Gábor Ember

Well I set the focus scale according to that red line. I focus my taking lens alone to a subject that is at 1.5m, then I screw on the Sun and focus it so that the image is sharp. Now I loosen the screws in the focus scale ring and adjust it so that the 1.5m (5ft) mark is at the red line.

This is only needed after opening and reassemling the lens. After that you can leave it alone, the red line marks where the focus is.

I also use the red line as a "center line", well not center but a guide line for correct alignment.

I have a mark on the anamorphic clamp for each taking lens. I mean because of the different m42 adapters and different filter threads the clamp ends up rotated differently on each lens.

I level the Sun and mark where the red line is at that point. I use a Helios-44M and a Jupiter-9 so I drew 2 markers on the clamp with the capital letters H and J by the marker lines.

I will post some pics, I know it is not really understandable from my description.

A set of diopters arrived from Foto-Tip. Akira +1 +2 +4 +10. Just simple, cheap, normal diopters, not achromatic.

I plan on using the +1 on the Sun. I think the original closest focusing distance of 1,5meters is not that bad. +1 diopter loweres the focusing distance to 1m - 0.5m roughly. I will measure it. 

The point of the new front part is to support a 58mm filter thread and to eliminate excess vignetting caused by the front metal ring itself.

The red line is not in the center on mine either.

What I also did was rotating the focus scale to the correct position, just had to loosen the 3 screws and rotate it.

My friend will take a look at the housing today. I hope he says that the new, modified front is possible. I will post pictures of the mods if ther will be any.

Here's a photo I shot with the "serviced" lens. Taking lens was a Helios-44M @ f2

I disassembled my Sun because it looked like the front lens group that moves when focusing was loose and it rotated slightly when I turned the focus ring and the whole image went out of focus because the back and front glass were not aligned. I had to tighten 2 screws and the rotation problem disappeared. While at it I tested the vignetting without the front housing and it was better, than with it so basically it gets in the way. It is needed for focusing, but I will ask my friend to either make the front hole wider or make a custom front part with a 58mm filter thread on it. I think that would be the best.

Without the front (worst case scenario: Helios-44M @ f16):

With the front (worst case scenario: Helios-44M @ f16):

I have a Canon 550D, here are my experiences:

I also had issues with the hole for the lock pin, some adapters are good when new, but contstant usage makes the hole worse so now 2 of my 5 adapters are so loose, that when I turn the focusing ring on the lens, the AF chip turns away from the contacts in the Canon camera body so that the camera thinks the lens is screwed off and switches off recording and live view.

Chinese adapters are good, but search for branded items, or at least some that are not the cheapest.

Well I looked at both of your products and I tought that they were expensive (price+shipping) for me. I have no idea about the quality of them, it was only the price that made me look elsewhere.

Lucky for me I have a friend who could make a custom clamp

http://www.flickr.com/photos/embergabor/8596382120/in/photostream

The Sankor is about the same size I believe as the Sun, the end diameter is around 43mm.

Either you should buy a smaller clamp or find someone in your area that can make it for you. The basic principle is not that complex, a tube with a filter thread at the back and 3 screw holes plus the screws.

My clamp has a rubber O-ring that gets squeezed by the front ring, thus tightening the anamorphic. A different approach, it keeps the lens' body in its original condition, there are no screws contacting it but it is hard to set up because the front of the clamp is turning while tightening.

This is the video I shot yesterday:

https://vimeo.com/62873343

Canon 550D + Jupiter-9 wide open + Sun Anamorphic Adaptor 16

I just got my clamp that my friend machined for me for the Sun. I did a snowy night shot, I'll upload a short clip soon.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/embergabor/8596382120/in/photostream

I've seen your video before I decided to buy the Sun. I liked its character.

Yes I had to desaturate magenta because CA was very apparent at the edges of the image. I shot some very high contrast landscapes in the snow so this was probably the worst case scenario. I'll post a screengrab for others who might be interested in this glass.

Did the circle test and it says about 1.8x squeeze.

I'll do that.

Well, it was the only anamorphic I could afford.

Even the huge, heavy Lomo projection anamorphics are more expensive than this (the Sun was about $100). If I use my Helios-44M at F4 the image is actually pretty sharp and the vignetting is not very bad, but apparent, the sides can be cropped. If I use my Jupiter-9 it gives decent sharpness from F4 too. I did some close up test, 2 pictures, one without the Sun and one with the Sun and there was no major degradation in the focused areas. My only concern is setting proper focus.

Compared to other anamorphics the Sun might be worse but I don't know, it looks OK to me, I wanted the artistic effect of it, not pristine image quality. I'm still waiting for my friend to machine a clamp for holding the anamorphic lens properly. It will surely be easier to focus with the lens held tight.

After some testing I would say that a 1.75x squeeze or something around that is more accurate than a 2x squeeze. 2x seems to be too much.

Here are some shots of the adapter:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/embergabor/8559139339/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/embergabor/8559139095/in/photostream/

The SUN has massive CA at the edges, you can still see some ot it in the video. I added Auto Levels to the clips and increased the saturation. There is very subtle sharpening added.

https://vimeo.com/62024284

I got a Sun Anamorphic Adaptor 16 a few days ago. I find that the stretch varies. When focused to infinity you need 2x stretch but when using close focus (around the minimum focusing distance of 1.5m or 5feet) you need to apply lower stretch, about 1.66x seems to be fine. I am currently mounting the SUN by its filter thread via step-down rings on my Helios 44M or on my Jupiter-9. Both seem to produce the same stretch results, so I don't think it is the taking lens' fault.

For me it is hard to focus, I need to set the SUN by guessing the target distance and using the scale to set it and then I have to focus the taking lens by eye. I'm slowly getting used to it, so I guess it can be learned.