Tito Ferradans

BMPCC SLRM 1.33 anamorphot/SLRM 35mm

I'll come back when I find words to describe my reaction to this. For now, I'll stick with "mindblown and mesmerized".
How strong was the diopter you were using? Just triple checking, it was diopters AND macro rings?
How are you doing this crazy light that moves so smoothly with such beautiful hues and shapes? Damn, I need an episode on this.

I second that!

To give a rough idea of the macro anamorphic setup I've configured - here are some stills from a video I shot late last night (hence the bloodshot eye). The actual moving image is terrible, as I was filming my own eye and looking at a monitor so is very shaky. The focus plane is crazy thin, so these are really not as sharp as is possible to get when setup is more controlled. 
Image 1 is result from full 16x9 ML raw capture with 1.75x anamorphic and diopters (16x9 desqueezed to show centred focus plane in context )
Image 2 is 5:3 ML raw + crop mode desqueezed (crop mode is 1:1 crop of sensor)
Image 3 is same as Image 2...(it's my top lip btw - not my 'front brush')
Images all lit with iphone torch - hence the horrible shadow green skin tones. Images 2 & 3 will make some wonderful profile pictures for my online dating application methinks.
ML crop mode is killer for macro work, as it effectively windows the sensor to 1:1 where higher resolution raw recording options can be selected as well as turning any lens into 3-5x it's rated focal length.
5DMKIII ML raw - 100mm taking lens on +1 macro ring - Kowa Inflight 1.75x - Tokina +0.4 - Various power singlet close up lenses (+4+2+0.5)
Focus distance was approx 12 inches.


 
 
 

Cheers Tito. It was all very simple really.
To be honest, a way more painless way of achieving the anamorphic macro look is to simply use an oval modded spherical prime lens...and just use macro rings and/ or an extension macro helicoid and maybe a high quality diopter. Results will be sharper, less highlight distortion/CA etc.
But for anamorphic purists, it is a case of putting your taking lens on a +1 macro extension tube - attach scope lens at closest focus - add lots of diopters, preferably high quality singlets with at least one doublet achromat (tokina +0.4) in there somewhere to help clean up edges and minimise CA as the glass gets stacked. Depth of field quickly becomes crazy shallow, so taking lens will probably need to be stopped down a lot - if not a preset aperture with lots of blades to maintain circular aperture when closed down...bokeh will not be a nice uncut oval. 
So for 99 percent of macro 'super close' shots I'd go with a oval aperture modded prime + macro rings...since you are probably never going to see a hint of streak flare in the background anyway, and it is so much easier to setup. The benefit of real anamorphic macro is debatable but can be a very cool look. I actually like when you see all the added CA and distorted edges of an image from cheap diopters, but that low-fi distorted look will not suit every shot, sometimes it needs to look as clean as possible - in which case, I'd recommend oval modded prime lens +macro rings.

Wah, these pictures are gorgious ! Can you explain the setup a bit ? DO you need macro rings or is the close-up ability only done with the diopters ?

Would be very interested to see results. If c-mount and smaller than s35 chip camera - you would still be ok with a larger Cinelux or Sankor IMHO. You will still be able to benefit from minimum light loss from the larger optics...as well as use 72mm (minimum size recommended) closeup diopters on the front, and still know that you will be shooting through just the centre portion of the lens. It would not matter if the diopter did not perfectly cover the optic front for macro work - as long as you lightproof the uncovered areas with felt or tape.
I recently experimented with macro anamorphic, but not at high speed. Here are some pretty boring frame grabs from a quick initial test.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/129041403@N06/albums/72157677743824746
Camera: 5Dmk3 shooting 3.4k raw in crop mode - taking lens Helios 44-2 (16 blade) at around f5.6 to f/8
Anamorphic lens: Kowa Inflight 1.74x + Tokina +0.4 and RedStan Singlet closeup filters

It seems I only update this thread every couple of months... Shame on me. These last two months had some long awaited videos, so... check them out!
ON A BUDGET - FLAPJACK LED EDGE LIGHT C-200L
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9562
ANAMORPHIC ON A BUDGET - ELMOSCOPE II VS KOWA BELL & HOWELL
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9194
ANAMORPHIC CHOP SHOP - KOWA B&H EDGE BLACKENING
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9390
ANAMORPHIC CHOP SHOP - KOWA B&H MINIMUM FOCUS MOD
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9590
ANAMORPHIC CHOP SHOP - KOWA B&H SHARPNESS TUNE UP
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9592

ANAMORPHIC COOKBOOK - HFOV CALCULATOR V2.8
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=13386
ANAMORPHIC COOKBOOK - DOUBLE FOCUS ON THE FLY
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9610
ANAMORPHIC CHOP SHOP - JUPITER 9 EXTREME MOD
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9505
ANAMORPHIC CHOP SHOP - MIR 1B EXTREME MOD
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9516
Sure, the original thread with the mod is this one: 
 
I hadn't adjusted any of the lenses for that episode, so that might have somewhat affected the results, yes.

Tito, this is great work!
Have you thought about putting all your blogs in a book form for instance on Blurb?
 

It seems I only update this thread every couple of months... Shame on me. These last two months had some long awaited videos, so... check them out!
ON A BUDGET - FLAPJACK LED EDGE LIGHT C-200L
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9562
ANAMORPHIC ON A BUDGET - ELMOSCOPE II VS KOWA BELL & HOWELL
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9194
ANAMORPHIC CHOP SHOP - KOWA B&H EDGE BLACKENING
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9390
ANAMORPHIC CHOP SHOP - KOWA B&H MINIMUM FOCUS MOD
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9590
ANAMORPHIC CHOP SHOP - KOWA B&H SHARPNESS TUNE UP
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9592

ANAMORPHIC COOKBOOK - HFOV CALCULATOR V2.8
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=13386
ANAMORPHIC COOKBOOK - DOUBLE FOCUS ON THE FLY
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9610
ANAMORPHIC CHOP SHOP - JUPITER 9 EXTREME MOD
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9505
ANAMORPHIC CHOP SHOP - MIR 1B EXTREME MOD
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9516
Sure, the original thread with the mod is this one: 
 
I hadn't adjusted any of the lenses for that episode, so that might have somewhat affected the results, yes.

Hi everyone, just wanted to share my experience fixing a bad singer 16D i got on ebay for cheap.
1. I got this Singer 16-D for a very good price on ebay. As shown on the ad's pictures, there seemed to be fungus/dust inside.

2. I received the adapter and noticed that there was no fungus but the coating has gone bad and was partially gone or made tiny bubbles. I tried the adapter but it was just a hazy ghosty mess.

3. I got the adapter open (you can follow @Tito Ferradans guide with his Elmoscope/Kowa B&H as the construction is very similar), removed the the front elements and got to work. I did scratch the remaining coating with my nail (went away very easily) and finished the job with a bit of acetone. The result is not perfect but way better than I expected.

4. Here is a very quick and dirty shot with the Singer 16-D :

Compared to the same quick and dirty shot with my Isco Ultra-Star 

Both shots with the Helios 44M wide open (f/2)
Still hazy but very usable IMO, plus I want the Singer to be hazy and flary as I already has the Isco which is damn sharp and does not flare by itself.
Do you have similar experiences to share or have any remarks on my repair ?

Yeah, must be something wrong inside...If you're handy, you can try to fix it yourself. Tito has a recent video on improving sharpness on the Kowa B&H. As it is the same model as Kowa 16H and 8Z, it should apply to your lens also. Check it out 
 

Can you elaborate on how the double-focusing on the Mesmerizer is not as hard as with other adapters?

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?196822-Anamorphic-Shootout/page31 - last post on this page highlights the size and light loss of this lens.

Off Topic but while you're here, Tito, your vids are awesome, but seriously get a lav mic. The audio in your videos is awful mate.

REALLY?! hahahaha, amazing! I wish I knew that before!

I'm talking about the limitations of a non-cemented doublet (achromatic) diopter (vs the single element as with these vari-diopter designs) - the single element optics of these vari-diopters is a major cause of aberrations of image at wide apertures.
Having owned a FM and Core DNA, I can confirm that f4 is the stop where both focus solutions start to resolve the cleanest image on high contrast edges...especially when pushed on full frame. Sharpness 'performance' depends on your eyesight I guess.
BTW - Tito's FM that he did the test with used to be mine...so I know that lens particularly well

Just did a stretch factor measurement as shown by @Tito Ferradans in his video about the Kowa B&H mods.
Isco Ultrastar @ infinity (measured with a +1 diopter) : 1.99x stretch -> 2.0x
Isco Ultrastar @ 1.5m (measured without diopters) : 1.82x stretch -> 1.8x
What got me to measure it is Eddie (from Vid-Atlantic, from which I bought my new clamps), who is advertising the isco ultrastars on sale on vid-atlantic's website being advertised as 1.9x stretch anamorphic. I wanted to test that
I'm wondering if I should just unsqueeze everything @1.9x for simplicity or match the stretch factor for each shot (to this date, I always used the 2x stretch factor for ease of use with after effects)

Please accept my apologies for the slow response to Tito Ferradans’ message.
Deadlines are always chasing me down, so I’m unlikely to be the most prolific poster…
I am aware of the amazingly generous work Tito has done with his Lens Encyclopaedia and wonderful YouTube videos. And time permitting, I’d be happy to provide any information which might help his work.
However…
There is someone who can supply much, much more information than I ever could.
His name is Tony Shapps, erstwhile proprietor of The Widescreen Centre in London. This establishment was the largest consumer anamorphics dealer in the world from the 70s through to the 90s, and Mr Shapps was a personal friend of the CEO and owner of ISCO. He also provided most of the information for the Iscorama Wikipedia page, and is an absolutely top fellow by all accounts.
So perhaps someone on the forum should try and open communication channels with him via his Facebook page:
https://en-gb.facebook.com/tshapps
And to Barney909, I’d consider putting the lens back on eBay, but running the sale as an auction. It’s a very rare piece of glass, and if a real ding-dong bidding battle got going, you might even make enough money to buy an Iscorama 42; and a 54.
With enough left over for a baby Iscomorphot on the side.
I’d also be a bit wary of hanging what is potentially a $2000 - $4000 lens off my camera with some cheap filter bodies, so you might want to enquire at redstan.com about a custom clamp. 
Good luck…

Ah yes, that single focus Panatar...wouldn't that be a nice subject for @Tito Ferradans to tear apart in one of his chop-shop video's? ;-)

Respect! That's so neat, man! Would you care to share details if I contacted you directly? I wanna start upgrading the Lens-yclopedia soon, and these historical things would be cool to add!

ISCO only manufactured a couple of examples of this lens. And they were never released commercially.
It has a 49mm rear element diameter and a 95mm front filter thread. Which does beg the question as to why it was produced in the first place, given that the size and weight are pretty much identical to the Iscorama 54, and its successors, the ISCO 16:9 Video Attachment (1.33x) and the ISCO 16:9 Video Attachment I (1.42x).
I've got a little stash of rare ISCO stuff, including one of the prototypes for the original 1967 Iscorama (all metal construction and a 67mm filter thread). So if you are ever interested in parting with your special find, I'd certainly make you an offer.
And treat your lens carefully, because it's a little bit of German optical history...

Btw, sliding V2 clamp with anamorphic lens on a rail is possible, so changing taking lens can be quickly done.
People asked about how solid is the V2 clmap.  I tried HIFI-2 (3.48lb), Bauch & Lomb attachment I (3.68lb), Bell & Hewell (6.49lb), See picture of holding them with the clamp on the rail. My tripod mount start titling when mounting the Bell & Hewell, but the clamp is still showing no sign of deflecting.
When playing with this clamp, I realize it could be also used as a handheld arm for holding the anamorphic lens & the camera together, just like the director view finder, see the picture below of KOWA 35mm anamorphic lens, Rokinon 85mm and GH4 held together by the V2 clamp.








It is coming, it will be a dedicated variable diopter, which is optimized for the modded lens, but it has standard thread size, not 75mm for sure, you can reuse it for other anamorphic lens, but result is not guaranteed. 

Hey, it's been a while since I last updated this thread! Lots and lots of new videos and a couple articles.

ANAMORPHIC ON A BUDGET - BELL & HOWELL PROJECTION LENS
http://tferradans.com/blog/?p=9046
ANAMORPHIC COOKBOOK - BUYING YOUR FIRST ANAMORPHIC LENS
http://tferradans.com/blog/?p=8591
CHOP SHOP - 3D PRINTING FOCUS GEARS
http://tferradans.com/blog/?p=9249
ANAMORPHIC ON A BUDGET - FM LENS
http://tferradans.com/blog/?p=9238
ANAMORPHIC ON A BUDGET - BELL & HOWELL ANAMORPHIC MOD
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9316
ANAMORPHIC CHOP SHOP - BOOSTING UP ANAMORPHIC FLARES
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9329
ANAMORPHIC CHOP SHOP - ASSEMBLING THE FM LENS
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9376
ANAMORPHIC CHOP SHOP - HACKING THE FM LENS
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9409
ANAMORPHIC CHOP SHOP - ANAMORFAKE AMBER SET (37/58/85)
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9362
ON A BUDGET - FOTODIOX FUSION ND THROTTLE AUTO ADAPTER
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9444
ANAMORPHIC CHOP SHOP - HELIOS EXTREME MOD MK II
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9379
ANAMORPHIC CHOP SHOP - PANASONIC LA7200 FILTER HOLDER
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=7873
ANAMORPHIC ON A BUDGET - SCHNEIDER ES CINELUX MC 2X ANAMORPHIC
http://www.tferradans.com/blog/?p=9383

Finally got some new products out by this year. When busy with the Rapido Mod project, realize I would need a real solid clamp for adapting larger anamorphic lenses. Thus, here comes the Clamp V2 with rail support. This clamp is designed based on the original M67-M77 verion of the clamp with additional features:
1: Anti-slip feature, the front of the clamp has standard 82mm male thread, and a lock ring is screw on to prevent the anamorphic lens from fall off during adjustment
2: Rail support feature, the external ring is connected to a beam, which can be assembled with standard 15mm rail based lens support bracket, like the one from Neewer, to provide rail support of the anamorphic lens.
3: Additional mounting options, the external ring has multiple standard M4 screw holes, which can be used for mounting additional accessories, like monitors, and etc.
4: Fast & easy change of anamorphic lens or taking lens, loosen the lock ring and three screws, the anamorphic lens is ready to be slide off from the clamp. Changing another taking lens is possible without readjusting the front anamorphic lens, just loosing the lens support bracket, and unscrew the taking lens from the camera, then you can screw in another taking lens to the clamp, and carefully locate the lens mount into camera.
5: Compatible with your existing step down/up rings, you can reuse existing step down/up rings, and pair them with this clamp. Say, you purchased a package before from us for your KOWA B&H lens, all you need is the V2 clamp to work with your KOWA and taking lens. No additional purchase needed.


Following is the setup process using Rokinon 85mm as taking lens, pair with Hypergonar H.F. 2X anamorphic lens on GH4 camera: 
Step 1: screw the correct step up ring on the taking lens
Step 2: screw the external ring onto the taking lens
Step 3: assemble the rail support onto the external ring, having the beam pointing down
Step 4: attach the lock ring onto the anamorphic lens
Step 5: screw the step down ring onto the anamorphic lens
Step 6: secure the camera on the rail
Step 7: attach the rail support to the Lens Support Bracket Mount Clamp from Neewer
Step 8: slide the anamorphic lens from front, and screw the lock ring onto the external ring
Step 9: adjust the orientation of the anamorphic lens by rotating the anamorphic lens
Step 10: lock down the anamorphic lens by tighten three M4 screws