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Help with Soligor/generic 1.33 anamorphic lens.
  • GabelGabel
    So I picked up this anamorphic yesterday (seller said it was a Soligor, but it could just be a generic one. It says "ANAMORPHIC LENS, Made in Japan" on it), a steal at about $120 (keep in mind I live in Sweden, one of the world's most expensive countries). It's a 52mm diameter, so it fits my Nikon lenses perfectly and has some really nice flares (see picture of my friend taken under here, taken with a 28 2.8 at f/4 and ISO around 1600).
    Sharpness seems ok, especially with stuff at a distance. But this thing needs a diopter which brings me to my second point.

    That damn lens hood! Firstly I'm a matte box user and that thing gets in the way. Secondly, it won't take filters. So I need to get a solution to this.
    One is to get a new front, if these exist (the front says called DC-S HOOD 72mm).
    The other is to remove the hood. Here was a guide on how to remove one from a Nikon lens and I'm guessing this technique would work here too though.

    But it won't take filters. As I have yet to find any 4X4 diopters (I hear Tiffen makes them, but haven't been able to find them), but if these exist, this would work great.
    Otherwise I could try to fit a filter holder on the front. The area around the lens is recessed as you can see, which I think could work to mount a step ring to get a filter gear.
    But would it work to mount a diopter behind the lens? Then I could just get a 52mm one that I could mount in between the anamorphic lens and my lenses. This would mean I won't have to mount a step ring.
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  • 25 Replies sorted by
  • test1test1
    I have a "version" of this lens and a century 58 - essentially optically exactly the same - I used the cinetactics Matteblox with it's French flag and 4x4 velcro in filters. I think Cokin make a +1 diopter (P101) that with a bit of fiddling can work. Diopter behind the lens won't work. Toying with the idea of trying a Redstan front filter on it and using the achromatic Tokina 72mm Diopter I use on my other anamorphics, I'll give it a bash and post back! It's the best flaring anamorphic I have (Eiki, Sankor etc) crazy blue stuff hehe, and sharp as anything.
  • GabelGabel
    So here's a link to a pitch film for a music video a friend of mine directed. It's the GH2 at hacked 60p, iso 160, shutter 125 and aperature adjusted to light using mostly a Nikon AI 28 2.8 (with a 55 2.8 Micro on the "corridor" shot) and graded in After Effects using Colorista (sometimes a bit too crushed, but it was a quick job).

    The best part was the reaction afterwards. The director was in love with the look and felt that it made everything look more... Expensive. He liked some anomalies and we figured it was from years of watching anamorphic films...


    Password: macapeers


    Other than that I've decided to mount a 72mm front ring. Right now I'm thinking about just getting a Tokina 0.5 achromatic diopter as I hear that these works wonders with theses lenses (and helps CA a lot). Would it help a bit with corner sharpness too?
  • test1test1
    The Tokina helps with close focus and sharpness in general (the achromatic one) Redstan is your man - get em while you can :)
  • GabelGabel
    Cool! Ordering one tomorrow or Monday then!
  • test1test1
    Here's the GH2 + 20 1.7 with the generic anamorphic + redstan front clamp (you don't need the crazy big screws in!) and a 72mm Tokina 0.4 achromatic diopter on the front - nice and compact :) Sharp as a razor, no vignetting and autofocus, anyone want a brand new Eiki F anamorphic + Vidatlantic clamp lol

    image
  • Mark_the_HarpMark_the_Harp
    I'm not sure what an achromatic diopter is, but does it get rid of the chromatic aberration you see at the edges of these lenses? I have a similar 1.33x anamorphic adaptor to yours, so I'm curious about this since the extreme edges don't look so sharp on my adaptor (when using the adaptor on my 28mm Ozeck lens which is very sharp on its own).
  • GabelGabel
    I ordered the achromatic diopter from Redstan.

    @Mark_the_Harp: Yes it's supposed to do that.
  • Mark_the_HarpMark_the_Harp
    That's very cool - thanks for the links too. Is that the lens that's £120 on the Redstan site?
  • GabelGabel
    @Mark_the_harp: The very same!
  • test1test1
    That's Alans (Redstan) clamp - super light and > all the other super reliable, v nice!
  • test1test1
    With his Tokina 0.4 you can essentially get within 10-20cm with the 20 1.7 Lumix - v nice. Filmed some stuff in the boozer today with this setup in Soho, will ingest and pop up tomorrow.
  • test1test1
    IMHO after carting a KOWA Bell n Howell, my Eiki and the generic anamorphic to Bali Lombok and beyond, looking at what I shot, love the generic so much more than all the others, it's instant, it's v sharp and it's just there - no crazy strap on, big ol lens flare and sharp as when you need it to be - just my humble 1 month away with it! Now with Alan's clamp on the end can get well close, bless im!
  • Mark_the_HarpMark_the_Harp
    Just to clarify, can you still focus at infinity with the 0.4 diopter on the lens? And I would be v interested in seeing your footage.
  • test1test1
    It's the 72mm one Alan sells at Redstan - really does sharpen up the image and will post some stuff for you with and without tomorrow sir.
  • test1test1
    PS how funny how many sound guys are fiddling here ;p
  • Mark_the_HarpMark_the_Harp
    Well, the video people where I worked were always making remarks about sound people, so I thought I'd go over to the dark side!!
  • test1test1
    :) Use the farce!
  • Mark_the_HarpMark_the_Harp
    Dying to see what this lens does to improve the generic 1.33x (before/after would be even better). And not sure anyone's answered this yet: can you still focus at infinity with the diopter on the Anamorphic or does that depend on what lens you're using the 1.33x with?

    The 0.4 is still pretty pricey so not sure whether to take the plunge or just sell my 1.33x

    Cheers
  • GabelGabel
    @Mark_the_Harp: I was planning on doing a before/after actually!
  • test1test1
    Shot some before after on MC 58 1.2 Rokkor, 20mm 1.7 Lumix and cranky Pentacon 100 2.8 - mixing till Sunday, but will ingest it and pop it on for a gander. Will try and do the same with the other anamorphics next week clients permitting!
  • Mark_the_HarpMark_the_Harp
    Cool - thanks. I'm just interested in a before/after screengrab really - so I know if it's a good purchase. Cheers - appreciate that and looking forward to seeing when you get the chance.
  • qwerty123qwerty123
    @test1 any footage updates?
  • ScotScot
    Was hoping to see that test footage as well
  • GabelGabel
    Well I haven't had the time to shoot any proper test footage, so there is nothing there...

    I did however use it for a real shoot, a music video we shot with an AF-100 and Nikon AI primes that I will put up as soon as it's finished. But when we saw it on a TV for the first screening, I was impressed. While the corners are soft, the center is sharp as tack and the corners were never distracting when used in a sequence. I also used a Redstan achromatic diopter that helped a lot with abberation.
  • KostasKostas
    Here are a couple of tests I did with the Soligor lens on the 5d Mark II and diopters.
    and

    To be honest I didn't expect the results to be that good!
    Of course wider lenses have less issues even without diopters, but it is now amazing that you can shoot close focus, lowlight or telephoto with this lens!...
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