2x anamorphic is too narrow :( - solution?

lpowell said:
LOL, you won't give up hope, will you? However, I'm not saying the prospects are negative, only that the results so far equal zero.
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huh.. do you prefer i will give up hope ??
my current project will have to be 16:9 i guess. unless i'll find a crazy bargain isco 36 laying somewhere in Israel (and that's really ZERO hope).
 
2x 1.33x anamorphic adapters... $$$$. It can utilize all pixels on the sensor, but is it worth? Those adapters soften the edge sides. $800 adapter, $300 35mm lens, $400 28mm, $500 20mm... the price can quickly climb to $2K.

Why not just get a "wider" lens and chop off top and bottom to give illusion of 2.35 anamorphic ratio? Something like Oly 14-35mm without anamorphic adapter. 14mm is pretty wide. Wouldn't the good precision optical performance make up for the loss of pixels?
 
As far as i can tell, nothing gives you an anamorphic look but anamorphic lenses or attachments. You can mimic the flares, and the aspect ratio, but i instantly know whether footage is shot anamorphic.
 
i appreciate your suggestions, stonebat, i really do.
but if i go anamorphic, it's only because of the special flare, bokeh, etc.. otherwise i'm quite happy with 16:9 as it is,
and i also get to keep the amazing GH2 sharp image detail that will definitely be of help on big theater screenings.
so it's pretty much black and white, not middle options for me..
 
stonebat said:
Why not just get a "wider" lens and chop off top and bottom to give illusion of 2.35 anamorphic ratio? Something like Oly 14-35mm without anamorphic adapter. 14mm is pretty wide. Wouldn't the good precision optical performance make up for the loss of pixels?
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Anamorphics have a cinematic look of their own that's not quite like anything else. They're also spectacularly collectible:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthrea...nemascope-in-Native-1920x810-MJPEG-Mode/page3

In addition, anamorphic adapters help overcome the 2x crop factor of the Four Thirds sensor, widening your field of view by 33%. But you're right, they're not cheap, and you may have to take a gamble on what you can find on Ebay. Here's my list of bargains:

ISCO Widescreen 2000 (1.4x): Fixed focus, half the price of an ISCO 36. My favorite with the best image quality.
Panasonic LA7200 (1.33x): A sure bet and works at wide angles. Image quality suffers at wide apertures.
Century Optics 37mm (1.33x): Inexpensive, lightweight and super-cute on the 20mm f1.7. Blurry on the sides.

The camera I shoot with is a G2 hacked with my Anamorphic 1920x810 MJPEG Patch. It cranks up to 75Mbps and I think MJPEG 30p looks fabulous played back at 24p. However, with a GH2, you could shoot in 1080p24 and stretch it horizontally in post to 2560x1080. But shamefully enough, the archaic Blu-ray standard does not support anamorphic encoding of 1080p movies, and there are not yet any affordable 2.37:1 Full HD projectors or widescreen monitors.
 
lpowell said:
ISCO Widescreen 2000 (1.4x): Fixed focus, half the price of an ISCO 36. My favorite with the best image quality
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when you say fixed focus, what does it mean ?
and what's a bargain price for it?

the other two options footage i saw just don't have the magic, to my taste.. apart from the wide stretch, that is.
does the isco 2000 brings more anamorphic qualities than the other 2 ?
 
roei z said:
when you say fixed focus, what does it mean ?
and what's a bargain price for it?
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All three of the adapters I listed are built with a fixed distance between their front and rear anamorphic lens elements. This limits the closest range at which they'll produce well-focused images to about 3-4 meters. However, if you use a +0.5 to +1 diopter filter in front of them, you can get closer focus. But high-quality diopters can be quite expensive in the large sizes required.

Other types of anamorphics are built with a focusing mechanism that allows a greater range of adjustment. It can be tricky, though, to find the right focus settings for both the anamorphic and normal lens together.

I paid $750 on ebay for an ISCO Widescreen 2000 in excellent condition. It works with focal lengths down to 35mm with filter sizes around 55mm. Here's a link to a recent auction of an ISCO 2000 in fair condition that sold even cheaper:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ISCO-Widescreen-2000-Anamorphic-Lens-Film-Video-/250773441387
 
great links guys.
thanks.
funny - Arri also use the 4:3 sensor 'trick' -The ALEXA OV and D-21 are uniquely positioned to allow the use of anamorphic lenses through their 4:3 format sensor, which captures the whole image projected by anamorphic lenses.

no, no... i must stop fantasizing it would be possible with GH2 ;)
 
I think the crisp image and beautiful colour rendition of the Alexa has a lot in common with the GH2. Of course, the Alexa has tonnes of dynamic range, which the GH2 hasn't unfortunately.
 
yea that's nice.
but i don't really want to go into all those MJpeg formats.. kind of a bummer.
 
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