Izukar-scope by Ichizuka Optics. ( little 8mm fixed focus anamorphic )

[brucker]

http://youtu.be/y2KdP55tIz8

 

I took the Izukar-scope out for a little walk today and for those that are interested, this is what i came back with.

 

i've added a bit of a description in the youtube link, but it's getting a bit late here now, and i'm a bit knackered and a bit sunburnt :(  so i'll just copy that here,... tomorrow i'll add a bit more about what it's like to use and some pics of the lens itself as i plan to put it up for auction.

 

 

 

The Izukar-scope is a fixed focus x1.5 anamorphic lens made for 8mm movie cameras and projectors. Similar to the Sankyoscope, but this is a two optic system rather than a mirror system like the Sankyoscope which makes it quite usable at f2.8 with a good taking lens, kind of alright at f2. 

 

larger apertures and it goes a bit shit since tonnes of light leaks in from the sides washing the image out, and you start getting double vision out on the sides as the taking lens lets  more light in.

 

Made in Japan by Ichizuka Optics, circa a long fucking time ago :)

 

Taking lens: Contax Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f1.4

Camera: Panasonic Lumix GH2

 

Straight out of the camera using the 24p Apocalypse Now Boom hack, no colour or level adjustments done. 

 

Shot mostly at f2.8 - f5.6 at 1/50 24p movie mode with an ND8, ND4 and a polarizer stacked on the front of the Izukar-Scope.

 

Shot at 2pm-ish under harsh light cos i was curious as to how it would do.

 

Close ups done with the dedicated diopter that screws onto the lens.

[brucker]

some pictures of the lens:

 

 

it came to me in that leather kowa case. 

 

 

 

bit of dust inside,.. and a couple of blemishes on the rear lens which wouldnt wipe off below.

 

 

 

it's not bad,.... but then it's not really great either. 

 

the good: 

 

- its a x1.5. 

 

- fixed focus (with a minimum focus of about 8 feet i think) is kinda nice,.. i liked not having to dual focus when i was just out and about. might be good for run n' gun where you're not closer than 8ft,... i rarely do that though so i couldnt say for sure.

 

- it's sharp with a good taking lens as you can see from the video. the diopter as well seems pretty decent, but i'm no glass expert so.

 

- it's sharp at f2.8, and not bad at f2, but a bit harder to pinpoint focus at f2. apparently has to do with it having two optics and not a mirror thingy.

 

- you can kinda of rack focus but its not great,.. more below in the bad.

 

the bad:

 

- fixed focus,.... you can kinda rack focus but not really,... in the video i tried to and you saw how it turned out. the zone in focus tends to move very quickly,.. almost twice as fast as i'm used to. and the contax zeiss has an unusually long focus throw,.. so on lenses with shorter throws, it will be more of a bitch to do. with practice one could get decent i suppose.

 

- the diopter focuses really close,... so while nice, it means you only have down to 5ft,.. then a jump to about a 6inch close up. you'd need a weaker diopter to fill in the gap,.. and it is a bit of a pain.

 

- widest i can go on the GH2 is 50mm,... this has a smaller rear than my shigascope so the vignette is more pronounced than my shigascope on a 35mm distagon. i havent tried my 37mm mir-1B as i dont have an m42->gh2 adapter yet,... but i think the vignette might still be visible. 40mm might be ok but dont take my word for it.

 

 

as far as the image goes,... i think its nice,... but it's not as nice as my shigascope and i like the minimum focus of less than 3ft, i've gotten used to dual focusing and i dont do run n'gun,....plus the bidders on that auction site seem to have gone a bit nuts,... all of which is why i'm letting this one go. 

 

hope this is useful to someone, and if there are any questions do feel free.

 

cheers.

 

Shuji.

 

edit: measured min focus, 8ft

[Ben]

bit of dust inside,.. and a couple of blemishes on the rear lens which wouldnt wipe off below.

 

 

That looks like fungus to me...

[brucker]

yup, is that fungus itself, or the result of fungus? cos it looks like there used to be fungus and the acid has etched the pattern in.

[Ben]

yup, is that fungus itself, or the result of fungus? cos it looks like there used to be fungus and the acid has etched the pattern in.

I'm not exactly sure. This looks like what I've seen on the internet. I've (thankfully) never had a lens with fungus in it.

[brucker]

as a self confessed dumpster diver :P i have had a few with fungus but they were always white and cloudy.

 

after a bit of googleing it looks like the acid from fungus, looks like someone cleaned the fungus up before it got to me.

[tony wilson]

that is a great little lens..

unless it failed before that fungus should come off. many years ago i used diluted hydrogen peroxide with a cotton bud..then wiped then a little lighter fluid then cleaned up with the excellent calotherm and caloclear lens cleaner. only on glass mind. did someone attempt to clean it? on your ebay listing you should state that it should clean up nicely with a service. i really think that can be cleaned up better once serviced by someone good that thing will be great for the black magic pocket cam.

very nice : )

[brucker]

i had a go at wiping it with isopropyl but as i clearly dont know what i'm doing i thought it best not to try anything else. 

 

i received it like this,.. so i dont know if anyone's tried to clean it before. 

 

i'll have a look for some hydrogen peroxide to see if it'll come off, thanks for the tip tony!

 

and yeah it should work great on the pocket cam, i hadnt thought of that! 

 

 

FYI, it is now up for auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300891246344

 

you know you want to gear up for the pocket cam now cos by the time its out these will be stupid pricey! hehe,  :P

[tony wilson]

are you sure it is on the outside this problem is normally internal optic..microscopic pores in factory activated with temp change and sun then damp conditions then more sun.

over time getting worse i have had grass growing inside optics before and had repaired so this is easy.

fungal spores are mainly inside sealed optics.nice warm conditions.

if it is inside unless your feeling sharp i would leave it.

anyone serious will want to get this thing realigned and cleaned to perfection anyway.

[brucker]

haha, seriously, you have the best stories!

 

it looks like its on the outside,.. i can see the thickness of the rear glass and it looks like its on the surface. 

 

but you're right, it would be best for me to leave it,... i've done simple spherical lenses before but with anamorphic the alignment freaks me out. :P

[tony wilson]

it seems very usable already so any tweaks will be a bonus.

with a mild achromatic diopter it will take it to another level.

:) 

[brucker]

yeah it's definitely usable and it is quite nice over a massive Kowa/B&H/Elmoscope as a walk around everyday anamorphic for both stills and video.

 

tried walking around with my elmoscope II one sunday,... epic wankers cramp! killed my wrist like a mothereffer!