Anamorphic for girls.

[Rob Bannister]

I was wondering on that, yes the 2X anamorphics will require something longer then 50 or 58mm like an 85. I was able to use these only on crop mode. The 1.5X anamorphics could be used with something around 50mm

[dhessel]

A Helios 44 should be top of your list in terms of equipment (if you're mad enough to not yet have one already!)  Most anamorphics will vignette slightly on full frame with a 58mm, but the vignette/barrel glow is slight and very beautiful

 

That is true if shooting wide open but not stopped down. M17-1640 above was shot wide open and M17-1736 (2) was shot stopped down with a helios 44-2. There a fair amount of vignetting even with being shot at 1472 x 1250, its not even using the full frame of the sensor only 75% of is width. It is using the full height though.

[Rob Bannister]

There is a kowa 16h for sale on ebay buy it now for cheap. Grab it, GRAB IT!

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kowa-Prominar-Anamorphic-16-H-RARE-/261325331624?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cd8341ca8

 

Just popped up on my watch list.

[Tito Ferradans]

Wow, it's really cheap!

[Christina Ava]

"It is not visible on the pictures, but when you see the rear glass through the light, very tiny coating loss dots covering the rear glass can be seen(I can not accept any claims nor return/refund on this issue, sold as is).    

"

 

dots covering the rear glass...thats why its cheap

[Tito Ferradans]

if it doesn't show up in the final image, it's good enough for me, specially at this price. hahaha.

I'd say it's cheap because the seller isn't fully aware of the anamorphic market nowadays.

[Christina Ava]

Hi guys and thanks, are you familiar with the seller; has anyone bought anything;

Yes it says it doesnt show on final picture, but who knows there are no pics or videos attached.

I am keen on it, actually 

[Tito Ferradans]

I'm not familiar with the seller, and haven't bought anything from him.

Actually, I tend to trust on what people are saying, and got pretty lucky with that so far. hahahaha. I can't even notice the markings on his photos, and, I bet that he tried to show it somehow.

 

You can ask him for sample images, but with all attention around it, I think it will be sold in a day or two - I mean, it was listed yesterday and had four offers already. Somebody will soon have the guts to buy-it-now.

[JohnBarlow]

This is a fair price for a new condition boxed scope

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kowa-Bell-and-Howell-2x-Anamorphic-Lens-Perfect-Condition-w-Lens-caps-RARE-/181235078150?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item2a3273d406

[Rob Bannister]

yup that is true, its kinda weird that a lot of these are getting a somewhat fair price recently.

[Christina Ava]

I had some insights from a person that owed and sold the lens. He said that while the lens is one of the best in 2x category the 3.65:1 aspect ratio is too wide, and the dual focusing is a extra hassle. His final comment was that most people who buy anamorphics make a video of their cat and then sell them...i am still laughing at this remark.

Most of these lenses are good for static camera settings, i employ movement, handheld so i guess i can train, but i need a lens that can handle minimal movement. what do you think?

 

:) 

[dhessel]

The 2x producing a 3.66 aspect is very wide as you have stated, personally I was surprised that this super wide aspect didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. Interestingly once you go past 2.35 wider aspects become less and less noticeable.

 

That said I always crop my videos to at most a 2.66 aspect when I am not shooting raw. For me the 2x squeeze factor is worth having because you will have more of anamorphic character in your footage compared to a 1.33x squeeze. There are some adapters that have 1.33x squeeze and these produce images with a 2.35 aspect but having to crop is a good thing. Regardless which adapter you choose you will have to post process the footage to un-squeeze it having extra width gives you some flexibility to re-frame your shots. This can be quite handy depending on how you are monitoring your shots.

 

Unless you have the budget you are going to find that dual focus is something you are going to have to live with. Your shots don't have to be locked down, hand held is fine as long as you can maintain the same distance from the subject.

 

A while back I did a shoot of my kid in a play class all hand held with lots of movement. I shot at f2 and was kicking myself thinking that most of the footage was going to be out of focus. So much so that I didn't even bother to look at it for a month or two. Recently I decided to check it out and see what I could salvage and the vast majority of it was good. Anamorphics are restricting and extra work but you don't have to be completely locked down either. Of course things get more and more forgiving as you stop down. 

 

I have only been using my anamorphic for a few months so I am by no means an expert. I still need a lot of practice and make mistakes from time to time. Not properly aligning the adapter and getting slanted footage for example. I have found that once you get used to not being able pull focus and have adapted your shooting style accordingly that it is not all that different. 

[dhessel]

Also I may be biased I would definitely recommend the Kowa 16H or 8Z for you and your shooting style. The lens posted above may be worth the risk, if the dots don't show its more than half the price they normally are.

 

The Kowa is fairly small and not too heavy, smaller than my canon 24-105mm. I do not use a railing system at this point I just screw it into the front filter thread. It is sharp, a cinemascope lens, has nice flares that are not too extreme, short focus distance of 4.5 feet, and it can go as low as 75mm on a full frame without vignetting or all the way down to 58mm wide open with correctable vignette if you choose.

 

Here is the Kowa attached to my massive helios 40.

 

 

 

 

Most other adapters require much longer focal lengths the sankor for example requires 135mm if I remember correctly.

 

On a side note, if you have not installed magic lantern on your 5D3 I would absolutely recommend it is well even if you don't want to shoot raw video. The focus peaking and magic zoom are awesome and I use them all the time, even for stills. 

[Rob Bannister]

Yeah if you are cording on the sensor at 16X9 then you will get 3.25:1 which is really wide.

 like this

 

https://vimeo.com/71625038

 

But if you can go 4X3 by using ML then the 2X ratio is more preferred. Like this, shot on the epic in Ana mode using a lomo 2X 50mm

 

https://vimeo.com/73551194

 PASS is ram

 

And one more flare test so I could recreate it later

https://vimeo.com/74545928

 

 

 

If you can afford it go with a lomo, isco or anamorphot that has a single focus system. Even a lomo squarefront can be amazing if you get one in good condition. I loved my kowa but sold it to get a Trump to use a 1.5X oval aperture with the 1.5X iscorama getting me the 2X look.

[Tito Ferradans]

For me the 2x squeeze factor is worth having because you will have more of anamorphic character in your footage compared to a 1.33x squeeze. 

 

This is absolutely true. If you shoot raw, you're able to use a 4:3 portion of the sensor, and the destretching gets you 2.66:1 aspect ratio.

I think that 2x lenses are really wide, but when you can incorporate the look into a shoot, it's absolutely amazing and stands out of the crowd almost immediately.

 

Double focus was too painful for me, so I ended up selling all my lenses which worked this way. Over the last year I had over a dozen anamorphics shipped in and out of Brazil, and just recently I've made up my mind about the ones I'll definitely keep (LOMO Foton-A and Iscorama pre-36) and the rest that I'll sell (about 4-5 lenses).

 

It's not an easy game, and that's why too many people get in and out so quickly. It's waaaay more complex than shooting regular footage, but once you master it, it's waaaay more beautiful and has a ton of character. :P

[Tito Ferradans]

The funniest thing about using 3.56:1 aspect ratio, like Rob's clip is that you can notice the uneven compression on the border area, where things appear thinner and get into proportion as they reach the center of the frame. Of course, this is HIGHLY increased as you use a wider lens - I'd say Rob shot this with a Helios 44.

 

Longer lenses don't show this part of the anamorphic glass, and avoid this weirdness. hahaha

[Rob Bannister]

yes cause of the 2X stretch like you guys said it was some 50mm like a helios or the nikon 50 1.4D, I shot using the crop mode so 1.5X or else it would vignette because of the stretch factor

[nahua]

If you want to see what the Panasonic LA7200 and Sankor 16D look like on the Canon 5DmkIII check out my video when I was in NYC:

 

 

Sankor 16D 2x starts at 3:22.  Understand that I stick to the 2.35:1 aspect ratio and crop the picture.  That way I can use even the Helios 58mm F2 even though it's at the edge of vignette.  From the video you can see what lenses work for you.  But I recommend cropping, even if recording with 1920x1280 3:2 mode with Magic Lantern RAW.

[nahua]

I also have my other test using the Sankor 2x and comparing Magic Lantern RAW 1920x1080 versus 1920x1280 modes:

 

 

Again, this is cropped to 2.40:1 so that wider lenses can be used.  I recommend 1920x1280 3:2 mode because you crop less and more of the sensor is used.

[yannis.zach]

yeia sou ellada!

Hi Chris, have you read the anamorphic guide by Andrew, so to have an idea of some important characteristics concerning the compatibility of your gear (camera+lenses+anamorphic lens) & what the result may be? If not, I suggest you'll do. Send me a pm. From my small experience, Panasonic LA7200, Century, or Optex will fit you most and you'll avoid the cost for a clamp, as the need just a normal step-up ring to adjust the anamorphic on the taking lens. I have the last 2 (but for use on m4/3) and I'm very pleased with the results. Right now I'm waiting to receive the D610 so to make a test on FullFrame too. Also add to your budget some money for close-up filters (diopters) and you will need of course a filter clamp to attach the close-up filter on the anamorphic. Which meansthe extra: ~€70 (shipped) for the clamp (if you'll purchase a Century or OPTEX) and ~€75 for diopters (you'll need at least a +0.5 & a +1 close-up). *By the way, filter clamp only from Redstan.com & he has the last one for sale which fits to both Century/Optex. After that he told me that no more again...

Hope that helped,

Yiannis.

ps: I saw your work, well done!