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Anamophic lens vs Cinemorph filter
  • fehafeha
    I never tried an anamorphic lens, but have seen very exciting videos.
    I wonder what would be the low budget solution ?
    Would Cinemorph filter make it work ?
    Or what would be the cheapest setup ?
    Also any tips where to find optex anamorphic lens ?
    Have seen nice footage made with this and 20mm 1.7 pancake ...
    think it is: OpTex 58mm anamorphic attachment, does this work same as anamorphic lens ?
    "The OpTex 58mm anamorphic attachment has been designed to optically squeeze the recorded image so that, when played back on a widescreen television set, the image will fill the 16:9 screen without any black bars at the top and bottom. Suits Sony PD150 and VX2000."
  • 66 Replies sorted by
  • PtchawPtchaw
    Talk to @EOSHD ;) He has a nice anamorphic guide too.

    If you're just getting into it and on a real budget, the Cinemorph might not be a bad bet, though you won't quite get the lovely aspect ratio without cropping.

    Ideally you won't want a dual-focus system. If you can afford it, the Panasonic AG-LA7200 is also a good bet and it works with wide angle lenses.
  • fehafeha
    @Ptchaw

    Thank you, yes i have been following EOSHD.
    LA7200 i think would be too big, heavy for 20mm 1.7 pancake.
    OpTex 58mm anamorphic attachment don't know the weight but i think would work with pancake.
    I'm new to anamorphic field and have no experience.
    Below is a video that i was impressed:
  • B3GuyB3Guy
    Cinemorph filters are a ripoff. make your own, it works. (although, only on quite long lenses.) cut an oval opening, add fishing line, and for blue flares, color the line with a dark blue Sharpie marker (I was quite proud of myself for coming up with that one ;)
  • fehafeha
    @B3Guy
    thank you, I'll forget Cinemorph filters :-)
  • B3GuyB3Guy
    I'd make one just to have around . . . they're fun to play with. But pay for one? No.
  • PtchawPtchaw
    @feha @plasmasmp uses a pancake with the LA7200. Makes for a very compact anamorphic rig. Might be worth asking him how he mounts his, otherwise a rails solution would work.
  • PtchawPtchaw
    @B3Guy Haha might have to try that! I like the oval idea for oval bokeh ;)
  • B3GuyB3Guy
    that's all a Cinemorph filter is. an oval and a piece of fishing line for flare. I'm dead serious. If you're set on oval Bokeh another idea I had was to get a Lensbaby (fun tool to have besides anamorphic stuff), and use the creative apertures kit to get oval bokeh: http://lensbaby.com/accessories-creative.php
  • EOSHDEOSHD
    @feha I shot this with the Optex



    Almost as good as the LA7200, not as sharp in corners but certainly smaller.

    Can't do shallow depth of field like you can with a Kowa, so consider which look you like best - the wide angle with pancake and Optex or shallow DOF and oval bokeh.

    By the way you can go out to 14mm on the LA7200 with the GH2. Very wide. 35mm is maximum wide angle with the other anamorphic lenses.

    By the way nothing flares as nicely as the LOMOs!!

  • danyyyeldanyyyel
    You should post a little video of a DIY type of cinemorph adapter. I think it would be nice. As for me I have been looking for a long time about the anamorphic thing. In some thread on Dvxuser I called it the missing link, because since the advent of the hdslr, we have really approached the film look esthetics. Now if somebody has some talent, ideas etc he can make a movie or a short that won't look too far from the movie at the cinema ( Not a block buster with tons of special effect etc). But the only thing that is missing is the anamorphic look.

    In the end since the price of some solution have sky rocketed, I have decided that it did not make sense. That cropping in post was the best bet. I want to be in the filmmaking so many of the solutions are not practical at all, for focusing, crop factor etc. One company would have a very good solution and it is Panasonic. An updated la7200 for hd, better glass etc would have been nice. I have tried to float the idea on the other forum but it did not have any big response. I thought that with Jan on the forum, a strong community might have influenced Panasonic to do such an update. People seemed more interested to fiddle with completely unpractical solution ( that will end only as experimentation in not so long), or those who can buy what was at $ 300 -$ 400 for ten time the price.

    The problem with anamorphic is that the pro version of thase are in the tens of thousand of dollars, so they will remain unatainable to the indie crowd until some stop gap ala revised la7200 comes along.
  • fehafeha
    @EOSHD
    Hi Andrew!
    Thank you very much for interesting samples.
    I like optex cause is small, don't know it's weight and impact on 20mm pancake focus barrel ,
    I prefer to keep DOF but wide angle too ...
    Need something that work with AF run & gun ...
    Could pancake 14mm 2.5 work better ?
  • EOSHDEOSHD
    Got the CineMorph, review soon. It doesn't replace a proper lens.

    LA7200 would be a good choice for you but expensive now, $1000+. So Optex or Century next best thing. The LA7200 works with the 14mm pancake well. Not tried others on it though. I had the Optex on a 9-18mm Olympus. Canon 10-22mm also works well.
  • fehafeha
    @EOSHD

    OK, the best combination would be LA7200 + 14mm pancake ?
    Is it easy to connect with pancake any special adapter ?
    LA7200 hard to find any for now ..
    Perhaps LA7200 will work also with Nokton 25mm 0.95 if I buy one later on ...
    LA7200 is it thread mount, thread dimension ?
    Thank you for your suggestions
  • fehafeha
    @EOSHD
    Also what about :
    Century Precision Optics 1.33x Anamorphic Converter Lens for Video Lenses with a 58mm Filter Thread
    is there a chance to find one ?
  • BuellerBueller
    Hey, Andrew I forgot about the Lock piece. That one is awesome. Now I am glad I know where it is.
  • plasmasmpplasmasmp
    The 20mm pancake can support the la7200 with metal step rings just fine. Been using it this way for 8 months.

    Focus works like this:
    F4+ 6ft-infinity can be focused
    under F4 you need a +1 diopter which will let you go 3ft-20ft focusing.

    All anamorphic lenses focus on a curved plane, so you'll need to learn to deal with that. Its a bit much on the la7200, but the lens is the closest you can get to a 1.33x hawk lens.

    Personally I don't like 2x anamorphic lenses on 1080p sensors. Works ok for RED with the resolution you have to spare, but it kills too much detail on a lesser 1080p sensor. Its fine for streaming, not ok for broadcast or distribution.
  • fehafeha
    @plasmasmp
    thanks a lot,
    now i think about two options
    Century Precision Optics 1.33x vs LA7200

    Also for LA7200 aperture at 4 I will loose shallow DOF ?
  • fehafeha
    Century Optics Anamorphic 16:9 wide screen Lens adapter (cheaper version)
    will this give aspect ratio of 2.35:1 if used on GH2 in 16:9 mode without NLE ?
  • leojleoj
    @feha

    the 25mm 0.95 is not the best because it is a fast len's the 14-140 would be the best bet.. trying to gain focus with a +1 diopter @ .95 is out of the question
  • fehafeha
    @leoj
    thank you,
    sure i think best is to use 20mm 1.7 or 14mm 2.5
    and my kit lens 14-42 ...
  • edunedun
    I have a lomo square front. As 'cinema' as it gets. I personally don't like the LA7200, bit 'fake' to me, but anamorphics in general really give you a very nice, 'deep' cinematic look. Don't quite know how to describe it.
  • EOSHDEOSHD
    The LA7200 does indeed work on the Nokton F0.95 but there's not much point because it's so soft at the fast apertures without a diopter. The LA7200's sweet spot is around F3.5 at wide angle 14-18mm on the GH2. That's how I use it most. Ditto the Century and Optex.

    Here's some footage done with the Voigltander Nokton and LA7200:
    http://www.eoshd.com/content/634/one-last-ride-voigtlander-nokton-25mm-f0-95-goes-anamorphic

    Shallow DOF - no, not with these unless you have a diopter. And a diopter large enough to fit the LA7200 is very tricky to find! And it won't help for anything but close-ups.

    The Kowa lenses are underrated right now. If you want a good anamorphic and don't mind not being able to rack focus during a shot, these are the best priced right now... LA7200 pricing has gone crazy!!
  • VidAtlanticVidAtlantic
    Just added this over at HV20 forum regarding some details about the CineMoprh filter....

    The CineMorph filter is a combination of 3 ideas rolled in to 1. The Bokeh shaper element, the streak element and a rotating filter frame.

    You can make your own bokeh shape cutout (minus the streak-flare), but as you begin to experiment with shaping, if the cut is not precise and perfect, every little crooked cut will easily show up in the image. We have these parts all shaped by computer and then machine cut. Also, I'm not sure how you can focus your lens with that design. If you can pull focus, the bokeh cutout may also spin.

    Other streak filters, start at about $300 and way up (we saw some recently for $1200) and they don't have the bokeh shape element. Our rotating CineMorph filter is $150, but as we're able to make and purchase the materials cheaper in the coming weeks and cut down the assembly time, we're going to announce a new lower price on these very soon.

    Please remember too, that these were not around a year ago and we made these out of necessity for our own productions to use along side with real anamorphic lenses, when we had to have quick focus pulling or quick run n gun style shooting. When edited together, it's difficult to tell the difference between the 2 types of footage.

    One thing that has yet to be done in post along with live action, is vertically stretched bokeh to mimic real anamorphic lens characteristics. Some would even argue that post-production lens flares aren't even done all that well.

    A lot of people, including ourselves have been using the filter on its own without anamorphic lenses, and we're happy to see that happening too. We've already catered to a lot of music video and tv commercial directors and DPs, as well as even a few network and primetime shows. And if you try to mount black cine foil or construction paper with rubber bands or tape, you can not focus your lens, not to mention looking a bit unprofessional. So for $150 (at this time) we feel its a fair price point for something that looks professional (without rubberbands and tape) and gets the effect done quickly.

    I hope this was helpful. Let me know if you have other questions….
  • VidAtlanticVidAtlantic
    Also, forgot to mention, there's nothing like real bent glass! So the CineMoprh is certainly not meant as a replacement or any sort of competition to anamoprhic lenses. We still love and shoot with our lenses all the time!
  • qwerty123qwerty123
    @vidatlantic I know you've probably been asked this in the past but: is there something in the works to get the cinemorph filter to work with normal-wide range focal length lenses? That would be a big deal if you could get that to work.
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