Is the Iscorama worth it? Dispelling the myth... or "Let's Shoot it out!"

A few shots taken with that lens (ISCORAMA-36) today...(also posted to my sales ad I have online here)
[looks nearly a bit postcard "kitschy" but it is as it was today, a perfect cold but sunny late autumn day]

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love the flares in that water shot, I have to admit...

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and that one (yes, the aperture funtions perfectly and is fully symmetric)
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hi all,
im interested in buying an anamorphic lens primarily for shooting stills im not worried about racking focus smoothly just only for still work.
i would like to attach it to my 50mm prime lens i have a crop cmos sensor camera, is there a cheap anamorphic lens anyone can recommend to get?
thanks
 
daveyjones said:
hi all,
im interested in buying an anamorphic lens primarily for shooting stills im not worried about racking focus smoothly just only for still work.
i would like to attach it to my 50mm prime lens i have a crop cmos sensor camera, is there a cheap anamorphic lens anyone can recommend to get?
thanks
Click to expand...

I'd look for a kowa or bell and howell, there's also the optex but keep in mind cheap may not give you the results you want.
 
Well, I was testing quite a bit on optics for anamorph. still photography, but I always ended up with my ISCORAMAs, since they are sharp, have contrasty images and are easy to use.
 
youngindiefilms said:
But the whole idea to film anamorphic is so you can get a wider format without cropping and losing resolution. I'd rather look for a anamorphic adapter with 1.5 factor or below, optimal is to get 1.3x so you almost exactly get cinemascope using 16:9 sensors.
Click to expand...

Yes, I have a 1.3x iscorama 36. Lovely. Only 20 of them made in the world.
 
Do these photos look like anamorphic? :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
 

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Yes
http://www.diyphotography.net/diy_create_your_own_bokeh

Anamorphic for me is about different perspective and different distance from lens to your subject (what is visible when your subject will keep his hand in front like if he wanted to reach the lens ),not flares ( i dont like them actually) or oval bokeh.
Macgregor's way can be used to match non anamorphic lens in some shots with the ones shot with anamorphics.Ive seen some films and ive seen that some parts were shot with anamorphic lenses and some werent because of regular circular bokeh.
 
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Cool documentary about scope
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LOL at John Carpenter at the end. "I'd like to sign up to be the first one." Here we are today, can't even get a 4:3 Television anymore
 
Ok, I have had my Isco 42 MC for about 2 weeks now and love it.. but, I have an alignment question:

Does one just align it the best they can having the skinny oval vertical as possible?

This is what I have been doing all along and the overall image results are very good after squeezing and I am sure I am aligning the Isco correctly. BUT, I started to do night time shooting, traffic, cars, lampposts, etc. recently, and I am getting a lot of flares (which I like) BUT, I notice the flares are VERY diagonal, and only to one-sided/a single long one. Then, I am reviewing other anamorphic night shots on vimeo, and no one elses anamorphic does this. I always have my oval shape aligned top to bottom, but these long-line-flares are diagonal, close to a 45º or steeper angle. I keep looking at them, and it seems that these look like the same long flare/artifact that everyone else has, but theirs are horizontal. Now, I think or have been thinking my Isco is aligned properly because I just twist it till the oval is vertical, but something tells me my flares aren't supposed to look like this.

Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong? Is there more to it than just getting that Oval vertical? Is each vertical oval position different from each other? Should I just keep twisting the vertical oval 180º until these long flares become horizontal??

fyi: this happens only with distant night sources in street night shots (headlights & lampposts). When I test sunsets & flashlights, the horizontal flares are there, just weak especially compared to the oblique flares (due to MC).



Edit: Here is the video sample:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjyL3424PjA


Any help greatly appreciated!
 
i have done some test on this waaay back and the trick is to rotate the back lens. I did a quick and dirty fix. But a more solid solution would mean modify your mount or mount adapter.
it's not totally flat in the video but that is the idea.

so far i have come round to moding my mount to get a flat flare.
http://www.vimeo.com/6876382
 
hmm... do you get any type of horizontals before the mod?

Thing is, I get horizontals with STRONG light (direct flash light or sunsets): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_4A71Qay0E

..but only at night and distant headlights/lamps I get those pesky obliques: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjyL3424PjA]

Do you know if this is just a trait of the 42MC? Tried a 36 yet?

Because I think I have seen a lot of vids people have 36s with diff types of taking lenses and are still getting horizontals. keyword "think"

...i'll have to re-view all these flare tests and see whom are using a 36/42/54 with a different lens other than a native Isco... but I am pretty sure i've seen canon/nikon taking lenses with Isco's and they are getting prtty much perfect horizontal flares.
 
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