A7S + Letus AnamorphX

benjaminreece

benjaminreece

Active member
Guys,

I've been toying around with buying a Letus Anamorphx or Anamorphot, and found out the LensRental.com rents the Letus for a pretty decent rate. (143 for 4 of days) - anyway, in order to test it, I came up with a little concept short, which I'm currently editing (shot over the last weekend), but wanted to share some selects to help motivate me to finish.

Overall, was very happy, but the weight of it further amplified my distrust of the Glidecam 4000 system. I just ordered a Ronin to arrive Wed for an upcoming shoot in Laos next week, hoping that I can learn the ends and outs in time for the shoot as I feel that stabilization is my biggest weak point in RnG/small crew scenarios.

SLog, mostly 3200 iso, Pro Color -7 Detail
Nikon 35 F/2 1970s version w/ Single Coat

A video of a couple of un-graded selects:

https://vimeo.com/104344658 pass: dance

A few un-graded shots:

Screen Shot 2014-08-25 at 10.22.37 PM.jpgScreen Shot 2014-08-25 at 10.21.24 PM.jpgScreen Shot 2014-08-25 at 10.20.19 PM.jpgScreen Shot 2014-08-25 at 10.20.07 PM.jpgScreen Shot 2014-08-25 at 10.19.58 PM.jpg
 
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Spectacular. It makes me remember the best of the F35, but improved in terms of resolution and dynamic range. Wow.
 
Those look amazing! Very nice use of light and shadow, I loved seeing her dance played out in shadow against the wall. The flares from that anamorphic look really nice too.
 
haha. Pro is a great setting. curious to try movie and cinema now to see how the greens react with this in a real world test
 
looks great! so question... how oval can you get the bokeh with that adapter and, would the squeeze be closer to 1.5x at 2k?
 
Nice compositions but i'm going to be controversial here. What do you see as being the benefit of anamorphic in these shots for you? I think you could have shot the same with spherical lenses in this case. I know little about the Letus but you'd have achieved the same look without it, surely?

Is it just a case of maximising resolution (which i can really judge from small images)?

For me and the A7s the look is more of taking advantage of that full frame feeling. I'm still really enjoying shooting 50mm at f1.5 and getting that sublime DOF in every day shots (admittedly for stills, not really video).

cheers
Paul
 
paulcurtis said:
Nice compositions but i'm going to be controversial here. What do you see as being the benefit of anamorphic in these shots for you? I think you could have shot the same with spherical lenses in this case. I know little about the Letus but you'd have achieved the same look without it, surely?
Click to expand...

Look closer. Look at the oval distortions, flares and bokeh. You can't achieve those without anamorphics. That slight amount of distortion and blurring on the edges is what gives a "cinematic quality".
 
Thanks all for the feedback and encouragement!

Well, it looks like no one wanted to pick up the Anamorphx at lensrentals.com so I grabbed it again - P.S. I have no affiliation with them, ha.

I'm doing another shoot with Maya on Sunday AM- this time with the Ronin then Tuesday heading to Laos w/ it for a commercial shoot. I'll keep this thread posted. :)

Here's where the A7S matters and why I'm taking it instead of the Epic:

Epic: 3200g minimum shoot config
A7S: 500g minimum shoot config (+ 1000g for proper monitor/batt/arm/HDMI lock)
Anamorphx: 1300g
Sigma 18-35/Zeiss ZF 35mm 1.4/35mm Cp2: 800g (more/less depending on lens)

Epic Package: 5300g or 11.6 pounds
A7S Package: 3600g or 7.9 pounds (2600g/5.7 without monitor if you are fine using flip out screen, at least its an option)

31% & 50% weight decrease. Add that to the Ronin which is another 4000g/9lbs and you have a heavy but still usable rig, for shooting in spurts out in a remote environment. With the Epic, I would need an operator/vest/more breaks etc- just not nearly as feasible as the A7S.

Not to mention that the Epic either needs a DIT or you need to take breaks to offload unless you have a ton of Red Mags, with A7S I can run all day. Same goes for batteries. I have 8 batteries for a7s, cost me nearly nothing. For RED, would be constantly charging/having an assistant/AC replacing batts. As much as people complain about battery life on A7S, it lasts twice as long than RED Volts. Anton batts would add another 2 pounds.

Would I prefer the slightly beefier crew/Epic w. DIT + AC? Probably, but, the A7S opens up slightly new possibilities (and budgets). The Mark III w/ Magic Lantern would be another possibility I would consider, however as I don't own a mark III anymore I'm not comfy simply renting + using ML for this trip. Besides, the A7S w/ built in peaking/zebras/viewfinder/overcranking its more versatile in someways ML isn't. I will miss that R3D or Raw flexibility, big time. On the plus side, I can edit/log/preview the XAVCS footage on my macbook air (would be impossible/struggle with Red/MKIII magic lantern). Time will tell how much I can live with it. :)

A7S aside, the Ronin + lighter cameras will open up a whole new style of movie/short/commercial making, filling a market need for the ADHD generation craving for more energy in frame.
 
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Ok, so now I've gone back- this time with the Ronin.

https://vimeo.com/104946773

This time I've added a LUT + slight luma curve to the Slog, Pro -7 detail shot @ 3200

Curious if Macgregor's Cine4 setting can help bring more flexibility to those outdoor shots I was having to shutter/ND down for.

dance_thumb.jpg






I'm pleased w/ the Ronin- although the Anamorphx is hard to balance due to its heavy weight on the A7S (front heavy)
 
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