GH2 ES CINELUX Anamorphic 2x MC test

[bitcrusher]

I had a hunch that this might be a good solution for shooting anamorphic on a GH2. They are projection lenses that were very common in the last generation film projectors at the cineplex. As movie theaters have "upgraded" to digital projection the cinelux started showing up on eBay for under $200, they sell new on the Schneider website for $3,488.

I don't have a good way to mount them yet but I will get something made soon. I shot this video the same day I got the lenses so the rig was hacked together. The big surprise was the image quality, it's really good...... I don't have anything to compare to it, but it looks better then anything I have seen, maybe better then ISCO's. It will only work with lenses 50mm or higher, I think on super 35 sized sensors it will vignette but works well with m43. It will focus at 1.7 meters without a doppler and still looks good with a large aperture.

I shot this with a Zeiss ZF 50mm f/1.4, and even wide open at 1.4 I had some usable stuff at f2. It looked awesome. The downside with using projector lenses it that you need to focus them with your prime lenses. The way that the Cinelux will focus is with a allen wrench, which is not ideal. Still working on the workflow so this vid is a little sloppy. Shot this with AVCHD.

 

[Onemena Ofurhie]

Thanks for the nice video.

I'm new to anamorphic lenses but I dream of having one of my own in the future. I'm going to assume this is the one you have.

Did you do anything different to the stretched images? Because they feel more... grainy? cinematic? flat?

They just seem different from the squeezed images and I was wondering if it's the act of stretching them or if it's something done afterwards in editing?

 

[bitcrusher]

Thanks for the nice video.


Did you do anything different to the stretched images? Because they feel more... grainy? cinematic? flat?

Thats the one. This anamorphic has more of a modern look then a lot of the others that I have seen, I think it has to do with the lens coatings.

 

[ed_lee83]

I entered the anamorphic foray a few years ago with the Hypergonar projection lens. It was big and heavy like the Schneider's but at least it had a proper focusing mechanism, so I can't imagine using this Schneider!
You can peruse my pics here to give you one option of how to mount it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/edwinylee/5290353967/in/set-72157625790618742

 

[sidneylopsides]

did you get any further with this? ive just won one of these on ebay for £36, and wondering how to make use of it.

 

[producer]

Is that the lens, bitcrusher?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SCHNEIDER...y_VintagePhotoAccessories&hash=item20cb502de7
Also, there are different types: 75mm, 90mm, 100mm, 120mm, etc. Which one is the best for GH1/2?

 

[bitcrusher]

Is that the lens, bitcrusher?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SCHNEIDER...y_VintagePhotoAccessories&hash=item20cb502de7
Also, there are different types: 75mm, 90mm, 100mm, 120mm, etc. Which one is the best for GH1/2?

Dose not matter because you need to unscrew that part of the lens off to make it work.

BUY IT that is an insane deal!

 

[producer]

bitcrusher, did you find a way to mount this anamorphic adapter and how to ease the focusing?
Any possible way to shorten the adapter?

 

[bitcrusher]

This is a huge project so I am not too sure about if and when I ever get around to it. Basically you need to build a new lens.

"Any possible way to shorten the adapter?"
Not really, I did notice that it can get about 5cm shorter giving you a little better close focusing abilities.

As soon as I get an extra 2K-4k to burn I am thinking about making a DIY set of anamorphic lens. They will be ghetto but I hope they work. Maybe in the next year or two.