Hans Punk

It's been years since I touched FCP. I suspect what may be happening is that FCP is not nativity recognizing the alpha (transparent) section, so you will have to tell it to do what you want - i.e keep black, see through white. Click on the crop mark overlay in your timeline to select - then go to the modify option in your menu bar. There, go down to "alpha type" and choose "straight" That should work.

Yes, mixture of real in camera/CG and composited real flares would have been used in a lot of the scenes to 'bed' the CG turtles into the scene and help blend the digital makeup on meagan fox's face. Perhaps I'm getting old, but these blockbuster films just look like Xbox game trailers to me - totally soulless turtle power.

Not Seen this before, but looks a similar form factor as an iscomorphot 8/2x or animax fixed focus lens for 8mm. This one seems to have a focus mechinsm that is external...probably tighter turns are needed for adjustment rather than a smooth Helicoid on more common lenses. If it's 2x and of isco optic descent it will probably have a subdued gold flare, if 1.5x it would probably have a coating that gives the blueish flares. If it's optics are anything like the isco, it will be sharp when treated right and have a very nice organic look. If it is for sale for cheap, it might be worth getting to play with.

Shooting 2x Anamorphic for a 'usable' resolution benefit is only reserved for Alexa studio or other 4:3 sensor areas...or dare I say it full academy celluloid stuff that used to run through a gate by motor driven sprockets (I forget what it's called).

looks like there is enough mojo in this? Jeremy Snell used DSO lenses throughout both as taking lenses to iscorama and Kowa as well as 1.5x oval aperture intercut with the genuine anamorphic. Brad Ragland shot this using DSO FF58 with oval aperture on 5D/7D (no anamorphic used): I know Rich's aim is not to even to pretend an attempt to replace true anamorphic, but it's looking more and more difficult to tell the difference these days as the refinements to his lenses mimic anamorphic artefacts extremely loyaly. Last years low contrast craze is Not everyone's taste but Rich can keep the contrast levels 'clean' if required, and so many other aberation options can be made to suit the customer. Horses for courses I guess, as anything goes regarding aesthetic choice. But personally I'd recommend if totally new to anamorphic shooting, then maybe start with buying Andrew's shooters guide, buy a Sankor or Kowa duel focus lens to appriciate real anamorphic properties and love/hate issues involved with a duel focus system. Shoot horizontal streak flares for two months of night traffic and sunlight coming through trees in the park, get that out of your system. Then get a DSO lens with 2x oval and realise that it's all about the stretched bokeh/ lower contrast and more subtle rainbow flares, not the horizontal streaks on every light source....but as I say Horses for courses. You can have the best of both worlds by mixing and matching like the Jeremy Snell - 'Imagine' video does above, using FF58 as taking lens to real anamorphic front - and intercut on its own with an oval aperture. I'm off to feed my Horse.

Pass: Centascope Although this is not a great test of sharpness per say - it was to see how it performed at f2 with and without diopters.Looked pretty decent to me when set to minimum focus. Very little image aberration considering it's simplistic and compact design.

The 'white' area is already transparent, it is a .png file with an alpha channel. All you need to do is import it into FCP and place it above your footage on the timeline.

Rear section of that lens is designed to separate from the front half via a single grub screw. It's how you can adjust the fixed focus distance on that lens...use an allen key to loosen/separate and set focus distance by adjusting distance between optics (body is basically two free fitting tubes) - then tighten the single hex screw to fix position. Aligning the two elements is really easy, rotate until image gets sharp...takes about 20 secs to do all of the above. Very nice sharp fixed focus lens.

I already had a 72mm clamp floating around in the draw that came with a morphic lens from years back. Similar to the vid-Atlantic ones, basically a tin tube with rear 72mm thread and nylon screws, not at all Redstan quality but holds it well enough for testing with. As soon as the FM lens is in my hands, I'll probably throw that clamp in the river.

Sounds like they are doing things right, not rushing until they are happy that things are ready. Quite commendable in a world where people are often too keen to rush things out without any care over quality. I'm personally not interested in a discount from 550 Euros, that is a very fair price for something that looks like it will enable many duel/single focus anamorphic projector lenses to be used as single focus units that should rival or maybe surpass the results from some cinema grade optics out there on the second hand market. I do understand that the price could seem steep for some, but it does look like at the price point already set - you are getting a very good deal indeed. To put things into perspective, their price point at the moment is £2k cheaper than an alternative product to be found on this forum.

I asked Anamorphicshop on their Facebook page...apparently they plan to have a focus gear ring as an option. I presume it will be fairly wide (like Helicoptersean's isco 54 seamless ABS gear?) - so the linear travel will not be an issue with follow focus. The focus gear being wider would allow the follow focus gear to always have a 'bite' of the gear, throughout it's 'in-out' travel.

My fantasy camera would not be constrained by optical or sensor limitations. It would capture all light waves (visible and invisible) and combine them into an exploding HDR video rainbow that would instantly create world peace and harmony. It would heal the sick, feed the poor...dispense ice cream and winning lottery tickets for all the poor children in this world. Or an Alexa 65.

'A 4k bayer sensor does not give you 4k. To get a TRUE 4k image you need to start at 6k +, what really matters is dynamic range and colour'. - Geoff Boyle Alexa 65 therefore will probably be the best looking TRUE 4k digital camera to many, as they are capitalising on their proven/ superior colour science knowledge, superb development with Sony for their sensor technology and camera build quality acquired from almost 100 years in the film industry. The larger format look is what will set it apart from the competition...at least until Panavision release what is up their 70mm sleeve. Alexa 65 was used (probably only for testing) on the new Star Wars film, comparison with imax acquisition/ projection no doubt.

Would not normally bother me, but your first post on this forum is advertising. '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>>

Flip a coin, choose a camera you can afford and what your computer can process without exploding. Stop reading blog posts about which camera is 'best'....none of them are perfect, they never will be.....ever. Everyone expects a 'unicorn camera' for nothing these days...it's crazy. I can only comment on shooting 5D3 ML raw and 35mm film. 5d3 raw It is probably the closest (and cheaper alternative) to shooting film In my opinion, slightly clunky processing and large file sizes demand that you shoot in moderation and forces discipline upon you. Dare I say it, teaching the considered craft of filmmaking as well as giving a great deal of latitude in the image to learn about grading and colour correction. A telecine from film negative is pretty much exactly the workflow with ML raw, but thousands of times cheaper! Well worth you trying Magic lantern on your 5d3 and see how you get on with it, this will be much cheaper option, as you already own that camera. If the workflow is too inconvenient to your needs, I'd personally recommend a7s as the next best thing for approximating the 5d3 raw look. GH4 if you want everything in focus and you like your images 'a bit too sharp' - I'm teasing, but I personally think the images from that camera are pretty dull. Probably decent choice for doco work, but only because of that small sensor making the depth of field large enough for Stevie Wonder to focus with.

I wonder how much my Kowa 35 Inflight x1.75 is worth then!?* * does a dance whilst rubbing hands. I think it safe to say that the Kowa 35's were made with top level quality from some of the best designers from that period, same optic quality as used in their cinema scope optics if I recall correctly from Redstan. I don't know the exact jump in quality from 'normal' to 'inflight' versions, but I'm sure the inflights are considerably rarer, if not just for the x1.75 squeeze and larger 54mm rear. Footage looks good, what I'd expect from my kowa = impressively sharp wide open but still very organic. Good luck with the sale.

A world of pain. If you are unsure, I'd say maybe leave it alone...resell it with a clear description of the focus stiffness for a buyer to allow an informed choice on repairing it or not. If this does not interest you, and you fancy attempting a repair yourself -I'd say the best shot to try first is to carefully go in from the front, using a proper tool (spanner wrench to unscrew front retainer ring).This will allow removal of the front optic and allow access to the innards. By unwinding the helicoid you may be able to get access to the movement and thin the old grease with a TINY amount of lighter fluid and swab away some of the old grease with Q-tip/ cotton bud. Then some fresh helicoid grease added. The front optic will have to be orientated back again once you are done, which if you have not done before can be very time consuming and risky - as the edges of the optic will chip very easily. Basically I would not recommend trying anything if you are unsure, it sounds like a full disassembly/ clean and re-lube would be needed to sort out the issue properly, by someone who knows their onions.

The flare from this lens looks like the front and rear optics are not properly aligned - is there any sign that it's been opened for cleaning? Looks like it may not be reassembled properly and is not resolving its optimum sharpness. The streak lines in the flare should always be parallel to each other - some of these look skewed, indicating an internal alignment issue.

Yes, a 50mm OCT-18 anamorphic front will allow a 50 and 75mm taking prime to be swapped. These primes have specific coupling housings to integrate to the front anamorphic to allow unison focus - resulting in a single focus operation. My Oct-18 squarefront + 75mm Lomo prime (PL converted) might be for sale soon.

Buy an SLR Magic Anamorphot :)

I picked up a dirt cheap one on ebay. It flickers on anything higher than 1/50 shutter when on less than 100% power constant output and battery life is not great (only charges whilst USB power connected) The lens array and multi colour LED's inside causes multiple shadows unless heavily diffused. It's a shame - as it had so much promise, but it fell at the final hurdle it seems. Cheap materials make for a squeaky plastic feeling product. Saying that, it works for what I bought it for. I use it for interactive effects lighting for effects work- such as gunshot/lightning flashes of actors faces/eyes etc. you can select decay on flash times to avoid rolling shutter, and it's size can be put anywhere. But I would never use it as a fill or kick light. P.s - Plasma lights are the next thing, they will blow LED fixtures away when out on the market and prices settle down.

I've got an Oct-18 50mm front with 75mm Lomo prime, PL mounted and used on a PL converted 7D. I put a 93>82mm step down on the RAF adapter and use 82mm circular diopters/ ND's/ caps etc. This setup does not vignette on APSC. I also can put an 82>77>82 combo of step rings upfront to create a lip for a clamp on mattebox. If your squarefront is Oct-18, you may have to shave the bolt head of your front lens rail support bracket to get the RAF adapter to fit flush. If your LOMO is Oct-19, you wont have an issue. I just tried it on 5d3 (duel focus configuration) with 85mm taking lens - does not vignette, not sure if that answers your question.

I bypassed the pretty leather cap by buying a diopter holder from RAF camera...enables a circular cap up front, as well as quick filter/ diopter changes: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Diopter-holder-for-LOMO-square-front-anamorphic-lens-or-attachment-93x1-5mm-v2-/141055364173?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20d78e0c4d - But yeah, I would also like to get a leather one made, preferably from an old Russian guy with a beard.

Nice work indeed.

@ Leighton - I have an Iscomorphot 16/2x lens with Redstan clamp for sale if you are interested. It is the focusable version of the fixed 4m iscorama set that Bioskop pointed to. So It will still be a duel focus setup (requires taking lens). But as Bioskop rightly says - they are very sharp and give a lovely look. If you are on full frame, anything above 85mm will work fine. PM me if interested.