Isco 54: newbie

Y

yoclay

Veteran
I have an opportunity for an Isco 54, but I am a total anamorphic newbie and I have seen others discussing the merits of the smaller ones (besides the obvious weight considerations).

1)What is the general consensus about the preferred version from this manufacturer? 36, 42, 54?

2)Given the crazy prices recently, what would be a reasonable median price to pay for a 54?

3)What is the minimum and maximum focal range of lenses that I can use this with my 5D Mark II?

Thanks for your understanding of my newbie-ness, but the other threads are far too long now to be practical...
 
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I sold my 54 and have 2 36s. I sold it for about $1500 US in good but not mint condition. It will start vignette on the 5D @ 50mm and wider, and you can go as far as you want on the tele end. I found the 36 to be sharper but sharpness can vary widely on individual lenses. It is really big and heavy but it has a 77/72?mm rear thread which is great for large diameter lenses.
 
Thanks Squig, very helpful. I have seen a few folks speak of extension tubes. Is this needed for the 54?
Someone said the 50 was roughly equivalent to a 29mm field of view in 35. Would the 54 be close to a 35mm FOV then?
 
I believe that the 54 is an adapter, like the front element of the 36 (which was often sold attached to a 50mm lens for a given mount, but most people would now discard that lens in favour of a faster 50mm).

The extension tube scenario might relate to the fact that on the 36, the rear thread is located quite a bit forward from the rear element, so a spacing device of some kind is needed to mount it on most lenses - something thicker than one step ring.

Regarding field of view, a 1.5x on a 50mm will give you 50mm FOV vertically and somewhere around 30-35mm horizontally.
 
3 or 4 step up rings should do the trick or a ring off a rubber lens hood. Yeah those FOV figures in the last post are about right.
 
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