First steps into anamorph-land

M

McKlimm

New member
Hi,
I just ordered a CANON FD 50mm f/1.4 SSC prime lens plus an Sankor 16C anamorphic.
Hopefully an allright combination to gather first experiences
in anamorph-land.
Could you guys help me answering some basic questions about
how to mount them onto my GH1 ?
What adapter do I need to attach the 50mm to the GH1 ?
And what kind of clamp to add the anamorph to the 50mm ?
Finally: Could i try diopters to improve the minimal focus distance (2meters)
of the anamorphot ? Where can I get these ?
Thanks for any help out there, really excited to start shooting - but I'm
a total newbie in all aspects.
Just read all this on EOSHD.

Uwe
 
And be aware that all the handling is a big headache..
Focusing, aspect ratio etc.. (with gh1 and Kowa you'll have a very
Narrow, squeezed image (x2), I decided it's not practical for me)
 
Thanks guys - I love the look and aspect ratio so much. That's what i want to do - even if it's hard.
...well - let's talk in a few weeks again :-)
 

here's a clip i shot with that very same set up...

50mm f1.4 (have to stay larger numbers then f4 to avoid strange blurring)
sankor 16c

with the sankor you have to focus both the lens attached to the camera and the sankor anamorphic lens.

so if you plan on using it handheld for moving shots you would need to focus 2 separate focus barrels at once, i don't think its possible, i found the sankor worked great for locked off shots but id not dream of trying to track focus on somebody with it.

if you shoot at f8 and greater numbers you should be able to have a ok bandwidth for the target being in focus if you do plan on moving around with it alot. yet at f8 you would need to be outside for maximum light.

its great fun and looks super nice so wide :smile: have fun!


to attach the canon fd lens to the GH1/2 you will need...

Canon FD to M4/3 adapter (ebay) be sure its a Micro4/3 adapter and not Standard4/3.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-FD-FL-L...adaptors_ET&hash=item4aa1e54606#ht_2061wt_907


to attach the sankor16c to the canon fd lens you will need one of these...

the three tightening screws hold the rear end of the sankor lens, there is a threaded part on the back of the adapter that if lucky may be a 52mm thread to match the canon FD lenses 52mm filter thread, if not you might have to buy a step up/down ring to get it all put together.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ANAMORPHIC-LE...era_Lenses&hash=item45f9bcfaec#ht_1618wt_1141

NOTE: THE EBAY LINKS ARE FROM EBAY.CO.UK, SEARCH EBAY.COM FOR NEARER YOUR LOCATION PRODUCTS, IF UR IN THE USA.
 
i guess i would try i bit of anamorphic shooting when:

gh2 get hacked and (IF) provides 4:3 aspect ratio.. (but still stuck with impossible focus tracking)

or

getting me an isco 36 for great 1.5X aspect + easy focus (NOT possible at 3000$ price tag)
 
roei z said:
getting me an isco 36 for great 1.5X aspect + easy focus (NOT possible at 3000$ price tag)
Click to expand...

Apart from the double focusing thing, there are valid solutions at 4-5 times less. Stay tuned in the next few days-weeks as I may be selling most of my anamorphics collection, including some astonishing & rare 1.5x anamorphots that work like a charm on crop sensor cameras. Don't want to talk more as I am still debating on whether to sell or not, but I will need to finance another purchase so these may have to go...
 
kostas said:
Apart from the double focusing thing, there are valid solutions at 4-5 times less. Stay tuned in the next few days-weeks as I may be selling most of my anamorphics collection, including some astonishing & rare 1.5x anamorphots that work like a charm on crop sensor cameras. Don't want to talk more as I am still debating on whether to sell or not, but I will need to finance another purchase so these may have to go...
Click to expand...

double focus is a pretty big issue for narrative work..
for the record, i DID get me a kowa 16D + clamp, but the aspect & double focus still break the deal for me.
(although i'll be happy to know what you might plan to sell :) )
 
roei z said:
...getting me an isco 36 for great 1.5X aspect + easy focus (NOT possible at 3000$ price tag)
Click to expand...
The ISCO Widescreen 2000 adapter is a 1.5x anamorphic lens that requires no focusing and can occasionally be found on ebay for less than $1000. A current example:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Isco-Wide-Scr...007?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2eb45c2fa7

The Blackout-Powell GH1 Native 24p Patch is designed to work natively with 1.5x anamorphic adapters, and can produce MJPEG videos that play back in the correct aspect ratio with no post-processing required. This patch is configured with an MJPEG HD anamorphic video frame size of 1920x720 in 4:2:2 color depth with a bitrate of 50Mbps. While these videos will not play back in-camera, they can be viewed on the desktop or imported directly into a Quicktime-compatible video editor.

The AVCHD Native 24p FHD video mode in this patch can also be used to record anamorphic videos as well. With a 1.5x anamorphic adapter, these videos will need to be squeezed vertically in post-production down to a 1920x720 frame size. Alternately, the FHD frame height can be retained by stretching them horizontally to a 2880x1080 frame size, and then cropping them to 2560x1080 to obtain a standard 2.37:1 widescreen aspect ratio.
 
I got this for 300 $ alltogether. So maybe a bit too much, but on the other hand not 1000 $ (or more).
When I get more knowledge I can still look for a Lomo, but - hey...these lenses are eeexpensive.

Uwe
 
nice! thanks.
somehow i missed this particular lens, or thought i cannot really focus with it..
but i wasted all my budget at the moment.. if i could just swap my kowa 16D with this one ;)

*BTW, does this lens somehow equivalent to the isco 2000?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220768681666&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

hmmm..
i don't get it.. you can freely focus with the base lens as perfect as on isco 36?
so why are the expensive isco's considered so special with their focus system? where's the catch?
 
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roei z said:
BTW, does this lens somehow equivalent to the isco 2000?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220768681666&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

i don't get it.. you can freely focus with the base lens as perfect as on isco 36?
so why are the expensive isco's considered so special with their focus system? where's the catch?
Click to expand...
The above link lists the Moller anamorphic adapter as having a 24mm rear thread. This is very small compared to the 52mm rear diameter of the ISCO Widescreen 2000. My ISCO 2000 works without vignetting on prime lenses down to 35mm. I'd expect the Moller to work only with small C-mount lenses.

The focus ring on some anamorphic adapters allows you to adjust it so that its horizontal and vertical astigmatism are equal at the distance your main lens is focused. Anamorphics that lack a focus ring typically have poor image quality when used for close-ups. However, a +0.4 to +1 diopter lens can be attached to the front of some anamorphics to make them usable at close range. Without a diopter, my ISCO 2000 gets blurry with anything closer than six feet away. With the +0.4 diopter, it's good up to about 2 feet, but cannot then focus on distant objects.

The image quality of the ISCO 2000 is far more consistent across the width of the lens than any of the 1.33X or 2X anamorphic adapters I've tried. The Iscorama 36, 42, and 54 are said to be even better, but they're currently priced out of my reach.
 
The above link lists the Moller anamorphic adapter as having a 24mm rear thread. This is very small compared to the 52mm rear diameter of the ISCO Widescreen 2000. My ISCO 2000 works without vignetting on prime lenses down to 35mm. I'd expect the Moller to work only with small C-mount lenses.

The focus ring on some anamorphic adapters allows you to adjust it so that its horizontal and vertical astigmatism are equal at the distance your main lens is focused. Anamorphics that lack a focus ring typically have poor image quality when used for close-ups. However, a +0.4 to +1 diopter lens can be attached to the front of some anamorphics to make them usable at close range. Without a diopter, my ISCO 2000 gets blurry with anything closer than six feet away. With the +0.4 diopter, it's good up to about 2 feet, but cannot then focus on distant objects.

The image quality of the ISCO 2000 is far more consistent across the width of the lens than any of the 1.33X or 2X anamorphic adapters I've tried. The Iscorama 36, 42, and 54 are said to be even better, but they're currently priced out of my reach.
Click to expand...

Hey guys....yes....I actually own all of the above. I saw this lens earlier and if there weren't a catch it would have joined my happy family. :)

The catch is that they are a pain to work with. Finding a lens that will work and NOT vignette is the catch. I own 2 lenses (1.5x) that are VERY similar to this one. The only difference is that mine actually have the ability to focus (on the lens). What lpowell is saying about the ISCO 2000 is also true. I have 3 of those and they are indeed very special. I use the diopters exactly as he mentioned it. (.5x for closeups, straight up for everything else).

Yes lpowell....the Iscorama is yet even better. I currently own 3 of those and they are indeed a sight to behold. Even the precious Lomo that you adopted from me pales in comparison. (That Lomo is NO SLOUCH as you know first hand.) But the Iscorama is a wicked lens indeed. 3K-4K is the current market value and I'd dare say that when EPIC becomes a production camera that is actually for sale, the price will go up again.

Please note roeiz....it's a close call on that little lens. It's certainly a "fiddly" little lens....but I'm sure it would actually be fun once you find the right lens to mount it to.

Cheers fellow anamorph addicts! :)
 
McKlimm said:
I got this for 300 $ alltogether. So maybe a bit too much, but on the other hand not 1000 $ (or more).
When I get more knowledge I can still look for a Lomo, but - hey...these lenses are eeexpensive.

Uwe
Click to expand...

if its your first dabble with anamorphic lenses the sankor will give you a good starting point.

i used the sankor (2x) for a while and then upgraded to a la7200 (1.33x)

the la7200 doesn't have a focus ring so it can be focused through with the primary lens, that makes it alot more usable for everyday shooting.

go out and have fun with the sankor, depending what your shooting you should still be able to get some really good shots.

plus the road of experimenting and playing with lenses is the best way to learn them.

good luck friend :smile:
 
Hi, i am very new regarding DSLR's and anamorphic lenses. What are the differences between sankor 16D and 16C? What is the best for canon 5d?

regards
 
Welcome.
The Sankor 16C has a rear thread of around 39-43mm (don't remember exactly), whereas the 16D is 50mm. Both work on the 5d, but the 16D is definitely better because of the larger rear element.
Generally speaking the most sought after lenses for the 5d are:
1) Iscorama
2) Kowa 16-H (or 8-z or Kowa for Bell & Howell)
3) Sankor 16D.
Smaller lenses work as well, but you need longer focal lengths to cut out vignetting.
 
You might also look at Panasonic's LA7200. It's no longer made and now commands $1000+ prices on eBay; I believe there are a couple there now - they seem to be coming out of the woodwork probably due to scarcity. It too requires no focusing. However, be aware that not all hack patches are as kind to it as other anamorphs. This is because it is a 1.33x anamorph as opposed to the 1.5 or 2.0; in particular, the Max Lat Patch can't handle 4:2:2 mjpeg color with the Panny anamorph. If this isn't a big deal, consider it; it's light meaning you don't worry about it on the front end of your camera and plays real nice with the 14mm pancake. You will, of course, need step rings. There is also a little trick to get this lens to rotate more than the "stock" limit to make it easier to get the lens on right and avoid hassling with ring lineup.
 
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>"the Max Lat Patch can't handle 4:2:2 mjpeg color with the Panny anamorph"
Can you elaborate, Jordell?
PS:
I just checked the resolution that the Max Lat patch delivers - and I'm at a loss to see why anybody would want to use that aspect ratio. (To test your anamorphic lens, for example, while viewing it on a standard TV?)
All this time I've used anamorphic adapters the holy grail has been to squeeze every bit out of every square millimetre of film! With a 2X adapter I'd want, say - a 1,436 x 1080 ratio, for projection through an adapter so as to get 2.35:1 on-screen.
As a second-best I'd produce a 1920 x 1080 Blu-ray, (16:9 but still partly squeezed), flagged as "anamorphic" so that it will be projected through a normal spherical lens as 2.35:1 letterboxed. (Also good for TV screen)

Any smaller horizontal resolution and I'd just use a wide lens and crop.
 
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4:2:2 With Anamorphic Lens

4:2:2 With Anamorphic Lens

4:2:2 and anamorphic per lpowell "4:2:2 color depth significantly increases the amount of MJPEG data stored in each line of the image. This makes the MJPEG encoder more likely to fail under stress. With a wide anamorphic frame, the largest frame size I've found to be reliable in 4:2:2 color is 1920x720. Frame sizes larger than this should use 4:2:0 color depth." I tried 4:2:2 for grins and I'd have to say it's beyond "more likely to fail under stress" - it simply fails. Because of this, one gets the resolution "requirements" of the Max Lat or even the Blackout-Powell native 24p anamorphic. I must say though my limited testing has me pretty excited about getting anamorphic results with this level of equipment. Haven't gotten into posting videos but here is a still using Max Lat with the Panny. I've verified that indeed Max Lat works quite well but, as has been noted elsewhere, can require careful exposure to assure continuous recording. What has finally become clear to me is that the flexibility of patching requires selecting a patch that best fits what your shoot requires. Unfortunately, this can lead to conflicting issues requiring a compromise solution. For example, my current project has a fair amount of greenscreen so ideally 4:2:2 but I want Max Lat for other parts so I will compromise. I'm sure you are familiar with http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?225252-Anamorphic-Cinemascope-in-Native-1920x810-MJPEG-Mode but I post it here just in case.
P1020027.jpg
 
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