Anamorphic Lenses
- Thread starter rzxrey
- Start date
PerroneFord
Deals in Lead
Anamorphic LENS or anamorphic ADAPTER? $500 bucks isn't going to get you far if you're looking for a lens. Maybe add a zero.
Egg Born Son
Veteran
All anamorphic adapters are a compromise. In your budget you will only be considering lenses intended primarily for projection and with a 2x stretch factor. This will require double focussing (focussing two lenses) and rack focus will be difficult to impossible. You are also going to need $50-100 for a clamp to attach it to your lens. I'd consider selling you one of mine. PM me if interested. As much as I don't want to part with hard won lenses I have more than a dozen now so obviously most are not getting used. In fact I might have one that I can make a good deal at your price point.
I'd suggest Sankor 16c or the Sankor/Singer 16d would be your most likely options if you don't want to spend 6+ months doing research and waiting patiently on ebay. If you get into anamorphics you will inevitably buy more and end up with a dozen like me. I have both of these and they are optically similar. Super sharp, flare readily with the bluest streaks. Because they are common, you can get custom clamps from redstan specifically for these lenses.
My favourite 2x is my Mosty-SE (but the chances of finding one of those is miniscule, occasionally found in the Sun brand but can't remember the model#) which I won't be parting with (bought local and only cost me $30!) and was a rare bargain that you won't find.
The Sankor 16c might be your best option. It is lightweight (around 300g) and often within your price range on ebay. They additionally have a sunshade (well a sunshade in the same way that a string thong is underwear) which is a ring with a 52mm thread. Which means you can use 52mm filters. On the downside you can't really stack these without vignetting. A 52mm-72mm adapter can give you a little more flexibility there but you can get a front clamp from redstan that lets you use 72mm filters eliminating the problem. The rear element is about 24mm. Found frequently on ebay these will (occasionally) go as cheap as $200 for one with no accessories and as much as $600+ for complete (caps, case, box) mint condition one (extra if clamps are included).
The other option I recommend is the Sankor/Singer 16d (two brands, exactly the same lens in every way). It's a little bit bigger and slightly heavier at around 500g. but the major advantage is the larger size of the front and rear elements while only being about half to 3/4 of an inch longer. The rear element which is half again as big as the 16c at approx 32mm. Less common than the 16c, there is still usually at least one of these on ebay most of the time. It will usually cost $400-800 depending on condition but can be found cheaper in poor condition and more expensive due to price gouging. Anamorphics are grossly inflated because ebay users don't seem to recognise tulip bubbles and they never seem to burst.
Since you are using metal nikons you can get away without a lens support for both of these but if you are using a rig it might be worth considering. With less solid lenses you'd definitely be wanting a support for the 16d and probably the 16c too. Most cheaper anamorphics will be heavier than either of these two. Clamps will be required to mount, both these lenses are common enough to have custom-fit clamps available from redstan. I do have a vid-atlantic clamp and it functions better than it would seem but I recommend redstan. You can't concentrate when you're constantly worrying about your lens falling off!
I'd suggest Sankor 16c or the Sankor/Singer 16d would be your most likely options if you don't want to spend 6+ months doing research and waiting patiently on ebay. If you get into anamorphics you will inevitably buy more and end up with a dozen like me. I have both of these and they are optically similar. Super sharp, flare readily with the bluest streaks. Because they are common, you can get custom clamps from redstan specifically for these lenses.
My favourite 2x is my Mosty-SE (but the chances of finding one of those is miniscule, occasionally found in the Sun brand but can't remember the model#) which I won't be parting with (bought local and only cost me $30!) and was a rare bargain that you won't find.
The Sankor 16c might be your best option. It is lightweight (around 300g) and often within your price range on ebay. They additionally have a sunshade (well a sunshade in the same way that a string thong is underwear) which is a ring with a 52mm thread. Which means you can use 52mm filters. On the downside you can't really stack these without vignetting. A 52mm-72mm adapter can give you a little more flexibility there but you can get a front clamp from redstan that lets you use 72mm filters eliminating the problem. The rear element is about 24mm. Found frequently on ebay these will (occasionally) go as cheap as $200 for one with no accessories and as much as $600+ for complete (caps, case, box) mint condition one (extra if clamps are included).
The other option I recommend is the Sankor/Singer 16d (two brands, exactly the same lens in every way). It's a little bit bigger and slightly heavier at around 500g. but the major advantage is the larger size of the front and rear elements while only being about half to 3/4 of an inch longer. The rear element which is half again as big as the 16c at approx 32mm. Less common than the 16c, there is still usually at least one of these on ebay most of the time. It will usually cost $400-800 depending on condition but can be found cheaper in poor condition and more expensive due to price gouging. Anamorphics are grossly inflated because ebay users don't seem to recognise tulip bubbles and they never seem to burst.
Since you are using metal nikons you can get away without a lens support for both of these but if you are using a rig it might be worth considering. With less solid lenses you'd definitely be wanting a support for the 16d and probably the 16c too. Most cheaper anamorphics will be heavier than either of these two. Clamps will be required to mount, both these lenses are common enough to have custom-fit clamps available from redstan. I do have a vid-atlantic clamp and it functions better than it would seem but I recommend redstan. You can't concentrate when you're constantly worrying about your lens falling off!
lars steenhoff
Active member
I use the Iscorama, it has a native nikon mount, not sure if you can find it for 500 dollar ...
Egg Born Son
Veteran
Been a while since I've seen one of those for under $2000...let alone $500!
yeah the Isco lenses go for somewhere between an arm and your first born.
The other route is to watch for one of the century optics ones. gives you a 1.33x stretch so you dont end up with anything too wide but a nice 2.13 (i believe). They are bad at close focusing without diopters however and they will require you to stop down to get focus at all on some lenses. Great for anything 50(ish)mm or longer.
The other route is to watch for one of the century optics ones. gives you a 1.33x stretch so you dont end up with anything too wide but a nice 2.13 (i believe). They are bad at close focusing without diopters however and they will require you to stop down to get focus at all on some lenses. Great for anything 50(ish)mm or longer.
rzxrey
Well-known member
That's some cool glass you got there lars. There's actually one like that on eBay atm. Actually, I've decided that I'll just read more about it before buying one, especially the cheap ones. I've read that SLRmagic has developed an anamorphic lens (adapter) for less than $1000, I'm curios to see how that works with DSLRs.