richg101 Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I have decided to start developing a series of taking lenses for users of anamorphic lenses, in particular they add a rawness to footage shot with the sometimes 'over clinical' Iscorama, Schneider 35mm Projection lenses, and the high performance Kowas. I have always wanted the sharpness from this type of anamorphot, but wanted the feel of an 8mm anamorphot which seems to add a certain raw and natural quality (see Seb Farges 'Baby Hypergonar' stuff for examples of what I mean). The little lenses might struggle in low light, and sometimes dont match the big boys for sharpness, but they add a real lovely overall aesthetic which I think is lost when you upgrade to an Iscorama. Anyway, I have been compiling some sample footage of flare characteristics and will be adding more as i go. I am currently shooting samples with a 8mm anamorphot and a century 16:9 converter. For now please see the footage shot with Iscorama 36, and in non anamorphic too. Iscorama 36= http://www.vimeo.com/60022405 Iscorama 36 Flares= http://www.vimeo.com/59961537 Century 1.33x Flares= http://www.vimeo.com/60036048 Cinevision 8mm 1.5x Flares= http://www.vimeo.com/60038931 The second link has some information about the lenses. I will be selling these to people who want them. And can customise the characteristics to suit your particular style. I'll probably sell them via ebay. Feel free to make suggestions as to what you might want to see... :) Century and 8MM 1.5x anamorphot flare samples coming up! BydrodoFieddy and Sebastien Farges 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 It's a modified Helios, right? Could you share a bit of the process? what are you actually changing about the lens and how? That'd be interesting to see. richg101 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richg101 Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 It's a modified Helios, right? Could you share a bit of the process? what are you actually changing about the lens and how? That'd be interesting to see. more info to come. i'll post some images up of the production models when I have proper photos of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Y Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Re. your company's name, did you know there is an audio electronics company named Schiit? :) richg101 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBarlow Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Maybe he should change the name to The Dog's Bolex :P Re. your company's name, did you know there is an audio electronics company named Schiit? :) richg101 and A Y 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richg101 Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 I'm glad the name is arousing discussion...:) I thought long and hard about a name. i thought dog shit optics was perfect for the project! Here is the Century 16:9 converter on the 'Flare Factory 58b' - 'b' signifies the blue tint on the flares. the actual blue look it more due to the wb being set for a cool look. This test is more to show the contrast and general look of the lens used in bright overcast situations. http://www.vimeo.com/60107970 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richg101 Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share Posted February 21, 2013 Sebastien Farges, Zmu and Andrew Reid 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy lee Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 is this a 1970's Helios with the black anodising removed? I've been using Helios lenses since 1979 when I got my first and they are great lenses I have about 10 of them all different years versions The Helios is a copy of the Carl Zeiss Biotar 58mm f2 classic lens. I do use the Helios alot with my anamorphic lenses as they flare very nicely and have a nice look about them The Helios is the AK47 of Russian lenses they are cheap and very good , reliable and built like tanks...bullet proof !! they just work very well its a good design copied from Zeiss. What are you doing to these Helios? how are you are modifying them ? Im interested to know how you have improved them this sounds very interesting ! I like the zebras you have added ...cool! richg101 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucker Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 oooh, they look cool as fuck! black lenses are so 80's pc beige :P very nice footage too,... had i not just been on a bit of spending spree i'd definitely pick one up,... might still do,... my helios has been somewhat abused :ph34r: richg101 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 These look great! Wondering when I'd be able to get my hands on them. richg101 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richg101 Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share Posted February 21, 2013 Hey guys. cheers for the comments. @ Andy, yes these are helios 44's. A superb base for the concept. They are sharp and characterful out of the box. 'tanks' as you say:) a superb design. I wouldn't say any 'improvements' are made optically, rather they have worse optical properties!, or should I say, properties lens manufacturers try to remove in order to get cleaner images. Obviously sharpness is maintained, but various tweeks are made to element coatings, tints are applied to give more or less temperature to element glow, to match or contrast the colour of the flares created by your choice of anamorphic lens, anti flare/glare properties are tweeked by machining the inside barrel and metal components. As a result these are less contrasty than a typical standard helios 44. -Almost to the point where you'd want a lens hood on bright days in order to limit the glare to only be prominent in situations where there is a light source in shot, at which point the magic happens. These are certainly not lenses for slick product photography shots, but more for a grungy look, or to add a bit more of a vintage look to the modern and sharp anamorphics which give the lovely bokeh and waterfall distortions but can often lack a bit of visual adhesive we see on the old panavisions and 16mm anamorphots. Once attached to the anamorphot they do a nice job of boosting the general rawness of the image and the lens defects that often result in creation of those lovely optical artifacts. @Brucker. Cheers man. The machining adds a bit of an industrial look to the old and tired helios form. Though these are crisp and sharp looking on the outside, they are graggy/grungy on the inside:). They are not a direct replacement to your standard tired helios 44 - Personally i would say you would want a standard helios in your kit alongside one of these, these are in no way better than a standard helios 44, but just different. If someone wanted a standard helios 44, but with the nice machined finish on the outside we can do this too. @Mondo. Glad you like them:) They will be available soon (within a few weeks). Just sorting out the information, packaging and deciding on the options that will be offered. We will be putting them up on ebay or as direct purchase slightly cheaper if it avoids ebay and paypal fees. I'll send over a sample to EOSHD and let him have a play. Will be nice to see what the master thinks Andrew Reid and Mondo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richg101 Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 'Flare factory 58b' (blue tint), no anamorphot, showing how the blue cast is only apparent when the lens flares up. http://vimeo.com/60224190 The gradations are stressing the camera and vimeo's compression. you can download the file if you want slightly better reference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tito Ferradans Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I want one of these things! richg101 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richg101 Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 They'll be ready soon. I have just set up an album where all of the lens samples can be seen in action in varied situations and arrangements being used with and without various types of anamorphic attachment. http://www.vimeo.com/album/2271288 Please 'Like' us on facebook. We won't be creating a full website so this will be our main place to keep people updated:) http://www.facebook.com/DogSchidtOptiks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richg101 Posted February 26, 2013 Author Share Posted February 26, 2013 Comparison between flares from a standard Helios 44 (which looks beautiful as it is!), and the Flare Factory 58r / 58g. Camera settings were fixed throughout. http://www.vimeo.com/60521495 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richg101 Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 'Covert' Flare Factory in black.. Mondo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 What's the pricing gonna be? I see an offer for 10 gbp off on facebook, but 10 off what? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 That black finish is amazing. Probably looking into one of those bad boys. I agree with Julian. Price?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richg101 Posted March 6, 2013 Author Share Posted March 6, 2013 Hey guys. Cheers for your enthusiasm! :) Price will be around £95-100 on ebay or £85-90 direct via paypal (removing the ebay charges so I'll pass on the savings). This is a fixed price so will cover any option in the pdf list. (**edit** - price has been set to £100 for DSLR and Mirrorless mounts, and £200 for Arri PL) Since some apertures are orientation dependent (ovals need to be perfectly aligned) we wanted to add a mount into the cost that is non thread based so we can set aperture alignment specifically to the mount in our workshop, and avoid a complex alignment by the user should their m42 adaptor have a different fully screwed in position. We recommend EF mount since it is widely accepted, is very secure with less play than most others and is easily adapted to mirrorless via dumb adaptor if you wanted to. Shipping UK: £8 Shipping Worldwide: £15 If anyone wants one of the first batch then please pm or message via the facebook page and I'll get back to you before the ebay listing goes up. Things are taking longer due to sorting controlled tests and a bit of text so people have a better idea of the effects of each option. A rather crazy lens option combination is on its way to Andrew in Berlin at the moment so hopefully he'll be able to put it through its paces and give his take on the concept. I wanted to get a copy to Andrew first since he provides us with such a good community here and the fact that he is likely to give his honest and impartial view of what type of shooter / shooting style the Flare Factory 58 might benefit in a real situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 Sounds reasonable to me Rich! I wonder how you got hold of the lenses. Did you buy everything that passed along on eBay or did you find a hidden stash somewhere? Not that it matters to me, just curious! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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