Cosimo murgolo

Rich you're right.  I shot both and here's my thoughts:
SLR Magic 2x just like other 2x adapters need the right lens.  I have had a hard time pairing the right lens.  Older lenses like Russian lenses or the Tokina lens don't pair well.  The SLR Magic 2x is best used with modern lenses.  That's unfortunate because it becomes more clinical and less like the "anamorphic look" that we all strive for.  The other problem is the dual focus, and I've talked at length with Andrew Chan about this.  It doesn't have a distance scale so the focus is different for each taking lens.  The focus plane is also sharper and smaller, so you can't shoot it wide open aperture.  Taking lenses must be 1-2 stops from wide open, which is F2.8-F4 or even F5.6.  Old lenses usually F8.
This is in sharp contrast to the FM Module with the Cinelux, and I believe it has more to do with the Cinelux rather than the FM.  The Cinelux is sharp, and it works very well with old lenses.  Also you can shoot wide open, meaning F1.4 is sharp.  This also gives great character especially to closeup shots of faces.  Add to that the FM is single focus and you have a clear winner.  The downsides to the FM is that it is HEAVY, HUGE size, MUST be rigged, no way can you run-and-gun with it.
I'm still on the fence as I haven't been able to shoot a lot with the SLR Magic 2x.  I've just shot what I could, and even then I admit it's not what I want to shoot.  I hope to use it more and get better results.  But there are serious compromises and I have addressed it with SLR Magic.

I think SLR Magic may have dropped the ball for the second time..
It's as if they look at results from beautiful anamorphics like the iscorama and then design something that delivers the exact opposite.  Their 1.33x lens didn;t have any anamorphic aesthetic, and it looks like it may have not been because of the minimal squeeze ratio, but their process of designing the lens.  This, like the 1.33x lens seems to miss the point of anamorphic completely.  No character, yet all of the hassle and rather poor edge capability too - for the 4k crop mode (which is more than a 2x crop of full frame) I see rather unpleasant aberrations at the edges and a significant degradation on the performance of the panasonic lens.  Going from 720p up to 4k there is no additional resolution from what I see.  This will get worse on s35, and probably real nasty on full frame.
 
Your FM video has the anamorphic look:-
 
 
Why does the SLR magic not have the same 'magic' I see from the video above?  Both were shot on 4k crop mode, both by the same person.  Both are 2x
 

those achromats really help things drastically.  flare is beautiful to my eyes - I love the coating choice slr magic used.
 
edges have a bit too much fringing to my eyes - especially since this was shot on gh4-4k.  what will it be like with s35>  probably even worse.  Overall though, this seems like some of the best results from modern cost effective anamorphics I have seen in recent years.  Those edges still feel a bit too much like a century 1.33x in terms of quality though.
 
From what I've seen this doesn't quite match what I've seen from the mighty schneider + FM unit. but certainly has a pleasing aesthetic to my eyes. 

Look, man, if your primary need is educational and if you want to spend most of your time actually doing post with 2K DNGs instead of building rigs with many components, you should go for 5D3 with ML with a nice big Lexar 1066x CF card, once you set it up to stable settings its the easiest camera to pick up and shoot without worrying about batteries or monitors, etc. I recommend you spend $2K on 5D3 and spend the rest on good Zeiss CP or Canon L lenses, they will last you forever as you keep upgrading to new cameras.
If you're buying 5D3 brand new, make sure to check the firmware that is compatible with ML before you buy, some of the latest supplies have a new firmware that doesn't allow downgrading.

A7s ​(1.1 crop)
Helios 58mm f2
Hypergonar Anamorphic
Anamorphic Shop's FM Lens

Update:
uploaded trailer
 

​Yes you will need some sort of lens support.  If you think it sags down now, wait awhile and see...  I really wish Panasonic released a firmware patch for external monitoring in 4K photo mode.  Really frustrating to shoot 3:2 or 4:3 with no monitor support.

​I'm wishing for the 4K photo hdmi out and a slog profile, but oh well, we will see 

FM Lens rack focusing test ‪#‎FMLens‬ ‪#‎Anamorphicshop‬ 
Super Takumar 50mm f1.4, Isco Ultra Star Anamorphic Lens, Panasonic GH4 
Did some tests with the FM. So far loving it, its working perfectly now that I've gotten used to it a little bit and also solved the slouching problem i had initially. It takes some time to get it configured to your rig and camera but oh man smooth rack focusing is orgasmic after a long period of painful double focusing. And I like the fact that it protects the anamorphic glass elements inside. Only downside I see is your rig becoming considerably heavier but thats not always a bad thing. Will do a review and full test at some point.

​It depends a bit on frame rate, normal vs 3x crop, continuous or buffer limited - but at 25fps I get:
(1.2:1ish) 1504x1156 - continuous
(4:3ish) 1600x1156 - continuous
(1.5:1) 1728x1156 - 42 seconds
(16:9) 1728x972 - continuous
(2.39:1) 1728x724 - continuous
These last two upscale to fill a 1080 frame really well. You can get all sorts of wacky huge resolutions in 3x crop mode but only nine or ten seconds of footage before recording stops.
 
The Kowa is 2x. I shot that vid at 1472x1156, unsqeezed and scaled down to fit 1920x804, slightly cropping left and right.
 

2015 has been unexpectedly busy already work-wise. This is awesome but it means that I have no time for personal projects and so I'm selling my Canon/Kowa anamorphic setup. I've used this mainly for home movies and fun little things and just love that look.... but I can't justify it sitting lonely on the shelf like a guilty secret.
Here's the breakdown from L-R:
Komputerbay 64Gb 1066x CF card 2 x Canon batteries Canon 7D 3rd party battery grip Strap EOS lens cap M42/EOS adapter Helios 44-2 58/2 (has a 49mm-58mm ring glued to the front) 58mm-52mm ring Redstan Clamp Kowa 8-Z Anamorphic Redstan Filter Clamp 72mm-77mm ring 77mm lens cap All in really good condition apart from the helios which is in the condition of a helios! Oh, and a battery charger of course.
 


 
And here is the last thing I shot entirely with this combo:
 
 
If you are looking to get into anamorphic RAW shooting this kit is everything you need on the hardware side to get started. Blending the 7D raw with the helios and kowa gets you a look very like 16mm film to me with all of the incredible flexibility of raw video.
£1000 including paypal fees and tracked UK delivery. Discounts for cash and you are welcome to come inspect in Oxford. Will post overseas at buyers expense. If you want me to shoot something specific or you have any questions message me!
 

Here is confirmation that the Kowa for Bell &Howell (after partial dis-assembly) will fit inside the ORIGINAL FM lens mounting tube ( not the new FM Collar 24 which has a smaller 55mm internal diameter). The aluminium tube pictured is the basic version of the mounting collar that came with the first batch of FM lenses, I cannot 100% confirm if other kowa models such as Kowa 16H/8Z will fit exactly the same, as I do not currently own that lens type, but the dis-assembly process will be identical to my previous video:https://vimeo.com/115331343
If you are a new FM lens customer and do not receive the original/ larger mounting tube and want to mount this kowa type, you could ask Anamorphic Shop for advice...or simply cut the correct sized tube yourself:
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-75-70mm-0-5metre-500mm-Long-T304-Stainless-Steel-Exhaust-Repair-Tube-Pipe/251270459252?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140122125356%26meid%3D256b0a78fb8149c69fcf994f2410a88c%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D280769110571&rt=nc
 

So bumping isn't needed I am going to pin both the FM and Rectilux threads.
Let's try and coexist and not fight. Virtues of product have to win here and people need to be sensibly informed.
Cosimo please do keep us up-to-date with the FM in the sticky! And you're welcome to do the same here John.
PS - My FM demo unit arrived and just about to get stuck in. Looks well built!

Cool. I should have the Focus Module soon and I'll be doing some tests with the Pocket Camera and an A7s for my own edification. I'll see what arrangement works best for me.

Ultimately it's easiest to get sharp results from smaller sensors since it's less stressful on the optics.  The bigger the sensor, the better the optics need to be in order to cover it successfully with less aberrations etc.
 
Assuming your budget allows an iscorama 36, then full frame will give you a more powerful setup since the 'rama can deliver sharp results on full frame and with big apertures.
a full frame sensor + 85mm + iscorama36 set at f2 will be nearly impossible to match in terms of fov and dof ratio.
to get a similar look on the pocket cam you'll need a 30mm f/0.7 - f/1.0 + iscorama36.  
 
 
Sensor size won;t determine the amount of oval defocus distortion, but since you;re using a wider lens for the same fov you'll need very very fast lenses to get the same shallowness of dof.  Without the shallowness of dof, the oval defocus wont be as obvious.
 
 
unfortunately very few anamorphic lenses can actually deliver on full frame sensors, so using smaller sensors can often be an advantage.
APS-C sensors are probably the sweet spot since a 58mm helios 44 and iscorama is having it's best portion of the optical path being used while the focal length of 58mm dictates a nice shallowness to the dof, while coming close to the limitation of the iscorama36.  you can get to around 35mm, but will need a fast 35mm that is also sharp to match the cheap 58mm f2 helios44.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hi John.
 
Please now limit the bumping of this thread until you have some photos of physical finished items as well as test material showing the finished units in action.  3d renders don't need to be recycled any more now.  We all know what they look like.  we now need to see the sustenance from the actual units for sale here.  

kinda wish it was a short with dialogue rather than a music video.  Wonderful images here, and a lovely theme too.  though I think it deserves around 20 mins and some dialogue:)

Here is another Promo we recently shot with a set of Kowas (40, 50, 75, 100mm) that I though some people might like to see. Any thoughts or feedback welcome. 
 
 
 
 

Nice shots too

Good news, anamorphic shop has included the FM collar 24 in the box when you get the FM, now you have the freedom to try different anamorphic lenses with your FM.
 

Hi guys, 
I'm putting for sale an FF58 Dog Schidt Optiks lens, EF mount. The specifics are as follow:
- Fixed oval aperture, around f2.8
- Normal amber tint
- Stupid low contrast
- Light grey finish
It's in very very nice condition, really like when i got it around 15 months ago. 
I'm selling it because i actually do not have a camera to put it on anymore, i was using it on a 5DmkII but i sold it as i didn't want to shoot a DSLR anymore, and went the analog Leica M6 route instead.
I'm asking 100€ euros + shipping (around 12€) for Europe. I'm not reluctant to ship it outside europe too. 
It's a very nice lens, very peculiar, and though you can't choose everything like on the DSO site, the settings i chose are, IMO, very nice, and you can get it for less expensive than a new one (mine is like "new" really, i mean like right out of their workshop), and very fast as i ship the day after receiving the paypal transfer, so a few days after, you can have it home, shooting the hell out of it
Here are some pics of it, and some screengrabs, bear in mind that those screen grabs are taken from ungraded 5DmkII video set on a VisionTech picture profile (which is a low contrast low sat profile). So don't pixel peep sharpness or CA, this lens is not about that, and what i shot was really not about that, but all about feeling, and atmosphere.
Ask anything you want, if i can, i will answer.
Thanks, I hope it can make one of you guys happy.
 

Good news, anamorphic shop has included the FM collar 24 in the box when you get the FM, now you have the freedom to try different anamorphic lenses with your FM.
 

Good news, anamorphic shop has included the FM collar 24 in the box when you get the FM, now you have the freedom to try different anamorphic lenses with your FM.
 

A friend of mine, independent 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYr6V5qNvRM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zzTHn7ZkMM
 

​Not without partial disassembly (removing focus ring) - the Kowa would sit in this adapter in the same way as the Ultra-star...front half being out of the clamp, rear part being in the clamp. The only difference is that the kowa's focus ring needs to be first removed to get the front diameter down to 70mm.