What do you think of these new single focusing solutions?

[funkyou86]

Hey'all!

I noticed on the anamorphic shooters facebook group that there are new "home made" single focusing solutions up for sale, especially from Russia. And the tests look great, it's sharp wide open. However, there is no background info. What do you think about these adapters?

[heart0less]

I'm not quite sure what to think of them, to be honest.

If they cost 100-200$, then I'd say go for it, but they're usually listed for at least 400$. 

At this price point, I'd prefer buying FVD16A from Rapido which sells for 550$.

[TurboRat]

10 minutes ago, heart0less said:

I'm not quite sure what to think of them, to be honest.

If they cost 100-200$, then I'd say go for it, but they're usually listed for at least 400$. 

At this price point, I'd prefer buying FVD16A from Rapido which sells for 550$.

Is Rapido taking orders again? From their FB page? Also aren't there Anamorphic lenses with built in focusing, so that would remove the need for a focusing solution. Sorry I'm a total noob when it comes to anamorphic shooting, just asking

[heart0less]

22 minutes ago, TurboRat said:

aren't there Anamorphic lenses with built in focusing, so that would remove the need for a focusing solution

There are, but then you need to double focus. Firstly, your taking lens, then the anamorphic lens. It's quite a pain in the long run. 

 

23 minutes ago, TurboRat said:

Is Rapido taking orders again? From their FB page?

Their next FVD batch is due by the end of November. Not sure about their fb page, but their own website works good. 

[funkyou86]

1 hour ago, heart0less said:

I'm not quite sure what to think of them, to be honest.

If they cost 100-200$, then I'd say go for it, but they're usually listed for at least 400$. 

At this price point, I'd prefer buying FVD16A from Rapido which sells for 550$.

Yep, the tend to sale around 400 dollars. All i know is that they are based on a helicoid. Rapido have shown it's great quality, unfortunately it's cost much higher due the import charges to europe. So could these home made variable diopters be as good as the rapido? The wide open tests are great. The "B&H focuser" (as JSD calls it) is also great alternative, unfortunately, overseas again, yet i don't see a big compromise in the image quality.

Thanks for your replies! 

[heart0less]

17 minutes ago, funkyou86 said:

So could these home made variable diopters be as good as the rapido?

We'll never know unless one of us actually buys it.

( :

But pay 400$ for something that may prove to be a scam..? I guess I'm not that desperate. 

 

Yeah, import charges and shipping itself are cruel. I live in Europe, too. 

[Timotheus]

If you can live with the blue flares and low sharpness below f2.8, the new "Near/Far" SLR Magic Rangefinder is an okay budget solution at $279 in the US. In my country it's at 389 euros unfortunately, but still the cheapest, easily available option.

Now if they could just release one with neutral coatings...

[Ichidomo]

On 11/2/2018 at 4:00 PM, heart0less said:

 

 

Yeah, import charges and shipping itself are cruel. I live in Europe, too. 

I have the FVD16a from Rapido and it's a really good performer. No degradation of the image and sharp wide open. Concerning the import taxes I asked if they could ship with a low invoice rate. If customs doesn't open the box check the real value the import tax is really low, I only paid €26 to customs. It's no guarantee though but it worked out for me.

[funkyou86]

5 hours ago, Ichidomo said:

I have the FVD16a from Rapido and it's a really good performer. No degradation of the image and sharp wide open. Concerning the import taxes I asked if they could ship with a low invoice rate. If customs doesn't open the box check the real value the import tax is really low, I only paid €26 to customs. It's no guarantee though but it worked out for me.

I noticed that it is a bit heavier the the SLR Rangefinder, are you able to mount it when shooting on the a crane2? Thanks!

[Ichidomo]

On 11/4/2018 at 7:57 AM, funkyou86 said:

I noticed that it is a bit heavier the the SLR Rangefinder, are you able to mount it when shooting on the a crane2? Thanks!

When I fly my anamorphics I don't use any singlefocus solution since I can't do any remote focusing anyway (atleast without a puller). I keep the subject within a certain distance.
 I don't own the crane 2 so can't say anything about that but I do own a gimbal which held my setup fairly nice, albeit without a variable diopter.

[heart0less]

Reviving this thread, since I became an owner of one of these new single focus solutions.

 

A brief myFM (Евгений Мыреев's single focus) review.

 

I wasn't asked to write it, nor did I get any discount / money / ANYTHING for doing it.
Just my personal, unbiased opinion.

 

Build quality:
It's pretty robust, but light at the same time.

There is some really slight loosness when focusing. It's nothing dramatic, but it's there.
Otherwise, it's quite smooth, but no buttery smooth - just what you could expect from a Chineese helicoid.
I've owned a SLR Magic Rangefinder before and must admit that focusing with the Rangefinder was better than with myFM.

MyFM features M65 threads (both rear and front) which may prove to be quite difficult to mount.

I contacted Arkadiusz Kroma (who happens to live in my close vicinity, hahaha) and after providing him with some measurements, he managed to produce an amazing front clamp that fits myFM and golden Isco Ultra Star just perfectly.
Just to let you know: I realize it’s quite a controversial mod, but I had my Isco lathed in order to mount a diopter as close to the front glass as possible. Arkadiusz took into account and his clamp sits just above Isco’s barrel.

 

Optics:
Now, this is where it shines.

Test setup: Panasonic G80 / G85 + Helios 44-4 (58mm f/2), both with and without Viltrox EF-M2 + Isco Ultra Star 1st gen; all photos took at f/2

I attach sample photos and a link to RAW files so you can judge it yourself, but I’m pretty amazed.
(They may be misaligned and I'm deeply sorry for it. Had to hold the anamorphic adapter in my hand, because I'm waiting for a proper lens collar.)

Order of photos attached to the post:
1 - no speedbooster, no anamorphic adapter,
2 - no speedbooster, anamorphic adapter, no single focus,
3 - no speedbooster, anamorphic adapter, single focus
4 - speedbooster, no anamorphic adapter,
5 - speedbooster, anamorphic adapter, no single focus,
6 - speedbooster, anamorphic adapter, single focus

Sharpness and contrast seem to be unaffected, even wide open.
It does introduce some tiny chromatic aberration on edges of the frame, but it’s almost unnoticeable, especially when compared SLR Magic RF, which in this field is just awful.

Coatings look gorgeous. They are mostly purplish, but sometimes show a bit of amber.

Flares: Fortunately, there is no blue blob or any other creature, haha.
I don't know why, but it seems to mute reflected flares just a little.
Take a look at the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUa6B7E6oUM

It’s also worth noting, that myFM works as a delicate wide angle converter. It widens your field of view by 0.92x

 

And the biggest drawback: vignetting.

Since myFM is built with ~62 mm diameter glasses, it won’t allow you to go as wide as HCDNA or FVD-16A do.

With my setup, I get a noticeable hard vignette.

58 mm * 0.695 (Viltrox EF-M2) * 0.92 (myFM wide angle abilities) * 2 (G80 crop) = 74.17mm (35mm eqv.)

Just by removing Viltrox from the equation, I get a 106mm eqv. and no vignette.

 

Right now, I don’t own any lenses between 58 and 135 mm so I can’t perform more tests.
I hope I’ll be able to adapt my Schneider 75/2 soon.

 

Questions?

Regards!

 

Link to samples:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IwkW08EzCk6o5lf4m3bFVii0Brd2OtR1/view