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SLR Magic 2x ANAMORPHIC lens
  • 804 Replies sorted by
  • i call TROLL

  • Hi Vitaliy_Kiselev,... nice to meet you ;).. i am no one important really .... but i have been shooting for 25 years now between Europe, USA and Asia in the luxury Section of Magazin Editorials and advertising. so with that comes along a lot of play with gear. i was at the beginning sponsored by many companies, like Kodak, Nikon, Sinar , Elinchrom, etc etc... which helped me in a great way with equipment. i was invited to sit often with the head of those companies and discuss my passion and my equipment needs and experiences. i just talked to DR.Schaerle , who is the head of the R&D department at Zeiss in Germany, and who was very interested in meeting with me , which came as a surprise to me. turns out he is also the CEO of Zeiss. so i do not advertise here anything but the fact that i am ultra passionate about the topic Anamorphic. and i hope this lens will turn out to be an adapter lens like the LA-7200, but just more modern.

    After Google Translate:

    Hi Vitaiy Kiselev,... nice to meet you ; ).. i am no one important really ... but i am very important...i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important......i am very important...

  • Btw http://www.my-ip-neighbors.com/?domain=64.38.197.160+ sites hosted on same server with Akos :-)

    Quite interesting collection like semperfuck :-) .

    @_OZ

    Yep, all really skilled guys does not talk even remotely like this. They just do not need it.

  • What a lovely list of IPs there. I noticed his main page was a New York based business but his English was very poor. First red flag.

  • @slrmagic I see your point.. Well, as long as you make a product which has it´s own character and feels unique you´ll have a good foundation for selling quite a few of these units, in my opinion. Will you offer service for them, too?

  • @slrmagic

    It would be really great if there was a central place (website!) that maintains up-to-date info and news regarding your products and your resellers. You have a UK-only website that mentions the 35mm mkii, and then there is http://noktor.com/products.php which doesn't even mention that a 35mm exists, neither the mk1, the mkii, nor the hyperprime.

    Don't you think it would be better for sales if we didn't have to go deep into forum threads to find out what you are offering and where to get it?

    BTW, I own and love your 25mm/0.95.

  • @akos actually called us yesterday at 4am and I "so happen" to be still at the office obviously responding to everyone yesterday evening and picked up the phone.

    I have to agree @akos has very strong personal views and has doubts if our anamorphic can deliver what he wants. I have to say he sounds different on the phone than on the forum.

    Its good to listen to different opinions. He made a point on the phone where he wants to use anamorphic in his professional work and that our lens has to deliver optically. Anamorphic is special because you get a tight crop and get a wide view at the same time and that is how the human eye works. With a regular lens you stimulate what one singe eye sees. In the brain, the two images from both eyes get combined and you get a tight vertical view but the width of both eyes combined and thus the appeal of anamorphic as you do not get that from anamorphic cropping of an image in post.

    He made a point where it needs to deliver mechanically and be made really solid so it can be used for professional work. It's easy to find a back up lens in the bag but not so easy to find a spare/backup anamorphic lens.

    His last point is that the lens should be made affordable. I explained to him how it is difficult because better and larger image coverage means increased cost. I mentioned that earlier on in the thread I think but he did not go through the earlier posts. He thought it is just a matter of if we want to make it better and larger and did not know manufacturing costs increase as well. Maybe if it is converted to a filmmaking example it might be easier to understand. It is not possible to charge a client the same rates for arial cinematography compared to on the ground cinematography due to the extra equipment as well as risks involved.

    @akos made a point that I did not quite agree originally but he asked if we can offer the adapter for cheaper by minimising features of the lens. Maybe make it only work with one lens instead of all lenses. Maybe make a version with no macro mode. Maybe do not use coating to offer the lens at a lower cost opposed for effects purpose. Main point is many are not prepared to spend as much as 1.5K to experiment with top anamorphics but is willing to experiment with a lower cost alternative that may not be a full featured anamorphic. Just like some are happy with a commuter car despite its inability to do 0-60 in under 5 seconds. It is a viable option as long as we get "yea" instead of "nay" for something like that.

    I am not taking any sides on his opinion but I do think he has a point and not trying to troll.

  • @slrmagic

    With a regular lens you stimulate what one singe eye sees. In the brain, the two images from both eyes get combined and you get a tight vertical view but the width of both eyes combined and thus the appeal of anamorphic as you do not get that from anamorphic cropping of an image in post.

    Now, although the idea is interesting, It´s simply not true. You get a unique spatial experience (distortion) from anamorphic lenses, yes, but it´s no more similar to human vision than a cropped image of a spherical lens. Subjectively, anyone is free to have that opinion of course but you can hardly claim that as a fact - and the proof is very simple; we walk around with two eyes, in general.

  • @slrmagic

    For what crop size is designed the current prototype? Can't you make two lens adapters - one cheaper than 1.5k for mFT (BMCC, GH3 etc.) and a second bigger to cover S35 and fullframe.

    I don't think compromising compatibility with other lenses makes sense, as choice of lenses is one of the most important means for archiving a unique look, not that everybody's footage looks the same.

    If cheaper is so demanding, I guess you can rehouse some vintage projector lenses for those. :)

  • @feonn

    Right now it works on a 35mm for mFT and 50mm for FF.

    vintage projector lenses are already affordable. We are unable to make brand new lenses with the IQ we plan to offer.

    Check out 4:05 seconds

    We are trying to offer an output with a different look to projection lenses. Someone even suggested with the IQ of our images anamorphic photography could be an option!

  • @slrmagic

    does the 35mm lens + anamorphic adapter combo work on s35?

  • @RRRR

    Well, right now it does. Works on a 50mm for FF as well. But it depends on what focal length lens it supports. For example, with projection lenses you can work it on FF with a 135mm or 85mm on a s35/1.6x crop APSC or a 50mm mFT.

    We have been trying to digest the past few days with the comments we received. Some suggest limit the lens's capability with the priority to cut down the $$$. We don't see why a s16 size anamorphic cannot be made a few hundred dollars cheaper and have it be used on mFT sensor only with longer focal lengths. Lots of s16mm 2x anamorphic ranging from $800-1500 but not many good 1.33x ones out there.

    The one we have now is a nice big one with FF possibilities but it seems the majority prefer a lower priced version like a "Baby" model? Keep in mind you can only use longer focal lengths on micro four thirds only but it will cost less. Maybe we headed for the wrong direction for a wider angle approach.

  • @slrmagic

    Personally, I think it should be a priority to have it work on s35 in normal focal lengths. If you can manage that from 35mm and up, it would be massive (since there are no other complete solutions on the market that is within reach of low-budget filmmakers). You could expand this by planning 50 and 85mm taking lenses (match the 35) to go with the adapter, if you can work out a solution for easy handling (like a solution to focus in unison which you talked about before). But then there´s the issue of what mount it should have? I think EF mount would make the most sense at this moment in time, for such a solution, perhaps PL. (not MFT)

    A s16 adapter is not a bad idea but I think it´s a completely different product that will be enough for some. Maybe you can make two versions, one big, one small (cheaper)? Not saying you have to do it immediately, however think about it as a possibility over time.

    In other words, two identical but different sized adapter + taking lens sets (keeping both functional). Mind, ease of use is something that will sell a lot of adapters with matched lenses. I know what I´d prefer having on set: an anamorphic solution that is easy to use - or adapters which require a lot of fiddling. Not to mention how much safer a director or producer would feel (and more willing to invest in / take a chance) with a product that has the functionality of an ordinary lens.

  • I talked to @ed_lee83 the past two days about his user experience with the anamorphic prototype and would appreciate for some valuable feedback.

    If you look into 32-36secs there is some "chicken wire" or "fish line" looking flare that some find quite undesirable. Looks fragmented too. We are now looking into how to eliminate this kind of flare through the use of a certain lens coating. Flare at 37 seconds seem to be more appealing from everyones feedback and we will see how we can maintain that sort of flare and also try to see if we can change the green and white flare to look closer to blue instead.

    The opinion received from @ed_lee83 is during a shoot especially on the set, too much time is spent on figuring out how to use the macro mode of the anamorphic. It has infinite positions from 1m to 2.8m (normal mode) which is very flexible but quite confusing. We originally hand an idea of 1m position and @ed_lee83 thought it was good to have 1m position only.

    Here is where I really need feedback especially from people who have used 35mm anamorphic lenses on their micro four thirds camera. I recreated the scene and found out the 37 sec closeup scene relates to 1m minimum focus distance. 1.5m minimum focus distance would show the rest of Shawn Tse's cap at the 37 sec scene.

    1.5m minimum focus distance at macro mode would have a higher IQ opposed to 1m. Does everyone think 1m is a good crop or 1.5m would be a better crop for minimum focus distance? 1m is hard to nail focus at times due to the small screen. The ice cream part was a bit out of focus. I confirmed that with @ed_lee83.

  • Personally, I'm happy you're going wider because that's more useful in the long run for more kinds of work. It won't end up just another novelty lens that only works at focal lengths that are inappropriate or impossible to use for a majority of filmmaking and commercial projects.

    I'm speaking strictly from a narrative and commercial perspective and for this you need wide. Wide and medium focal lengths make up a majority of the footage you see in film, commercial and television production. Compatibility with wider focal lengths is especially important for shooting on MFT where getting wide enough is often difficult and expensive.

    Being restricted to longer lenses would still make for an attractive lens if and only if it allowed for very fast apertures at telephoto focal lengths. Then it would be a supplemental adapter used occasionally since my Century Optics works quite well in the 18mm - 24mm range but by 35mm requires the taking lens to be stopped down to f/4 instead of the f/2.8 that your prototype appears to work well at though my primary interest is in how fast (before adding achromats and diopters) it works at 50mm+.

  • Yup, I definitely messed up on that last shot. The macro mode is good to have for sure but as it was a prototype I couldn't get used to it especially I had only a few hours to shoot. For run and gunning it's easier to have one point of macro/close up distance. I'm more partial to 1m

  • Hey guys, just arrived here after watching the test of ed_lee83 that I really enjoyed. The 1,33x anamorphic look is not as beautiful than in 2x, but still there is some beautiful things. Love the sharpness and how the bokeh softly appears, it gives a nice film feeling to the footage.

    Maybe it would be great for everybody if you had a page or a blog post where you could resume to us the information about the product. I read a lots of things, it's too confusing and now I just don't know anymore what you are gonna put in your lens. Have you any idea of the launching date ?

    If you intend to release a "bady" version of the lens as well, I suggest to forget about the macro system : I think that diopter is enough for mostly of people. And final question, why can't we go faster than F/2.8? I would like to mount my Nikkor lenses with speed booster on the camera to have an aperture of F/1.4... Isn't it possible ?

    Thanks and good luck for your work. If you need any help from France don't hesitate to write me.

  • @jcbouden faster could be doable in some cases with diopters. If it's that sharp at f/2.8 on a 35mm I expect you could go f/2 at similar sharpness with the Tokina achromat, depending on the lens. You should be able to go faster still @ 24/25mm.

    Comparing it to the Century Optics, this appears to allow for at least a stop faster aperture. You need to be stopped down on an 85mm lens to about f/11 if you aren't using a diopter. With even a cheap set of close-up lenses you can get good sharpness at sub f/2.8 apertures on the 85mm (if you're able to work within the new restricted focus range). I'd expect this lens to perform in a similar only better fashion, based on what we've seen.

  • Thanks for the answer. My question was more : why do we need diopters to improve sharpness ? This is not supposed to work like that, diopters are filters that only improve the minimal focus distance...

    I read somewhere that diopters were used not as improvement, but as a way of fixing the fact that the adapter is badly attached ( http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/archive/index.php/t-276948.html)

    So finally, is it only a question of sharpness that explains the F/2.8 limitation? Or is vignetting could be exagerate with this kind of adapter and a fast aperture?

  • http://www.newsshooter.com/2013/09/10/letus35-launch-high-quality-anamorphic-lens-adapter/

    Interesting, maybe to pricy for a lot of people but this is gonna permit to a lot of professionnals to shoot anamorphic with good lenses like the Compact Primes. The adapter should exist for five focals ranges : 16-24mm, 24-35mm, 35-70mm, 70-125mm, 100-200mm, and maybe an universal adapter for zoom lenses. Now we are waiting for more official announcements and some images...

  • Does the Letus deserve it's own thread? Don't want to overshadow the SLR effort with it? Anyways, I'm really, really liking what I'm hearing about it so far!!!

  • @kellar42 @jcbouden @grisnjam It seems shortly after EOSHD said on twitter he is testing our anamorphic in Berlin there was a quick announcement on an anamorphic made by Letus35. However, it seems we are working on a very different approach. We wanted to make one that is compact and light weight enough for run and gun shooting without the use of support rails. The Letus35 anamorphic is much larger and heavier that requires support rails and is built into a matte box.

    @BurnetRhoades @jcbouden We rated our anamorphic adapter to be sharp at f/2.8 so potential customers can have a realistic expectation of modern IQ standards. There are probably many legacy anamorphics that are softer than ours at f/2.8 but we feel at f/2.8 the IQ our anamorphic can deliver is of modern IQ expectations in terms of edge to edge sharpness and light fall off characteristics.

  • @slrmagic that makes sense. I also see, by Andrew's newest post, that he's claiming his sample from y'all is sharp even at f/2 so this is all still really good, encouraging news. Since his comments come based on experience with virtually all of the available adapters I take it very seriously and am further convinced this will be more than a modest upgrade for my venerable Century Optics adapter.

  • I'm curious now if the Letus35 adapter is more than a rehousing of LA7200 optics.

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