Showing the Iscorama fast and wide

[richg101]

I wanted to show how the Iscorama 36 delivers when fitted to a fast 50mm on full frame.   boring imagery I'm afraid

 

due to the size of the sensor the field of view obtained here is very close to that which you would expect from a 35mm focal length anamorphic on 4perf 35mm film.  A 35mm anamorphic lens is considered wide, and anything beyond that is considered a 'special effects' type lens as far as i am aware.  I feel the ability to obtain a wide angle from a anamorphic is a very desirable attribute.  A fast wide is the holy grail.

 

The magic is that despite the fact that we are getting a little fringing on leaves (characteristics of the 50mm lens when wide open), the results at f1.4 (t1.5) are astounding when you consider the width of frame and the control of dof possible on this combo. 

 

 

 

to me I think this is the benchmark the new bunch of single focus options should be compared against.  

 

-can they deliver this field of view/dof combination? nearly what you;d expect from a motion picture 35mm anamorphic from the likes of panavision.

-can they deliver the above without adding CA or softening at f1.4?

-can they do this on a full frame sensor?

-can they do this without adding vignette?

-can they provide this without the need for additional support?

 

-ultimately, can the new options improve on the Iscorama when the above criterion are met?

 

This is not a poke at the new units, but a personal opinion of my own which i feel needs to be considered.  For example since the SLR magic anamorphot arrived not a single user has really put it through any challenging tasks and as such, we are now seeing many appearing on ebay due to what i imagine is disappointment from users expecting more from it.  at the time of launch of the slr magic iscoramas went down in value slightly.  of recent i have seen a lot coming up for sale - from people thinking about the new options around the corner?  who knows?

 

if we had seen the slr magic tested on a f1.4 prime on full frame we'd have probably seem more obvious oval bokeh, however, will it have been so soft the results are null and void?  We need to see these things IMO.  

 

 

 

[dahlfors]

As a coincidence, this week I just looked at some of my older shots with the Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D used as taking lens for Iscorama. A bit of vignetting for sure, but very beautiful performance nonetheless.

[QuickHitRecord]

I think that this is a good idea, Rich. I'll throw my B&H into the ring if I can get the math right (and the appropriate wide angle adapter).

[richg101]

I think that this is a good idea, Rich. I'll throw my B&H into the ring if I can get the math right (and the appropriate wide angle adapter).

 

I grabbed one of those b+h's and thought they had everything (lush flare, good performance-considering their size, great bokeh rendering).  it is literally the 5 turns worth of focus ring that keeps them from being useable.  

 

going back to my original post, I don't think it is crucial for the new ones to out perform or even meet this benchmark, but at least show how they compare so people can see if they are worth an investment.   

[Nikkor]

What I have noticed with early (pre-ai,ai) 50mm nikkors with the isco ultra star ,sankor,and the single focus b&h is that the aberrations from the nikkors get exagerated by the anamorphics, and these aberrations are not beautiful to begin with (with natural light, artifical low light make them shine like with most vintage glass). 

 

I hope you found my info helpful, I can post samples with the sankor or the b&h as I don't have the golden isco here right now.

[Lucian]

Rich, I use the iscorama with my fujinon 25mm f0.85 wide open without problems :) (this on s16 sensor)

 

I agree regarding focal lengths limits at the wide end. Shooting narrative indoors with a vignette limit worse than the iscorama would be pretty cramped, I struggled to get the shots I wanted at times due to the vignette limits. I often use a century optics wide angle adapter now as suggested by Andy and it works a treat when you need a bit extra. And at 0.85 with diopters there is no problem extreme oval bokeh even on s16.

[richg101]

Rich, I use the iscorama with my fujinon 25mm f0.85 wide open without problems :) (this on s16 sensor)

 

I agree regarding focal lengths limits at the wide end. Shooting narrative indoors with a vignette limit worse than the iscorama would be pretty cramped. I often use a century optics wide angle adapter as suggested by Andy and it works a treat. And at 0.85 with diopters there is no problem extreme oval bokeh even on s16.

 

Lovely.  I'm assuming you;re getting very similar dof to this test i did - which is quite a feat on s16mm.  off the top of my head, your setup (25mm f.85 is approximately the same as a 75mm f1.4 on full frame?  bet that looks wild.  samples please!

[Lucian]

I will try to dig some out soon. I shot a bunch of test footage of typical close ups with oval city lights in bg a few months ago, just to see if I could on s16. 2 tokinas to really push it haha :)

 

I actually love the plastic iscorama because it's so light I can actually do geurilla & handheld on the d16. I even made a

camera bag with a hole in the bottom for the pistol grip and foam cushion for to support he isco so I can just rip it out

and go and then drop it back in and run!

[richg101]

I will try to dig some out soon. I shot a bunch of test footage of typical close ups with oval city lights in bg a few months ago, just to see if I could on s16. 2 tokinas to really push it haha :)

 

I actually love the plastic iscorama because it's so light I can actually do geurilla & handheld on the d16. I even made a

camera bag with a hole in the bottom for the pistol grip and foam cushion for to support he isco so I can just rip it out

and go and then drop it back in and run!

 

double tokina?  Hark at you!  I was shooting with the rama and a +2 century achromat on a job last week.  50cm maximum focus.  ovals from the gods:)  

[QuickHitRecord]

For those who are curious, here's my 16mm B&H footage. It has been stretched and graded slightly. No sharpening or window treatments whatsoever. The panning is to show distortion and falloff:

 

 

Granted, I had to cut some corners to get here. I added a wide angle converter to the mix to get close to an S35 35mm equivalent while cropping in ML raw to 1344x1008 (I usually work with this crop). And this isn't a 50mm f/1.4 taking lens either. I find that the best taking lens for the B&H is the Olympus Zuiko 100mm on my 5D3 because it's so small and manageable. This combination gives me a neat 47.6mm S35 field of view (close enough to 50mm for me). Adding my new Sony VCL-HG0758 Wide Angle Converter brings me down to 33.33mm (S35). 

 

To answer Rich's questions as best I can:

• Can they deliver this field of view/dof combination? Yes, but only with a Wide Angle Converter.
• Can they deliver the above without adding CA or softening at f1.4? I haven't tried it at f1.4, but it's pleasantly soft at f2.8.
• Can they do this on a full frame sensor? See above.
• Can they do this without adding vignette? See above.
• Can they provide this without the need for additional support? I would recommend using a support.

As a former Iscorama owner, I am still pleased as punch with this lens. I love the 2x stretch and with the modification I did, it rack focuses easily. There's no additional glass elements in front of the lens to worry about unless I need to attach the the wide angle converter. It's a pretty nice lens.

[richg101]

 

For those who are curious, here's my 16mm B&H footage. It has been stretched and graded slightly. No sharpening or window treatments whatsoever. The panning is to show distortion and falloff:

 

 

Granted, I had to cut some corners to get here. I added a wide angle converter to the mix to get close to an S35 35mm equivalent while cropping in ML raw to 1344x1008 (I usually work with this crop). And this isn't a 50mm f/1.4 taking lens either. I find that the best taking lens for the B&H is the Olympus Zuiko 100mm on my 5D3 because it's so small and manageable. This combination gives me a neat 47.6mm S35 field of view (close enough to 50mm for me). Adding my new Sony VCL-HG0758 Wide Angle Converter brings me down to 33.33mm (S35). 

 

To answer Rich's questions as best I can:

• Can they deliver this field of view/dof combination? Yes, but only with a Wide Angle Converter.
• Can they deliver the above without adding CA or softening at f1.4? I haven't tried it at f1.4, but it's pleasantly soft at f2.8.
• Can they do this on a full frame sensor? See above.
• Can they do this without adding vignette? See above.
• Can they provide this without the need for additional support? I would recommend using a support.

As a former Iscorama owner, I am still pleased as punch with this lens. I love the 2x stretch and with the modification I did, it rack focuses easily. There's no additional glass elements in front of the lens to worry about unless I need to attach the the wide angle converter. It's a pretty nice lens.

 

 

Yo Nick.  I don't actually think your setup needs comparing to the iscorama (considering just how humble the concept is, and how humbly priced the lenses are).  I'm yet to see a anamorphic with as lovely flares and character as the little b+h.  its flares are wonderous.  Personally it's a setup I'd have no problems fitting to a bm pocket and imagine the end result would be better than that from a iscorama (due to the stronger squeeze and its inherent nicer and more obvious aesthetic) - helping the smaller sensors out and making the morphic look more obvious.  The reason dso first started was because i wanted to make a lens that gave the lo-fi 8mm anamorphic look to the iscorama.  

 

have you gone to manufacture of your focus mod for the b+h?  I have a couple I've picked up as and when I have seen them in cine and dusty old camera shops I frequent.  Would love to mod one of mine with your focuser.

 

 

on a side note...  The FF38 wide angle attachment (0.66x) will be shipping by the end of this week.  - the rear optic pretty much matches the front of the B+H and being such a highly corrected lens (4 elements, two of which being ground from pretty much the most expensive flints available).  It's probably gonna work really well on your little unit.  Maybe a direct trade?  one ff38 for one of your focus mod kits?     :)

[Lucian]

Looks nice man!

[ch_d]

Hey.
I don´t know if you saw this post: >
I shot a music video with my pre36 Iscorama VD rehousing on a S35 sensor mostly with a Leica Summilux 35mm. I really liked the wide image coming from this setup.