Tito Ferradans

Thanks! :D Well, you can check your guesses at the blog, every shot is labeled there! Goal achieved then! Thanks!

When you rack focus with your taking lens is pushing the limits of the anamorphic's image quality, because the anamorphic block is set to infinity. So having a focusing solution ties the whole system together and by having both anamorphic and taking lens at infinity you get their focus to sync. Kind of confusing when put in words, let me know if you get it. hahahah (thanks, man! it was fun doing it!)

I shot a small narrative (I won't call it a "short") mixing all 1.33x anamorphic adapters with various taking lenses. The goal was to test out if all that talk of "this adapter is good, this one is bad", to see if we can actually notice the difference between lenses when there's a story being told. I included both well lit and low light shots to evaluate performance with different apertures. The camera used was Kinefinity's Kinemini 4k, and I shot it all raw for more flexibility in post. Taking lenses were all Russian, from 28 up to 135mm. The blog post has a cheat chart with all the data for each shot. Can you tell when this or that lens is being used? Is there anything in particular that bugs you? Do you think this test makes the difference between 1.33x adapters easier to notice? Lenses used were Century Optics WS-13, Panasonic LA7200, Isco 16:9 Video Attachment I, SLR Magic Anamorphot 1.33x-50, Century Optics 16:9 (the small one). http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=8333 There's more info on the blog post above, but if you're feeling lazy, here's the video.

I haven't tried it myself, but a friend of mine (www.instagram.com/mattleafdirector) got amazing shots from combining his Century Optics (just like a Soligor) with a Rangefinder. You gain the ability to rack focus and get sharp results even at close range.

ANAMORPHIC CHOP SHOP - PROPER ASPECT RATIO http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=8249 ANAMORPHIC CHOP SHOP - CROPPING IN POST http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=8793 ANAMORPHIC CHOP SHOP - FIXING MUMPS http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=8832 ANAMORPHIC ON A BUDGET - UPCOMING, 2016 http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=8746 ANAMORPHIC ON A BUDGET - THE NEW ROMANTICS http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=8923

Isco Widescreen 2000, both SOLD. Century SOLD. Video Attachment price lowered to $2200.

I got one, but I'm still waiting for it...

Bold, summer is here and I finally got time to go over ALL THE POSTS here. Wow, man, I admire both your perseverance and the amount of detail you packed here. I would be down to buy a mod kit from you and would straight out make a video about it and about how awesome of a guy you are by making it all public here. I think this should get you at least some extra visibility in the lands of facebook, and possibly sell more mod kits. Let me know if you're interested. After the video is done, I'm likely to sell my B&H, as I'm downsizing my overall lens collection.

Hahahaha, fair enough! Thanks for replying. I still need to do some math here.

Would you sell the diopters separately? I'm interested in the 100-67 and 67-50.

There is no perfect cut using the methods I'm trying. AND this was my first attempt with hot wires. This one is incredibly better than the first (I can actually use both sides, the first method completely ruined half of the circle), plus I'm didn't polish it at all yet. My goal is to spend $60 tops and end up with a full set (+1, +2, +4) and spares (the unused sides) plus the capability of making how many more I want at the only cost of the diopters themselves.

An image is worth more than 1000 tutorials. I'm still in progress. Last night we spent about 4 hours playing with wires and stuff, and then. Today I kept going for more two hours and voilá! I still need to polish the edges, but it's MUCH better than my first attempt through brute force. Every step has been properly documented and I'll still repeat the process for the last diopter, hoping to get better shots still. Thanks Brian! I was trying to avoid resorting to expensive tools or specific services since they might not be available to everyone (if I were back in Brazil, I wouldn't be able to find a place that understood my goals, for example). Doing it with stuff that you can buy off any hardware store is more appealing to my current goals of making the knowledge and tools accessible to everyone. That being said, I believe I would've gotten a perfect result with a saw and saved myself some jump scares, burnt wire, plastic, transformers, watching stuff glow red hot and a TON of time polishing edges. HAHAHAHA!

Yep! I'm documenting the process for a video tutorial, IF IT WORKS. hahahahah I think it would be enough to cover it, since 4 inches = 100mm. You'd have to be creative mounting it, but aren't we all?

Any chance you're confusing the Focar A and B diopters with the Foton-A (LOMO lens)? I've looked for the Focars for a while and missed a bunch by just a few hours, but now they're not in my priorities anymore. The LOMO Foton-A (minimum focus at 1.6m) uses this diopter, which is ridiculously hard to find. What I'm trying to get is both close up and deep focus at the same time, hence the split. I already added the 82-4x4 holder to my watchlist and I have a bunch of rotating Polas on the way, exactly for this job (since my Vivitars also don't rotate). I didn't get to continue cutting yesterday, but I'll keep the thread updated as I progress. I remember seeing a bunch of cheap split series 9 a while ago, but I wasn't in the mood for them at the time so I didn't get them. Also, if I'm able to cut my own, I won't spend even $100 on a full set, and will be able to create as many as I want. MUAHAHAHAHA (evil genius laugh).

I don't have (and don't use) matteboxes, but this filter, at this price, kind of solves another problem that I had, which was getting close focus for the Foton-A. The original diopters are almost impossible to find lately and their prices are a joke. This one is enough to cover 95% of the glass and at this price, it's good enough to give it a go! Thanks James!

So, I tried several methods at once (the burning line then cold water), glass cutter, exacto knife and ended up hammering a ruler to the crack. It turned out half ok, but I had to sand something like 1/8th of an inch. IT TOOK THREE HOURS. In the end, I used a black sharpie to darken the edge, but it can still benefit a little from more sanding.... For the next ones, I will avoid sanding glass and rough cuts. Later today I'll try the hot wire method. Got myself a transformer and some nichrome. Still two diopters to go, and a ton of bottles to practice.

If you're noticing the aspect ratio change instead of the character's actions, that speaks for the movie itself. hahahaha I think it's a powerful tool, definitely underused because there's no clear "rules" on how or when to do it.

I've been trying to get split field diopters for a while, but reasonable sized ones never pop up on ebay. So I thought "why not cutting them myself?". No I got a kit of cheap Vivitar diopters and NO IDEA of a decent method of cutting them. I watched a bunch of youtube videos on how to cut a bottle but let's agree those cuts are not as accurate as the kind I'm trying. I also got a glass cutter, but I'm not sure I'm doing it right. Anyone ever tried this before? I'm open to suggestions.

Hahaha! That's something good to know! So, isn't there anyone making these?

A little more about them here - http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=8462 I think it was a matter of insight (realizing that the focus solution didn't need to be associated with an anamorphic directly in a complete system, against the Isco patent) and time to develop.

I'm gonna use that for my resume, if you don't mind! hahahahaha! The WB change was THE main thing that got me on the iPhone track, then I started to notice the rolling shutter and that could only come from a phone. Not many phones have anamorphic adapters and shoot 4k at the same time, so... But it looks really nice, in terms of color and exposure. I suppose it doesn't do such a good job in low light, does it?

The cheap one is an iPhone with the moondog labs adapter or a gopro, or something with a ton of rolling shutter. :P Are you gonna tell when we guess it right?

This EXACT same thing is explained in the very first post of the diopter thread:

test shot with Lomo Foton-A 37-140mm and Canon 50D. test shot with Iscoramas (pre36 and 54) and Canon 5D3. I have plenty of test videos with various lenses on my channel, but most of them are like you described (I always try to get people on all my shots), but shooting narrative is hard and expensive and requires much more preparation than a plain test. If you're shooting narrative, you're not testing, because it would be stupid not to bulletproof the workflow before heading down a narrative path with other people involved beyond the cinematographer (aka: me). That being said, I recently shot a 1.33x anamorphic shootout that I'm editing which is somewhat narrative (there's a very basic plot to it) and it should be up in a few weeks.

Hello my fellow anamorphic friends! It's time for upgrades and because of that some of my gear must go! Lenses will be shipped from Vancouver, BC - Canada. I only accept PayPal. Taxes and shipping are my responsibility. If interested, reply here, send me a PM, or an email! ferradans@gmail.com One last thing before we get to the lenses: I'm currently selling a Cinemascope t-shirt, unique stuff. Price is $25, including shipping. Click here to get yours and be sure to send me which size you want it (M, L, XL). This is my attempt to fund the Anamorphic Cookbook and all the Anamorphic on a Budget videos so any help is appreciated! Now to the pretty glass part... ISCO WIDESCREEN 2000 MC (1.5x stretch, focus through) Click for photos of the lenses. The best focus through adapter out there (meaning you use the taking lens’ focus ring). 1.5x stretch, Isco branding and quality, excellent performance and a very compact, solid and lightweight build. I have two of these lenses for sale, each one fitted with a 62-72mm step ring for diopters or single-focus solutions. Glass is in pristine condition, no scratches, spots, dust or fungus (which is almost a miracle considering the age of these lenses). They come with original front and rear caps plus a regular 72mm front cap. SALE DOES NOT INCLUDE REDSTAN CLAMPS. For more information, check my review! Price - USD700 each, shipped ISCO 16:9 VIDEO ATTACHMENT Mk I - or "1.33x Iscorama 54" (1.33x, single focus) Click for photos of the lens. This is an extremely hard to find adapter, in plain words, it’s an Iscorama 54 with 1.33x stretch, which turns a 16:9 sensor into an automatic Cinemascope machine. Single focus operation, set your taking lens to infinity and shoot away using the Isco’s focus ring. Focus is smooth and glass is perfectly clear: no blemishes, scratches, fungus, dust or anything. Goes as wide as 40mm on full frame. Comes with both original front and rear caps and a Redstan clamp (72-77mm), which makes rear thread 72mm or 77mm according to your preference. Front thread is 95mm. For more information, check my review! Price - USD2600 shipped CENTURY OPTICS 58mm ANAMORPHIC (1.33x stretch, focus through) Click for photos of the lens. The Century Optics is one of the most recommended adapters for people starting out with anamorphics and I sincerely don’t understand why people even complain about it. This one is in perfect shape, no damage whatsoever to the glass (no dust, scratches or fungus) but one or two tiny scuffs to the body (see photos). Stretch is 1.33x and rear thread is 58mm, making it super easy to attach to taking lenses. Goes as wide as 35mm on full frame, which is very good coverage (losing only to the Panasonic LA7200) and focusing is done using the taking lens’ focus ring. Close focus can be challenging but a cheap diopter kit is enough to solve the problem. It comes with original front and rear caps and an adapted 77mm front thread for attaching diopters (not shown in photos). For more information, check my review! Price: USD650 shipped