drewski310

it barely feels like an anamorphic with the semi oval bokehs.

and in my opinion, it flares way too much.

its too distracting.

Top frame is SLR Magic (from a sample video).  Bottom frame is from my Iscorama.  Perfectly oval bokeh in both examples.  If I didn't know which is which, I would say the Iscorama looks more "videoish" because of the sharpness (which is more a function of the taking lens IMHO).

Disappointed by the lack of oval bokeh.

Looks pretty oval to me:

I for one am looking forward to picking up the SLR Magic Anamorphot.  My Iscorama doesn't do blue flares like the SLR Magic.  Kudos to both Andrews for taking an idea and making it a reality.

Drew, let us know how you go with duclose. I've considered having mine re-lubed but don't want to send it all the way from LA to bernie in NY.

 

My isco turns smoothly, but definitely a ton more resistance compared to modern lenses. Not sure how silky they can go :P

Paul @ Duclos had an issue with a previous customer's Iscorama and politely declined to clean and re-lube mine.  I reached out to Bernie O but haven't heard back.  Your Iscorama sounds like mine...smooth turning but lots of friction.

Rob,

I'm checking with Duclos now to see if they can service my Iscorama's stiff focus.  If so, I'll go ahead and send it in and get the focus gear and report back.  It usually takes about a month turnaround whenever I send them a lens.

Drew

Nice!  I like my 60mm s-planar so much that I'm looking for the 100mm f2.8 s-planar as well.  They are big and heavy lenses though.

You'll have to send in your Iscorama to get the ring fitted.  I tried the zip tie gears...they don't work well because they slip, and you can't put the gear over the serrated area (for more grip) because it's tapered and will eventually slide off.  Duclos ensured me that they can make a ring that won't slip and I believe them 100%.  I considered the Duclos solution, but the bigger issue for me is the movement of the whole Iscorama/taking lens combo due to the "slop" of the adapter where it attaches to the camera body.  My Iscorama is smooth but a bit stiff in the focus, and any attempt to use a follow focus causes the whole lens combo to shift slightly. 

I don't have his email in front of me at the moment, but it was around $100-130 depending on how wide they need to make the ring.

Paul at Duclos Lenses said they're able to add a solid one-piece gear to my Iscorama.  They made a custom wide ring for my 60mm macro lens that has about an inch of forward movement.

Hi Rudolf,

Sorry to hear you didn't have the same experience with Contax Zeiss lenses.  I do agree with you that the AEG and MMJ versions render colors differently, and you can see the evidence of this in my 3 comparison pictures above (the shot of the bananas and Russian doll on the kitchen counter).  The 28mm f2 lens is an AE, and you can see it has a very slight warmer tone compared to the 50mm f1.4 and 100mm f2 (which are both MM).

My Canon FD 50mm f1.4 was the first lens I've owned, so I'm very familiar with its look and was one of my favorite lens for many years.  But in my experience it's not in the same league as my Contax Zeiss lens in terms of sharpness, especially in the corners.

It should just unscrew.  The 49mm threads on the back of the anamorphic adapter are the only means of attachment to a taking lens.

Thanks Lucian.  The 60mm macro is sharp wide open at f2.8.  The 28mm and 100mm are also sharp wide open at f2.  The 50mm I'm guessing would have to be stopped down before getting as sharp as the others...I didn't use it that much on this day.  I didn't have an ND filter with me, so all the daytime shots were stopped down almost all the way.

Spent last Saturday at the beach testing the lens combos:

My thoughts:

• The Contax Zeiss 60mm f2.8 S-Planar Macro is my favorite taking lens...easily the sharpest lens I own
• The 28mm f2 (aka "Hollywood 28") adds distortion that becomes noticeable if you're shooting a scene with lots of straight lines
• Some focus adjustment of the taking lens is necessary, even though the Iscorama is supposed to be a single focus setup.

They are different designs.  The 60mm s-planar is a double helicoid, able to go to 1:1 magnification, and extends very long when shooting macro.  I don't have a 50mm f2 makro but it looks like it shoots 1:2

Jim,

Yes the 60mm isn't cheap, but it's very sharp and the macro feature is an added bonus.  Definitely cheaper than the 35mm f1.4.  The 50mm f1.4 is more widely available and affordable, but I don't believe it's as sharp as the 60mm.  As for the 45mm, I bought it to try on the Iscorama, but now I'll probably sell it.

Drew

This combo seems to be the sharpest, even at f2.8.  I measured the actual squeeze of my Iscorama and it's 1.424, which works out to 2.53:1

Hi Jim,

Love my little Contax Zeiss collection!  These are the Duclos cine-modded ones.  I also have the 35-70 and 45.

I had the same issue as you with the 45.  Hanging that big anamorphic onto that tiny pancake wasn't workable.  Very hard to adjust the focus ring, and the added weight seemed to make the focus ring harder to move.  I'll try the Iscorama on my s-planar 60mm macro next.

Hi eris,

Thanks for the tip, I will keep zeisscamera.com in mind if I ever need repair.  My Contax primes have all gone to Duclos Lenses to de-click the aperture and add the one-piece focus ring gear.

richg101, yes, I've downloaded your picture before...amazingly sharp!  I'm currently shooting on GH2s and a GH3 so I have a few more options available.  Thanks for the recommendation, I'll definitely look into the 85mm f2.8, and that oval FF58 sounds great...any sample footage?

Thanks Lucian...yes the Contax Zeiss is very sharp glass.  Note that the 28mm and 50mm are shot at f2.8.  If I brought out a softbox light and stopped down further, I should be able to get those shots razor sharp.  The 100mm seems to prefer being farther away from the subject (which I couldn't do in my kitchen).  I couldn't get it sharp enough until I stopped down to f5.6 and bumped up the ISO to 1600.  But if you have distance in front of you, the 100mm is probably the sharpest of them all.

I'll look into the DSO.

Thanks au8ust!  I'm hoping to be able to compare my Iscorama to the SLR Magic Anamorphot once it's released.  I like the blue flares from the SLR Magic.

Hello,

Long time lurker, finally decided to register to learn and contribute.  I've been doing a little testing with some of my Contax Zeiss glass as a taking lens to my Iscorama.  Previously, I've only used a Helios 44-2.  The Zeiss is noticeably sharper and seems to work well.  Sorry, no lens flares here - just a quick test of overall sharpness and bokeh.

I tried using a Contax Zeiss 45mm f2.8 pancake, which made a a nice, compact setup, but it unfortunately wasn't as sharp and I'd hoped for.

Drew