Iscorama 54 Aperture test with Achromats & Diopters

[JaeM]

Hi there - here's a link to download this test:

http://vimeo.com/jaemorrison/iscorama54test01

 

I was interested in seeing what Apertures were sharp with different Achromats & Diopters.

 

Rather than waste even more time cutting a boring video,

I've just uploaded a boring image sequence for you to download and step through frame-by-frame. 

 

The Achromats and Diopters tested were:

 

Redstan +.25 Achromat

Tokina +.4 Achromat

Voightlander Focar A

Voightlander Focar B

And some stacked combinations of the above.

 

Apologies if the test isn't ideal (h264 certainly isn't) - thought it was worth sharing as I've learnt a lot from people posting stuff here.

 

Cheers,

Jae.

 

[Bioskop.Inc]

Hi there - here's a link to download this test:

http://vimeo.com/jaemorrison/iscorama54test01

 

I was interested in seeing what Apertures were sharp with different Achromats & Diopters.

 

Rather than waste even more time cutting a boring video,

I've just uploaded a boring image sequence for you to download and step through frame-by-frame. 

 

The Achromats and Diopters tested were:

 

Redstan +.25 Achromat

Tokina +.4 Achromat

Voightlander Focar A

Voightlander Focar B

And some stacked combinations of the above.

 

Apologies if the test isn't ideal (h264 certainly isn't) - thought it was worth sharing as I've learnt a lot from people posting stuff here.

 

Cheers,

Jae.

Nice one Jae, that will make a good reference guide - since i have the same set up.

Nice to see that the Focars hold up quite well in comparison to the Tokina.

Which Redstan +0.25 do you have - is it a doublet?

 

The only problem is that the Helios 40-2 is v.soft wide open (I love it, but for a test...), have you tried it with something like a Super-Takumar 55mm f1.8 - so far that seems to be my sharpest combo with the 54.

 

Thanks again

[JaeM]

Yeah, it does go a bit crap wide open, you're right.

I've got some other Helios 58s / Super Taks 50s that I'll do it again on too - just ran out of energy after that one.

Will link a Prores4444 version to this too on a dropbox link.

Yes, it's the doublet from Redstan.

 

I'd be interested to hear what lenses you've found the sharpest combos - had a Mir-1b on a scarlet with this adapter at 4K, was soft round the edges, but in a good way.

[JaeM]

Here's a prores4444 version:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5e0e6o8q1668wnu/Iscorama54_Diopter_Aperture_Test_prores4444.mov

[Bioskop.Inc]

I'd be interested to hear what lenses you've found the sharpest combos - had a Mir-1b on a scarlet with this adapter at 4K, was soft round the edges, but in a good way.

As I said the Super-Tak 55mm f1.8 & 35mm f3.5 are v.good for sharpness.

 

The Russain lenses can be a bit of a crap shoot quality-wise & the Mir 1b does seem to be the weakest link (still nice though), but have you tried the Mir 24 35mm f2 (it comes in Nikon or M42 & is MC) its much better.

The other Russains that i like are the Tair 11a, Jupiter 9 ( a 85mm f2 - dreamy wide open like the Helios 40-2) & the classic Helios 44-2.

 

The Yashica ML lenses are good on a budget or if you've got the money Zeiss Contax (obviously).

 

I've recently switched cameras to the BM Pocket & have been using a Nikon 24mm f2.8 ai-s which is proving to be excellent (will post a grading test soon), so am really tempted to go the whole hog & get a set. However, I love my Russain lenses & would rather wait a little to see if the Canon EF Speedbooster gets released.

 

On a slightly different note, I got the chance to see the original box for the 54 & it did state that it was optimised to be used with Zoom lenses as well as Primes. So I've been really tempted to try this out with either the Angenieux 35-70mm + speedbooster or the Meteor 5-1 16-69mm f1.9 (a 16mm film lens) - probably the later as its way cheaper & Russain.

 

The Helios 40-2 is a lovely lens & the swirly bokeh wide-open is to die for & a test chart isn't the same as actually filming with it - love it, just can't use it with the Pocket cam.

I've got one of his Angenieux single +0.25, but your doublet really sharpens things up nicely - i was really tempted to get one.

 

Anyways, nice test & thanks for the ProRes version!

[JaeM]

Thanks for your info, keen to try a set of Nikkors Ai-s on them too,

and that's really interesting that the box said they're designed for zooms.

 

I've updated the vimeo video and dropbox link (probably still uploading) with the following lenses:

 

Asahi Pentax Super Takumar f/1.4, 50mm
Helios 77M-4 f/1.8, 50mm
Helios 44 f/2, 58mm
Helios 44M-4 f/2, 58mm
Helios 40-2 f/1.5, 85mm

 

 

Will keep adding to it as I get through my other lenses - I have the Tair & Jupiter too.

[Bioskop.Inc]

Thanks for your info, keen to try a set of Nikkors Ai-s on them too,

and that's really interesting that the box said they're designed for zooms.

 

I've updated the vimeo video and dropbox link (probably still uploading) with the following lenses:

 

Asahi Pentax Super Takumar f/1.4, 50mm
Helios 77M-4 f/1.8, 50mm
Helios 44 f/2, 58mm
Helios 44M-4 f/2, 58mm
Helios 40-2 f/1.5, 85mm

 

 

Will keep adding to it as I get through my other lenses - I have the Tair & Jupiter too.

Thanks for doing this & the time/effort it takes to do it.

Just out of interest, which camera are you using - scarlet or...?

 

The Zoom thing freaked me out & i've seen a couple of posts where people have talked about using Zooms with the 54, but to get it from the horses mouth was reassuring. However, I wouldn't have thought it was that practical, since the 54 isn't the smallest lens & lens support is essential, especially with the tiny Super-Taks. So really need an internal zoom.

 

>

[Rudolf]

Hi Jae!

Thank you very much for your work! Very informative and good to know especially if you are on film and doing tests like these cost you

a lot of money :)

 

 

 

On a slightly different note, I got the chance to see the original box for the 54 & it did state that it was optimised to be used with Zoom lenses as well as Primes.

The 54 was (and still is) often used on Super-8 cameras. Most of these cameras have zooms.

Mostly from Schneider, some Angenieux. The Schneider Optivaron for example is a very sharp lens.

6-66mm F 1.8 and has 62mm thread. The 54 had a step-ring for that size.

 

Maybe I shoulde try my Optivaron for Leitz with an adapter on the GH3...

The Angenieux lenses tend to be softer and have less contrast

[JaeM]

Here's a new link to an updated prores4444 version:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ef7ov6o5x52i14y/R6cSuFmo-c

and Vimeo link:

https://vimeo.com/88869240

 

ANAMORPHIC ADAPTER: 
Iscorama 54

ACROMATIC DOUBLETS / DIOPTERS:
Redstan +.25 Achromat
Tokina +.4 Achromat
Voightlander Focar A Diopter
Voightlander Focar B Diopter

LENSES
Carl Zeiss Jena DDR Flektogon f/2.4, 35mm
Mir-1B f/2.8, 37mm
Asahi Pentax Super Takumar f/1.4, 50mm
Helios 77M-4 f/1.8, 50mm
Helios 44 f/2, 58mm
Helios 44M-4 f/2, 58mm
Helios 40-2 f/1.5, 85mm
Helios f/2.8, 135mm
Tair 11a f/2.8, 135mm
Jupiter 6-2 f/2.8, 180mm
Carl Zeiss Jena DDR Flektogon f/2.8, 20mm (Paired with 1.33x Panasonic Ag-La7200)

[Dave Reeve]

Wow great resource! Will check it in detail soon.

[Shredflakes]

hey there!

how does the reds tan .25 compare to the tokina .4, both in terms of added sharpness and CA reduction; and focus range?

 

I have the Tokina and it's great, but would love some more control of focus range.

 

Thanks!

[Lucian]

Interesting, I didn't know redstan's doublet had arrived! I think I may have to sell a tokina and buy one.

 

Who's tried one? at .25 you could almost put one on and rarely take it off your anamorphic.

[kado]

Interesting, I didn't know redstan's doublet had arrived! I think I may have to sell a tokina and buy one.

 

Who's tried one? at .25 you could almost put one on and rarely take it off your anamorphic.

whats the focal range (min to max) of a .25 diopter on an isco 54?

[Lucian]

on further inspection 82mm i'm not sure ithe 0.25 would be a good match for the iscroama 36, you'd need to add step rings which would increase vignette even further (doublets are quite chunky and increase vignette threshold quite a bit already)