Anamorphic Shootout

I'm pretty happy with the GH2. The 7D body feels much nicer in my hands, the menu interface and controls are better (plus there are some more shooting options). But the GH2 I can mount pretty much any lens I can get my hands on, and theres much less moire in my shots. I also really love having the live histogram on when I shoot. The GH2 hack is being worked on right now, so theres hope for a higher bit rate in the near future.

he 2x vs 1.6 crop isn't really a huge deal either. Since I don't use my 7D for stills hardly at all I think if I could I would trade it for a GH2 body and cash and not look back.
 
Last edited:
That's interesting. I'd say for the anamorphics, it's becoming like the law of diminishing returns as far as trying to keep my T2i in service for the short I plan on shooting in the Fall. It's getting to the point where I'd just as soon get the GH2, a couple of adaptors, and call it a day. I'm still curious what results can be had with HHL's options, though.

I just wish there was more sample footage online with the GH2 and anamorphics... unless I'm looking in the wrong place, I just don't see that many. Once you get those Lomos, PLEASE post some footage. It would be much appreciated!
 
I'm shooting a short with my lomos this next weekend. So figure I'll have some footage selects up on vimeo round the 15th.
 
Frank Perrotto said:
That's interesting. I'd say for the anamorphics, it's becoming like the law of diminishing returns as far as trying to keep my T2i in service for the short I plan on shooting in the Fall. It's getting to the point where I'd just as soon get the GH2, a couple of adaptors, and call it a day. I'm still curious what results can be had with HHL's options, though.
Click to expand...

I have to disagree. There are several really fine anamorphic solutions for the T2i.
Personally, I came up to the conclusion that 1.5x regular-8 anamorphots are excellent solutions for this type of camera since they exhibit all the features you expect from an anamorphic lens, plus they offer a very useable aspect ratio, while being really small and flexible (you don't need complex support systems, or diopters to work with).

Check some of the tests I did and let me know what you think (I apologise these are only quick improvised tests to provide a rough idea of the potential of the lens):
1) Testing several 1.5x anamorphics against each other: http://vimeo.com/22498245
2) Several tests of individual lenses: http://www.youtube.com/user/Anamorphics (to be updated with more tests shortly).
3) Testing the Moller/Bolex anamorphot 19/8/1.5x: http://vimeo.com/19189116

One of the above lenses is currently listed for sale on eBay (Proskar 1.5x).
 
I have seen your tests, and I have to say, they are the exact reason that I said I'm most likely still going to rent Kingi's (HHL) kit and try them out on my T2i. So color me sold, in a way, but I guess I'm just trying to lower my expectations in terms of ease of use/flexibility. Whereas with the GH2, it seems like it'd just be a bit easier and more flexible. Another thing I'm thinking of doing is renting the 7D with a PL mount and seeing if the Elite Anamorphics (a rental, of course) will fit. Probably not, but I can't seem to find a yes or no answer anywhere.
 
Greetings all fellow anamorphic geeks :) I've been reading these forums some time now about anamorphic rigs and thank you, I've got loads of tips how to build a good one. Now that I've built myself one I registered here so that I can share what I got from my first test shooting with Canon 550D/Hypergonar HI-FI2. It is also first outdoor test with my Glidetrack Hybrid, a bit shaky every now and then, but it is mostly because I still need to balance the rig to keep the mass point in the middle of the track for super smooth slide. Hypergonar is quite heavy :) Here's the clip http://vimeo.com/24185079
 
Yashica SCOPE 1.5x Anamorphic Lens

Yashica SCOPE 1.5x Anamorphic Lens

Here is another great, yet small 8mm lens. The Yashica Scope Anamorphic lens 8mm 1.5x ratio. Originally used on the Yashica 8T2 for filming and projecting 8mm anamorphically (http://static.cineinformation.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Yashica-Camera-8T2-User-Manual.pdf), this lens performs nicely on modern crop sensors DSLRs.

For this test it was mounted on the Helios 44-2 58mm f2.0 on a Canon 550d.
Lens gets quite sharp for apertures above f=4-5.6 and has a very useable horizontal squeeze factor of 1.5x.

Another interesting feature of this lens, is that since the focusing ring is in the front and the lens barrel is slim, it can be mounted on a clamp so that the rear element protrudes and gets closer to the front element of the taking lens. By doing so, I have been able to focus very close (around 50mm, even though the minimum distance on the focusing ring of the Yashica is about 1m), without using any diopters. This is really great and not common.
Again, random subjects for this test, but gives an idea of what this lens can do.

I have tried to emulate an 8mm look, but there is also the unprocessed version of the clip on the same youtube channel if you prefer.

Filmed with the Technicolor Cinestyle picture profile, LUT curve applied in Final Cut Pro, and did slight color fine tuning with 3-way color corrector, then graded with Magic Bullet Looks and applied grain from super 8 film and added some flicker (Thanks to Roberto de la Torre for the grain clip).

This nice little lens is up for sale.

 
Hello! It looks like I'm getting my first Anamorphic lens. : LOMO Projection Anamorphic Attachment lens 35-NAP2-3. Anyone have experience with this? Someplace I read it was 1:2. But the seller indicates it is for 4:3 to 16:9. I guess like the Panasonic 7200? I was told there is a PDF around with the English manual. Do I need a manual? This is just an entry to I can experiment. I know it is REALLY BIG.If this is a 1:2 lens, there is a really cool new hack on the GH-1 (soon to be on the GH-2) that can shoot 4:3 so I'd get a true 2.35 or pretty close.

Thanks

Max
 
Avoid the projection lenses they're not practical. Hard to focus and massive minimum focus distances because they're designed to throw an image at a wall from several meters away. I think the LOMO NAP stuff is fixed focus in fact and you may only get the optical block which would be useless. So avoid!

http://www.eoshd.com/anamorphic-guide
 
I did a test with a Soligor focus through 1.33x anamorphic on the 5d Mark II.
Usually these focus through anamorphics (Panasonic LA7200, Century Optics, Optex, Soligor) are excellent for wide angle lens shots with deep dof. They also enable you to get really wide by contrast to the anamorphic lenses with focus rings, and they give the ease of use to rack focus through the taking lens. That's why they are so popular.
By contrast, they do not impress on the 5d especially on wide apertures (difficult to get sharp shots with narrow DOF).
Moreover, you cannot use them with 85mm focal length lenses or longer.

In this test I have tried to illustrate how you can overcome these issues using diopters.
I used a +0.5 diopter Tokina achromatic doublet, a +1 and a +2 diopter, one at the time or combined between them.
It appears that by combining the achromat with a +1 diopter mostly overcomes all of the above issues, but interestingly, even an inexpensive +1 diopter alone can improve things dramatically when shooting with a 50mm lens.
Hope that you find it interesting.

http://vimeo.com/28327869
 
Vistascope 16 1.5x anamorphic

Vistascope 16 1.5x anamorphic

Quick and dirty test of the Vistascope anamorphic lens for 16mm.
The Vistascope is a singular, square, twin prism and mirror anamorphic lens made in Holland.
I have tried to test and illustrate as many things as possible.
Some shots are on the APS-C sensor Canon 550d (t2i) with a 50mm f1.4 Super Takumar lens, while others are on the full frame (5d mark II) with a 85mm f2.0 Jupiter 9 lens. This is the lower focal length limit to avoid vignetting.

The lens is focus through, so you need to focus only with your taking lens. For close ups and shallower depth of field I have used stacked low power diopters that I simply held in front of the lens. Of course this is not a precise method so you may notice some vignetting due to the edge of the filter being visible in some shots.
As expected, diopters allow to focus closer and enhance sharpness at wider apertures. This is an important tool, especially for fixed focus anamorphic lenses (as seen in my other video 2 posts above).

All in all, I think that this small and singular anamorphic is a very pleasant surprise.
 
Forgive me if this question has been answered some where in the first 250 pages. I have a Panasonic 7200 lens, and would like to use a 72mm achromat lens in front. Is this practical? Because the lens is only 72mm, will vignetting be a problem? If so, what is the minimal lens size that I should be looking for? Thanks.
 
Hi all,

I found a 'PROSKAR ANAMORPHIC - 16B' a few months ago with a 2x squeeze.
What would be the best way of mounting this? It has a 42mm thread on the back, so I was thinking about using a step down ring from my 50mm, but I also saw some talks on clamps and such so I was wondering if anyone had any similar experiences and could offer any advice?

Also, would it be best to crop out some of the squeeze in post? Just so it's not a huge 3.45:1 ratio and more towards 2.66:1 or 2.4:1.

Any advice would be appreciated!
 
Hi everyone,greeting from Indonesia..
Im a noob and want to ask some question..
does sankor anamorphic lens allows you to change the focus while shooting??
can anyone tell me any anamorphic lens that allws to change focus,.

thank you very much,..
sorry for my bad english :)
 
I just wanted to throw this out there. I achieved acceptable sharpness at f/2.8 with NO vignetting with the zeiss ze 21mm and the panasonic anamorphic adapter on my 7D. There was barely any difference in sharpness between 2.8 and 8.0 (at least not enough to justify shooting at 8). For something closer to the lens, you'd need to stop down. I'm willing to bet the 35mm 1.4 ze would perform similarly well at 3.5-4. I don't have it yet, so I don't know for sure.

Also of note, I stepped up all of my zeiss lenses to 82mm to match the filter diameter of the 21mm. Then I added an 82 to 72mm step down ring to the anamorphic adapter. No vignetting. Perfect fit. Unfortunately, however, the adapter mounts upside down. Not sure if that matters.
 
Maybe i'm the idiot here but it seems unless we're talking about the "isco" we're back with the dof adapter look...lol......all i see outside of the isco is the look of sticking dirty glass on yer lens.......i'd rather crop. You guys might disagree but considering you can't go as wide and having to make all these concessions (such as diopters just to get sharp focus), you are limiting the capabilities of a particular camera.

Putting 2-3000 of extra glass on top of high end lenses just to get 2.4:1 isn't worth it.

If george lucas is alright with cropping a 1920 x 1080 image then so am i.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top