF will be stupidily thin, like using a Takumar wide open, but might give a type of 3D rendering to the images? Not sure about this last bit. But judging by the pictures taken above, it might be pointless since I can achieve that dreamy look/shallow DOF with the Tokina AT-X wide open. So will it really be so much better than just 1 anamorphic & a good lens? Also, it'll be a huge rig to use, but I suppose that won't be too much of a problem since you'll have to use a tripod.

I have the AT-X Pro 28-70mm f2.6/2.8 (the Angenieux designed version) & it's excellent, as it really adds that extra Angenieux something to the images - with a SB it will be even better.

For M42 lenses, there are plenty that have clickless apertures (they call them Pre-Set Apertures), mostly the Russain lenses, the classics - Helios 44-2, Jupiter 9, Tair 11a etc... It depends where you are in the world, but in the UK this guy de-clicks lenses to a very high standard: http://www.thelensdoctor.co.uk/index.html

I've got the RJ Focal reducer M42 to M4/3 & its just fine - no blue spot that everyone goes on about & have even fooled people thinking that it was the official SpeedBooster. However, I've heard/seen some pretty awful example footage of both the Mitakon & RJ - so all I can think is that QC isn't the best or that some lenses don't play well with these cheaper versions. Personally, i'm using Vintage M42 lenses in combo with Anamorphic lenses (Isco 54 & WS 2000) with no problems encountered (perhaps they hide the ugly stuff?) and I do believe that the newer sharper lenses just exaggerate all the defects inherent in the cheaper SBs. Or are the M42 cheap SBs just not experiencing the troubles - don't know. Then again, people have had issues with the official SpeedBoosters too, so go figure. Are the official SBs worth so much more, that's between you & your wallet. I need a Nikon to M4/3 version for my Tokina AT-X Pro/Nikon Ai-s lenses & am on the fence between the Mitakon & the RJ - so much debate about which ones are better & it has become soooo confusing. Anyone had experience with Nikon to M4/3?

So since I have both of these lenses I might give this a try - so is the idea to flip the camera on its side & then stretch what would have been the vertical (1080), which is now the horizontal? Not sure if I can fix the camera onto a tripod like this, but can certainly try it handheld - might be a bit of a handful & a little shakey. Also, the 2.25:1 isn't a standard aspect ratio for anamorphic & so to get it to 2.39:1 or 2.35:1, you'd have to lose a little off the top. Worth a pop nevertheless.

Will this ever end?! When I first got introduced to Digital Editing there were only 2 NLEs being used - Avid & FCP. Avid was the weapon of choice for the high end stuff - Natural History & Drama. FCP was used by everyone else. Premiere - never even got a look in (never mentioned, didn't know it existed at first). The problem has become the importance placed on After Effects, by small independant companies - the new build Motion is either on a par or just behind it, but not enough to make it redundant. In Big companies, the titles are done by one team (outsourced) & the Editor actually spends his time editing. The real difference between FCPX & Premiere - one you pay a one off fee for & the other you pay monthly for. And if you really wanted to go that step further - one works better with Macs & the other with Windows. They're NLEs, nothing more & you use the one that gets the job done best for you.

Well if its Tyres you're after, then watch a film called "Rubber"

Love that - thought it was more, but that's probably because 307 people die in the film! Hong Kong cinema rules for this sort of thing - kung foo or guns it doesn't matter. "Infernal Affairs 1&2" are probably the best gangster films made recently (re-made by Scorcese, but not a patch on the originals - not even close).

The Killer (Dir. John Woo) - mind blowingly amazing & a must if you like action/gangster movies (American films just pale in comparison). Best action sequence - the opening 10mins of 'Hard Boiled' (John Woo again). Don't know how many people die, but its a lot & the gun play is out of this world.

Nice, a little too shakey in some places for my taste, but the piece as a whole really works. If the past can teach us anything, its that there are no rules to music videos - everything goes. Its a music video & as long as it keeps your attention for the whole song, then you've done your job.