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SLR Magic 2x ANAMORPHIC lens
  • 804 Replies sorted by
  • @slrmagic Pretty much all of the 2x adapters that go for $300 on ebay have one of two problems: 1) They have huge problems with close focus and force you to operate at high f-stops 2) They have focusing systems that force you to manually focus both the anamorphic adapter and the taking lens, which completely rules out follow focusing

    Thus, to say that there isn't any need for 2x adapters is a very strange statement, in my opinion. To get a really useable one on ebay you almost always have to pay excruciating amounts, and the condition of used lomos, kowas and the like varies a lot. And remember: people don't buy the ebay stuff because that's their preferred solution, but because there's really no other way these days. I don't think you should consider the cheap stuff on ebay as serious competition.

    I'm not trying to force you to make a 2x, though. I would love a 1.5x almost equally much! It's just that 1.33x won't cut it for me, and the poll clearly shows that most of us agree on that.

  • B&h 16h 2x anamorphic i might have more on my phone to post

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  • In relation to my previous comment I should probably mention that 1.33x is still much better than no adapter at all! If the adapter can cover the wide end of the focal lengths (25mm or less) it will be a must have anyway! At the moment most of us can't go below 35mm, which can be problematic at times. My point was just that the appeal would be bigger if the stretch was 1.5x or 2x, and that there certainly isn't a smaller market for that than for 1.33x.

  • 16c 2x anamorphic on a gf2

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  • Anyone with 1.5X samples?

    @RRRR We looked into that. The problem is that the cost to make a lens 2mm wider would cost double or more and the 7-14mm and 9-18mm is a great bargain at the moment.

  • @slrmagic 1.5x video samples? I have a few I can post if you want.

  • most of the 16mm projector small 2x anamorphics are in bad shape. i have 5 that are not good. most of these where made in the 1970s some really show age. some are usable in bad condition but shooting at f8/f16 is like going back to the 60s. other newer 2x are bulky projection lens and the weight is stupid 1-3kg some are cheap but 60% bad.require complex support and 120mm diopters min focus 25feet people end up buying many lens sometimes 3 or 4 looking for good performance repair of 1970s optics can cost 100s of dollars. 2x is the most unique look anything else you might as well buy a bad flare filter and crop and pretend you are cool. this is a way to madness. if you let the market decide you will have to make an iscorama or hawk with variable compression 1.3-2x electronic variable coating color change by pushing a button autofocus and will work on an imax and an iphone weigh 200grams and 2kg and cost 300 usd. if hawk vantage can make a lens for 30 thousand dollars why can't you make one for 300 dollars : ) make something original

  • @itimjim Still samples is fine. Just want to see the anamorphic feel. Some ovals for everyone if possible. Even better, a 16:9 still that is not edited in post as that is what everyone will be dealing with. thx

  • @slrmagic OK, I've not got any night time ovals with my 1.5x yet, but here's two samples, using the Bolex 16/32/1.5x

    Mark, @plasmasmp has a few with his Bolex 8/19/1.5x

  • @redstan - "2x is the most unique look anything else you might as well buy a bad flare filter and crop and pretend you are cool"

    LOL, if you're that ashamed of your 1.5x ISCO's, I'll be happy to take them off your hands...

  • @slrmagic The Panasonic 7-14mm is a bargain, but it does not seem like it would work with the passive mount on the BMCC. A wider lens like that, that worked with the passive mount could be interesting, especially if it had good infinity focus. Until then, many M43 users would not be able to go wider with an M43 mount that with an EF mount on the BMCC and it almost seems like I might as well stick to using the 10-22 EF-S.

  • @thepalalias f4 is definitely possible but it seems people are hoping for f2.8

  • @slrmagic F4 is fine for my purposes. Faster is great, but I often shoot f4 to f5.6 (even when I can do f3.5) when I am that wide anyway.

    The most important considerations would be image quality ones, not how wide it could go.

    • Pleasing distortion at the edges as opposed to unpredictable ones.
    • Good detail.
    • Not excessive flaring.
    • A nice focusing ring.
    • Strong infinity focus detail.

    Things like that. If someone wants a fast lens, they can give up some of the wideness and go for the 12mm your company already offers.

    For me, I want something that would me get closer to the field of view I enjoy with my Canon 10-22 EF-S when used on an APS-C, but designed to get that with a passive M43 mount. And while any image quality improvements are appreciated, the IQ of the 10-22mm EF-S is my current reference for what I would like to see. The distortion is very easy for me to work with.

  • Carl Zeiss anamorphic press release today:

    http://www.zeiss.de/C1256A770030BCE0/WebViewTopNewsAllE/8902B748EC0347ABC1257A72002B968B

    2x anamorphic lenses for 4:3 Arri Alexa.

    A 2x anamorphic adapter with a 77mm front thread, 58mm rear thread and the largest possible rear element would be great.

    Such an adapter would be preferable to any 2x on eBay.

    Then it's up to the camera manufacturers and hackers to enable 4:3 recording.

    If 2x anamorphic adapters are commonly available there will be an incentive to enable 4:3 recording.

    No compromises with this long term solution.

  • this is a vid using our bolex 1.5x 8mm and a baby hypergona. the bolex can actually still work with a 28mm taking lens in certain situations with no problems and also can get as close as 1.5 feet. id say with this lens is great because of its very small size and 1.5x seems to unsqueez to what i now think alot of major movies are pushing out. it would be nice to see a lens made around this size that can be used with the 20mm 1.7 or 25mm 0.95 lens for some good headroom for low light anamorphics.

  • @flydef - "Then it's up to the camera manufacturers and hackers to enable 4:3 recording."

    4:3 AVCHD frame size on MFT cameras? Of all the options discussed in this thread, that's one of the few things I'm sure is NOT going to happen!

  • @slrmagic

    Like I said before, you can make a more expensive lens than the 12mm. It can be faster than f4 then, I´m sure.

    For a lot more money; a copy of Zeiss 9.5 (adjusted upwards?) super-speed for a bigger image area would certainly be the talk of the town. http://www.nacamera.com/lenses.html#16mm

    Other than that I can conclude what @thepalalias said, a sharp, pleasingly distorted (doesn´t mean it has to be 0) wide lens would be great, it doesn´t have to be fast. I suspect though, that for BMC cam users a faster aperture than f4 would be necessary to get the "24mm" look. But then again, you could make it more expensive (than 12mm f1.6 lens) and it would sell.

    By the way, and this is meant as no swipe to you guys - but voigtländer 25 and 17.5mm are not "cheap". I mean, they cost quite a lot of money although the value for money is outstanding. Build quality, IQ not to mention speed e.t.c. It shows however, that it can be good to aim high.

  • @LPowell - Not implying 4:3 AVCHD.

    http://www.avchd-info.org/format/

    Is there a market for two anamorphic adapters?

    1. An inexpensive 1.5x with a plastic barrel for 16:9 8bit 4:2:0 AVCHD.

    2. A more expensive 2x with a metal barrel for 4:3 10bit 4:2:2 ProRes & 12bit 4:4:4 CinemaDNG RAW.

    Entry level cinema camera bodies with 4:3 non-AVCHD recording are possible by the time these lenses would be available.

    I hope the goal isn't 8bit 4:2:0 anamorphic AVCHD.

  • When Zeiss releases a set of primes for Arri Alexa they show us that just one anamorphic prime is not enough to do a movie. the director needs more lenses, as i said before. their lenses are T1.9 to allow the shallow dof and get the oval bokeh, this tell us we need at least f2.0 anamorphic lenses to use in GH2 or an anamorphic adapter good enough to allow using the lenses wide open (for example the 20mm 1.7 and 45mm 1.8 and vintage nikon and canon fd wide open). They are using 2x in 4:3 sensor, this gives 2.66:1 the same result from 1.5x in 16:9 sensor. If after some tests we confirm 1.5x can give a good average oval bokeh and good horizontal flares this will be the way to go to get the same 2.66:1 as Arri Alexa. And a little crop will allow the 2.4:1

  • apefos no disrespect but you is smokin crack : ) i have seen the arri/zeiss prototype seen 2 versions it is a lens for rental as each optic costs over 60 thousand euros to make. do they cost that much well probably once you factor in the 5 years that zeiss have been working these optics. i want a ferrari with scarlet johanson sitting in it to give me blow jobs i wanna pay 1500 euros for the car and the girl. it is not gonna happen. why even talk about zeiss. after leica they are some of the best minds in optics for a reason and like arriflex they go slow. when they release something it works because they have reputations to consider. slr magic cannot make an iscorama quality for 3000 euro a kowa quality for 2000 euros and your asking for a copy of a new zeiss prototype scope with over 5 years of testing in a company with over a hundred years of optics experience and you expect a hong kong lens the same quality for 600-1200 : )

    80% of this movie was shot with a 2x compression 40mm panavision lens plus some close up lens this film is a scope masterpiece. but what does john boorman know about what film makers need.

  • edit: redstan already said it.

  • @slrmagic "Anyone on the same page as I am or we still in disagreement?"

    I completely agree, I'm on the same page, and I would certainly buy a lens like that

  • @010101 yes, I agree. I do hope that they panasonic in particular begins to implement 4:3 in again in better ways. A 1920x1440 would be nice, or even more dense ;-)

  • Why it is so difficult to make people to see the obvious? of course f2.0 anamorphic primes will be expensive, but an anamorphic adapter, an improved version of LA7200 with 1.33x or 1.5x squeze is what we need. with that adapter we can use lots of lenses we already own and we will have all focal lenghts we need. i do not understand why people are avoiding an adapter, maybe everibody is afraid of an adapter quality, but i strong believe a good optics adapter with oval bokeh and horizontal flares can be designed and made for an average price.

    the m43 fast lenses like the 14/20/25/45 and the nikon/canon fd from 20 to 85 all have small entrance pupils and it helps to make an adapter with good IQ in corners.

    i used to be an 35mm adapter manufacturer and reading this thread as a manufacturer i can see the main point of the game. the adapter will not give to manufacturer de same amount of money of a prime lens. why the manufacturer would give us an good adapter for a good price if he can sell a more expensive prime or set of primes? there is no competition in this market yet...

    I worked with lenses some time ago to do my 35mm adapter manufacturing lenses and i can say: it is not so expensive as people think it is. when a manufacturer ask a lot of money for a 50mm 0.95 it is because everybody dream about it, it is not due to the manufacture price. of course a 50mm 0.95 is more expensive to build, but not so much. a 50mm 1.8 also have a complex optical system, and the price to do it is not so different. the retail price is much more due to what it can do instead of the money to do it. this is the reason why sell a anamorphic prime will be much better to the manufacturer, one milion dolar will come easy... but selling an anamorphic adapter means more units do build and much less money to get...

    open your eyes!

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