75 GBP vs 750 GBP Single Focus Adapter

[Justin Bacle]

Hello everyone, let me tell you the story of how I got the cheapest single focus solution. And how it compares to the Rectilux HCDNA (results a the end of the post)

Last month, I found this anamorphic adapter on ebay :

It was cheap, and looked like a weird anamorphic projection lens using prisms. So I bought it (Gear Acquisition Syndrome :D).

Then I took it apart to clean it, and noticed it consisted of two prisms (for the anamorphic part) and some kind of focussing solution in the front.

So I 3D printed an adapter for it (around 5GBP printed at a local shop) and tried it. And of course it confirmed to be a single focus solution !

So I had to test it ! Here are the results compared to the hardcore DNA :

Taking lens : Super Takumar MC 105mm f/2.8
Camera : Canon 50D
Anamorphic lens : Schneider Cinelux
Single Focus Solution : Rectilux HCDNA vs GB-Kalee Small Anamorphic (front part)
(Same grade applied to all shots)

Here is a picture of the setup :
 

Of course, the GB-Kalee is less convenient : 

- Minimum focus distance around 1.8m
- Smaller element diameter (would work better with smaller anamorphic)
- More difficult to focus (as my copy of this adapter is quite beaten up)
- Needs a mounting solution for both back and front as there is no filters. (But the HCDNA is similar here are the threads are not standard size)

So, What do you think ? 

I personally think this GB-Kalee needs a rehousing !

[Tito Ferradans]

Today's most frequent search on eBay: "Kalee Anamorphic"

Awesome stuff, Justin!

[Justin Bacle]

6 hours ago, Tito Ferradans said:

Today's most frequent search on eBay: "Kalee Anamorphic"

Awesome stuff, Justin!

Thanks @Tito Ferradans, I knew posting these would make them prices higher. But at it is very uncommon yet, it won't change the market too much I guess.
Plus, there are parts to make to be able to adapt it so that's a lot more work that people may think at first glance :D 
But the results are very promising for sure !

[PepperJay]

Nice find and repurpose--looks part tank now! :D

[Hans Punk]

Inspired by @Justin Bacle and his post, I recently picked up the big brother of the GB-Kalee that had damaged internals - but luckily the front focusing section was in great condition. The optics are a beastly 100mm front and rear so I separated the front focusing assembly and have been pretty impressed by the optic quality and coating.

I post this here as it is a bit more info on the bigger brother of the GB-Kalee Small as it may inspire others to remount or test further these lovely vintage optics as single focus solutions. Unfortunatly I have just started a long term job that does not allow me to spend time playing with re-mounting this beast, so I've decided to sell.

From what I can tell, to get minimum focus on this big boy (of 1m) - the front and rear optics need spacing of approx 40mm...which unfortunately is further than the helicoid will allow without unscrewing and separating the two body halves. However if someone was to re-mount or rail-mount the optics in some kind of MacGyver fashion, you'd have a very tasty big boy focusing optic to play with. Like I said, I now have no time to experiment with this myself, but from some rough handheld tests - it appears to deliver the same high quality as it's smaller Kalee brother, but with bigger optics.

In a shameless move (but target to those following this thread who might find interesting) , here is my focusing assembly listed on ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GB-KALEE-VARAMORPH-Focusing-front-Assembly/253440130338

 

[Rikoshet]

 

On 2/20/2018 at 6:43 PM, Hans Punk said:

Inspired by @Justin Bacle and his post, I recently picked up the big brother of the GB-Kalee that had damaged internals - but luckily the front focusing section was in great condition. The optics are a beastly 100mm front and rear so I separated the front focusing assembly and have been pretty impressed by the optic quality and coating.

I post this here as it is a bit more info on the bigger brother of the GB-Kalee Small as it may inspire others to remount or test further these lovely vintage optics as single focus solutions. Unfortunatly I have just started a long term job that does not allow me to spend time playing with re-mounting this beast, so I've decided to sell.

From what I can tell, to get minimum focus on this big boy (of 1m) - the front and rear optics need spacing of approx 40mm...which unfortunately is further than the helicoid will allow without unscrewing and separating the two body halves. However if someone was to re-mount or rail-mount the optics in some kind of MacGyver fashion, you'd have a very tasty big boy focusing optic to play with. Like I said, I now have no time to experiment with this myself, but from some rough handheld tests - it appears to deliver the same high quality as it's smaller Kalee brother, but with bigger optics.

In a shameless move (but target to those following this thread who might find interesting) , here is my focusing assembly listed on ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GB-KALEE-VARAMORPH-Focusing-front-Assembly/253440130338

 

Hans, do you still have it?

[Hans Punk]

@Rikoshet No, I sold it about 2 years ago.

[Bold]

On 2/20/2018 at 12:43 PM, Hans Punk said:

From what I can tell, to get minimum focus on this big boy (of 1m) - the front and rear optics need spacing of approx 40mm...which unfortunately is further than the helicoid will allow without unscrewing and separating the two body halves. However if someone was to re-mount or rail-mount the optics in some kind of MacGyver fashion, you'd have a very tasty big boy focusing optic to play with.

Does anyone have any thoughts/advice on how to re-mount or re-house one of these big Varamorph bastards?

I don't think there's any kind of helicoid with a large enough diameter for this glass, and custom maching seems prohibitively expensive.

So I'm interested in finding hardware that I could re-purpose (astronomy accessories, or something similar?) to achieve 40-50mm travel distance.

My goal would be to combine such a focus unit with the absurdly giant Bell & Howell 335B. It would be the HEAVIEST anamorphic adapter ever created.  But I suspect it would also allow for a really wide taking lens without vignetting.

[heart0less]

Reach out to https://rafcamera.com/

He's your go-to guy, when it comes to affordable yet custom design regarding helicoids, clamps, etc.

[Bold]

On 4/23/2020 at 8:24 AM, heart0less said:

He's your go-to guy, when it comes to affordable yet custom design regarding helicoids, clamps, etc.

Thanks, I will send him a note. I still fear that his services will be beyond my budget, but it might be worth saving up for.

In the meantime I'm still looking for ideas for doing at-home tinkering & testing with this glass. Where do the anamorphic Dr. Frankensteins shop for their parts & equipment?

My goal is to achieve a taking lens in low 20s range (24mm, e.g.) on 2x scope with a m43 sensor, without vignetting.

(Also the giant glass,100mm diameter, probably means enough light passes through to accomodate even the fastest lens.)

[heart0less]

On 4/24/2020 at 3:06 PM, Bold said:

Thanks, I will send him a note. I still fear that his services will be beyond my budget, but it might be worth saving up for.

I'd say yes - go for it, if you can. You won't be disappointed with his services.

 

On 4/24/2020 at 3:06 PM, Bold said:

My goal is to achieve a taking lens in low 20s range (24mm, e.g.) on 2x scope with a m43 sensor, without vignetting.

If you manage to pull it off, you'll be the first one to do it.
( :

Nonetheless, I wish you luck!

So far, the widest setup I've heard of was:
Sony A7III + Helios 58mm F2 + Kowa 16-H + Century .75x WA converter that acted as both single focus and wide-angle converter (the huge one with the 3 elements, rehoused in a Pooli Century .75x helicoid).

[Bold]

4 hours ago, heart0less said:

So far, the widest setup I've heard of was:
Sony A7III + Helios 58mm F2 + Kowa 16-H + Century .75x WA converter that acted as both single focus and wide-angle converter (the huge one with the 3 elements, rehoused in a Pooli Century .75x helicoid).

So does that work out to about 43-44mm on full frame? Not bad!

35mm projector lenses generally let you go a wider than 16mm lenses. I've read that big 35mm scopes (Bausch & Lomb, e.g) can go as wide as a 35mm taking lens w/o vignetting (I haven't tested this myself). In this Vimeo below someone followed the 'cooking anamorphic' tutorial (a video which I can no longer find... seems to have disappeared from Vimeo) to achieve a 24mm taking lens on an m43 sensor.  Granted there's a LOT of barrel distortion (see the pillars at the 0:45 mark) and edge aberration. 

My uneducated, wild-ass guess is that unaltered, the 335b might allow for 28-30mm with little or no vignetting, as the the glass is almost 20% bigger in diameter. Using the cooking anamorphic technique of shortening the distance between the front & rear elements would definitely allow for 24mm, in theory with less barrel distortion than the B&L.

Of course this would mean it would no longer be 2x anamorphic. But if I could achieve 1.8x it's still enough to produce pronounced oval bokeh.

Shooting with M43 in 4:3 at 2x produces a 2.66:1 aspect ratio. If my math is right, shooting with m43 in 4:3 mode at 1.8x would produce an aspect ratio of 2.40:1

Again, this is all compeletely hypothetical, based on my incredibly limited (and probably flawed) understanding of lens optics 🙂

 

[heart0less]

27 minutes ago, Bold said:

Again, this is all compeletely hypothetical, based on my incredibly limited (and probably flawed) understanding of lens optics 🙂

If you call your knowledge limited, then I don't know what I could say about mine. XD 

 

29 minutes ago, Bold said:

In this Vimeo below someone followed the 'cooking anamorphic' tutorial to achieve a 24mm taking lens on an m43 sensor.  Granted there's a LOT of barrel distortion (see the pillars at the 0:45 mark) and edge aberration. 

I think it's to be expected. 

You are literally bending the universe and going to the extremes of lens coverage. 

 

31 minutes ago, Bold said:

Shooting with M43 in 4:3 at 2x produces a 2.66:1 aspect ratio. If my math is right, shooting with m43 in 4:3 mode at 1.8x would produce an aspect ratio of 2.40:1

Your numbers are 100% correct. 

And that's why Vazen made their lenses 1.8x - so that people won't have to crop anything out of 4:3 video. 

Speaking of Vazen, have you seen their 25 mm T2.2 1.8x anamorphic lens?

 

35 minutes ago, Bold said:

35mm projector lenses generally let you go a wider than 16mm lenses. I've read that big 35mm scopes (Bausch & Lomb, e.g) can go as wide as a 35mm taking lens w/o vignetting (I haven't tested this myself).

Cool! 

If they weren't that big and heavy, they would certainly be far more popular. 

Big single focus solutions are also easier to get nowadays (FVD-35A), so maybe we'll see some change in the future and people will start to carry around those bazookas with them on shoots. XD 

[Bold]

19 hours ago, heart0less said:

If they weren't that big and heavy, they would certainly be far more popular. 

Big single focus solutions are also easier to get nowadays (FVD-35A), so maybe we'll see some change in the future and people will start to carry around those bazookas with them on shoots. XD 

A large majority of anamorphic shooters seem preoccupied - if not obsessed - with run-and-gun setups.  Which is totally fair, who wants to drag a heavy hand-held setup around?  But for me it has never been an issue, as my goal is to shoot narratives someday.  Narratives with pre-planned camera shots, involving tripods and other supports, where weight is far less of a concern.

In the grand scheme of things, a B&L is not that huge. Although an FVD-35A will definitely increase the weight to 5-6 pounds. Still, I bought a couple B&Ls on the cheap a few years ago, and I definitely want an FVD when I can afford it.

The 335b is another story. Combining the B&H and the Kalee, we're talking 10-11 pounds of glass.  Something for that would be for specific needs, like "I need a 24mm low light shot for this John-Car[enter-style horror film I'm shooting."

Vazen is too rich for my blood. If I could afford a Vazen, I could afford to pay a CNC machinist to create a B&L rehousing 🙂

 

[highres]

On 4/5/2020 at 9:30 PM, Hans Punk said:

@Rikoshet No, I sold it about 2 years ago.

Hi Hans, did you have any specific design in mind to modify the Kalee to get to 1m close focus? With a new helicoid, or would it require a whole new housing? Would greatly appreciate it as I have just purchased the same large sized Kalee you had!