Bold

Always hard to pick just one. For me action (or any other) films don't work without sympathetic characters. Ones that are flawed, vulnerable, and nuanced. This is why for me The Road Warrior, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Die Hard work so well, and to me are a definitive trinity of 80's action. Even the antagonists were interesting. There have certainly been other memorable action films before and after. La Femme Nikita, Hot Fuzz, Hardboiled, The Matrix, 13th Warrior, Big Trouble in Little China, Terminator 2, Aliens and Fury Road are a few others that really stand out in my book. Cameron, McTiernan, and even Carpenter were unrivaled in their heyday. Police Story gets an honorable mention for the relentless awesomeness of Jackie Chan's stunt work. I think action loses a lot when it is overshadowed by CGI. While the current deluge of comic book heros provides entertainment for the eyes, most of these films lack any kind of compelling characters and are ultimately forgettable. If I had to settle on just one to call my favorite, I can't decide. Probably a tie between Raiders and Die Hard.

I want to take a moment to thank everyone who contributed to this thread. Tito, Gabriel, Nahua, and particularly Rich, for your support and the invaluable information you shared that allowed me to get from 'novice anamorphhc modder' to 'slightly-less-novice anamorphic modder.' Seriously, without your insights I never would have finished this mod. I now have three working B&H lens mods. Two have the 14mm helicoids, allowing focus to approx 36 inches, and the 30mm helicoid which provides an amazing 8-inch focus distance. The downside on the 30mm helicoid is that: It still requires several barrel rotations to rack focus from 8 inches out to infinity Focus breathing is noticeable particularly at close distances. Not a bad trade-off, to be able to so close with the camera. I'm going to keep one of the 14mm's as well as the 30mm. I've ordered parts to create a second lens bracket, and will bundle that with the remaining 14mm helicoid modded lens for sale on eBay, to recoup some of my costs. As mentioned, I'm thinking of making the helicoid mod & lens bracket available as a kit if enough B&H owners are interested. So let me know if you are. Now I'm ready to start taking my rig out to do some serious test footage. I'm especially interested in trying my Mamiya Sekor 50mm f1.4 and my Angenieux 12-120mm to see results of night shooting and zooming, respectively. Once again, a thousand thank-yous to everyone in this thread for your help. You've allowed me to realize my goal of shooting in widescreen, an ambition I've had every since I bought my first 8mm movie camera so many years ago. I hope the info in this thread has helped other B&H owners take advantage of this lens. Cheers, |. . | .|

Thank you Rich! Just did this for the front element on a B&H and it made things way easier! Cheers, |. . | .|

This video cites several films which switch (or otherwise play with) aspect ratios.

Buggz, have you tried Handbrake? It doesn't do everything that Alex D's script does, but it's a quick way to convert aspect ratios on PC.

Interesting: I began work on modifying my second B&H and noticed that the front element has no black paint on the side, while my first one does. My guess is that Bell & Howell added the step of painting the element during production of this lens. I suspect the unpainted version is the cause of (or adds to) excessive/barrel flare that some people have experienced. If you're brave and have a steady hand, painting the sides matte black is an easy improvement. Also, I'm considering making a mod kit for B&H owners that would include my customized helicoid, plus the custom lens support, along with instructions. If there are enough people interested, and I can figure out an acceptable price point...

I though Rich was re-housing Iscos - or is that a separate endeavor?

This ^ I imagine it's largely a matter of financials: can someone (with the means and machines) create an Isco clone at a price that is both competItive and turns a profit. My guess would be no, otherwise someone would have jumped on this by now. Doesn't mean it couldn't happen in the future though...

Through a combination of small arms fire and hand-to-hand combat techniques, I was able to get this: The apartment in the background is at least 300ft away. It may not be perfectly crisp infinity, but it's within an acceptable margin of error for my uses. Eight inches out to (good enough) infinity, single focus, no vignette (probably down to 50-55mm), light weight, 2x anamorphic. HUZZAH!

No luck. I think there still may be 1-2mm of space between the elements due to the construction of the parts, which I don't know if I can resolve. I don't know if that extra millimeter or two is enough to make a difference. On the plus side I measured and I can focus down to 8 inches. Unfortunately it does not offset the infinity issue for me - what's the point of widescreen if you can shoot some nice, crisp landscapes, right? I'm pretty despondent at this point...

A friend of mine had a bit of a genius idea. Take a piece of lens tissue and put it between the glass elements, assemble everything and tighten/adjust the helicoid so the front glass element just barely touches the anamorphic with the tissue in between. Mark the position of all pieces on the outside of the mod. Disassemble the mod, remove the tissue, then reassemble and tighten/adjust everything to the markings, effectively getting to the two pieces of glass as close as possible without them touching. It may not be enough to resolve true infinity, but the unit may be able to focus far enough to mitigate the issue. I'll try this when I get home. I'm still wondering about John Barlow's negative achromat solution, and what kind of focal length I would need? Achromat math still confuses the hell out of me no matter how many times I read about it. I found a 55mm diameter lens with a focal length of -4000mm. Is that even in the ballpark?

Thanks Gabriel! Rich posted some pictures earlier in this thread which shows his mod focused at infinity, so it be should achievable on mine (in theory). The 3D printed collar only works with the polyurethane piece (this is the part that physically screws onto the front of the B&H) that I made for myself. Without that, the 3D printed part is of no use to anyone. I may consider recreating the whole assembly and selling it, but not until I can resolve some quality control issues - and hopefully the infinity issue. A note about helicoids: the ones on eBay from China that I've gotten use a terrible lubricant which loses viscosity at lower temperatures. Basically the rotation is very stiff when it gets cold. If you experience this problem, you can disassemble the helicoid (don't lose the screws!), remove the grease lubricant and replace it with some white lithium grease for much better focusing action (although reassembling a helicoid in the correct order takes some patience!). This is actually the first thing I do now when I get a helicoid from eBay.

My initial test was disappointing. The mod seems to suffer the same issue QuickHitRecord mentions near the bottom of the first post in this thread, where it can't quite seem to get to infinity. The taking lens is a Helios 44 (not 44-2) that focuses to infinity just fine on its own and is flat up against the back of the B&H. The front element of the mod is sitting in the helicoid nearly touching the front glass of the anamorphic. John Barlow mentions a negative achromat further down in the same thread as a solution. Anyone know of this and how to acquire one? Richg101 (or any other B&H modders out there) do you have any other thoughts/suggestions? I'm hesitant to shorten the distance between the front glass and anamorphic any further because I'm worried about the glass touching each other. On a positive note, the long helicoid allows me to focus down to about a foot (maybe less!) on my Helios without noticeable vignetting. Some mighty focus breathing, though. I'm very close to finishing this mod and would hate to think all my effort has been for naught. Any help on this issue would be greatly appreciated! |. . | .|

Finally, a progress update. A combination of polyurethane casting and 3D printing to mate the B&H anamorphic with the helicoid. A couple 3D printed brackets to hold the front glass element in the M58 Helicoid. Plus some invaluable help from a friend (with a workshop) for marrying the finderscope bracket with the 15mm rail system. The helicoid pictured is 25mm-55mm, in hopes the longer travel distance will allow closer focus. I have a 17-31mm helicoid as a backup in case vignetting on the longer helicoid is too much. This has been an agonizing process full of mis-steps. Fortunately, no anamorphics were harmed in the making of this prototype. Although two helicoids did not make it (RIP). But I'm only a few days away from testing. Everything fits snugly so I'm crossing my fingers that the test footage will be worth the absurd amount of time I've put into this. I hope to have good news soon.

More info on Kowa and Rectilux vs SLR Rangefinder here. I seem to remember Focus Module not performing on the same level as the other two. I'm sure there are more posts on the subject...forum search is your friend! Cheers, |. . | .|

Nice work, Bioskop. Love that opening timelapse!

Yes one should do their research before buying one of these to avoid unrealistic expectations.

That's the DS-1609 model, the WS-13 listed above is far rarer and better in many respects. $320 USD for a DS-1609 is actually a good deal!

Cool. If it turns out the Kiron doesn't meet your needs, the purchase won't have emptied your wallet - and it's easy to resell since it is a well-respected lens among photographers. I'm keen to see how it performs for (anamorphic) filmmaking. I picked up one of these myself, but haven't been able to use it, as I'm still trying to assemble my anamorphic setup. Please post back with footage/impressions if you get a chance! Cheers, |. . | .|

Timpy, If you want a parfocal super zoom, you're unlikely to find one that isn't push-pull. That is, you won't find one with separate zoom & focus rings. Your best bet may be the first (and some argue the best) super zoom, the Kiron (Kino Precision) 28-210mm. It is also found under the name Promaster Spectum 7. KINO PRECISION was started up by engineers who moved from NIKON to make lenses that equalled, or in many cases, were superior to OEM lenses. Their fit, finish, mechanics and optics were top quality. The 28-210mm is a parfocal lens where the front element doesn't turn when focusing. When focused at 200+mm, focus stays spot on down to 28mm. When focused at 28mm, it is a tiny bit off when zoomed to 200+mm. This is attributed to a small amount of human focus error at the low end (28mm) and not a fault in the lens. It's most commonly found for Canon, but I've seen it in Nikon, Minolta, Konica and Pentax mounts. It is very affordable. Here's a little Kiron info from a guy looking for a zoom for his Century Optics and Panasonic anamorphics: Hope this helps! |. . | .|

That eBay seller is a rip-off artist. Anything he's selling, you can find cheaper elsewhere.

Cool, Like you said, the lens is heavier than the camera. That focus crank is an obstacle when it comes to supporting the lens (it pretty much excludes using a lens collar), I'd be interested in seeing your solution. Thanks for reminding me about the stick! I had totally forgotten it's been rolling around in the case my lens came in. Cheers, |. . | .|

Nice work freeman! I have this lens (and GH4) also, but haven't shot much with it yet, I'd love too see a pic of your shoulder rig if you've got one. What are your thoughts/experience using the side-mounted zoom handle (versus manually turning the barrel)?

My local camera shop recommends using lens tissues with 95% isopropyl & breath, or using lens tissues with naphtha. I use the naphtha method with excellent results.