Jim Chang

​If interested i have  Bausch & Lomb Anamorphic Cinemascope Lens same weight as the one on ebay but will take 35mm and up lenses it also come with custom machined clamp This lens will focus 12ft to infinity its really nice lens and it flares but not to much
I have made posting on kijiji
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-view-details.html?adId=1050947357
I see you are from Canada i am in Hamilton Ontario
Some projects done with this lens
http://vimeo.com/101107957 Music Video
 
 
 
 

Thanks any more info let me know
 
 
 
 

There are other alternatives but Redstan's clamps will get you closest to you taking lens. They are also the easiest to use, the safest being your anamorphic lens will not fall to the ground when your adjusting your alignment, and the sexiest in my option. You get what you pay for. Redstan is the man and his clamps are amazing but if you are in a crunch for time and money, Jim at  Rapidotechnolgy could have a alternative. http://www.rapidotechnology.com/ 

BOLD,  After reviewing the info and your posts from page 1 showing with the green arrows and viewing the "COOKING ANAMORPHIC LENS" video and other videos, It seems to me that the idea here is trying to get the two lens, front and rear closer to achieve closer focusing. I think the images with the green arrows tells me that we do not have to cut the B&L in half like Cooking Anamorphic's video, instead looks like we can modify the B&L by cutting maybe an inch off more or less the front outer element housing where in your photo shows the gap between the inner barrow and outer barrow with green arrow and cutting the same off the bottom of the inner barrow that holds the front glass so there is room to push the front glass further down, last thing to trim down would be the area with the two side screws are so everything can be reassembled. Will anyhow I think this is what I'm going to try to do and will also try to document back here with photos of the project. Oh and one more thing, this looks like it can be done with a pipe cutter, clean with no mess like a saw     

MOKIM, I recommend doing a step-by-step documentation of disassembling & reassembling the lens — as well as labeling of all parts and taking measurements (distance between the glass elements, e.g.) — before doing any modifications. "Measure twice, cut once" as the saying goes.  Good luck with the mod, please post your progress! 

Here's a photo of my B&L attached to the camera

MOKIM, I'm so glad this thread has been useful!  I'm gratified to see all the great information people have contributed.  My own progress has stalled as life/job stuff has been taking priority but I will get back to my anamorphics in the next few weeks and post more info/progress when I can.
I have a couple B&H's I have to get back to first, and hopefully by the time I'm done tinkering with them, Jim will have some more B&L info too  I am very eager to see his rehousing results!.
Cheers,
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This is great information, BIG thanks! I just purchased the same lens of Ebay and was searching all over the web for info and this has to be the best posting so far, I am gonna follow your findings and repeat some of what you are doing, can't wait to see more of your results 

Also Jim for re-housing the glass, have you considered painting the sides of the elements flat black to reduce internal/barrel flare? (This may be moot if the housing you are planning is already black)

I dig some history about those lenses: those type I lens are the B&L improvement of the French Hyperginar designs, but still has quite a lot aberrations, especially the mump and breathing problem, I wouldn't cut them in half and adjust the distance between front and rear glass, this not only changes the squeeze ratio, but also increases the chance of getting none-concentric alignment between front and rear glass. 
I will take out the glass completely, and make a new housing, a lighter one, and use external device for adjusting focus. 
Its a little bid heavy lifting...Probably only for the people who pursue unique looks out of this lens, people like me, :-)
I wil share more when I am done with this mod, :-) 

I wasn't even being a jerk this time! They found out I was banned before for life.  
 This is my only forum now besides nofilmschool and cinematography.com.  Until I get banned here.

Added an ** to the min focus distance, with corresponding notation to the description for Kowa B&H.

Here's my model shoot, shot with Kowa 2x + Rangefinder.  It's very sharp F4/F5.6.  And be prepared for lots of flares!  SLR Magic is always going for that Panavision look with blue flares and streaks.  It's their lens coating design.

Hi EOSHD peoplez!
Sadly I have too sell my gear. I got this a few years ago to start my short film, alas some personal disasters kicked off an it held me back, few years on and I'm still fighting these.
As there is no need to keep hold of this I will be selling these and are top order, the oct 18 has some specks of dust in the lens and the anamorphic has a slight smear on the lens as well. Nothing to stop you filming.

Panasonic gh2 (imported from states, if makes difference)
2x 32gb cards
Kowa BELL & Howell 2x anamorphic lens
redstan clamps
Helios 44M + lens adaptor
50 mm oct 18
oct 18 lens adaptor to gh2
cinema lens hood + filter holder
Gini half rig
rails
cheese plate etc
1x 0.6 soft grad filter

example of what was shot

I can take better photos when the need arises as I can answer more questions. The gear is hardly used as I still preferring to shoot my photos on film ( I know ).
I'd like to sell the lot in one go but if you want to hold off the camera I will knock off some money. Let me know if of interest and I'll confirm all the details.
Forewarning I working VFX (translation no time to myself) I'd like to hand this over to someone in London.
 
Regards,
Mat

I put a MIR 1B 37mm on my GH4 and the B&L showed some artifacts in the corners towards one end of the focus throw,  I think that's a little barrel reflection and not vignetting, probably caused by the non-black part of the inside barrel (see picture above). I'll try it with a longer lens when I get a chance to see if the artifacts persist.
My second B&L arrived today, other than a little dust the glass seems in great shape.  Cumbersome lenses, but a quality 2x for under 100 bucks it's not a bad in my book.
Jim, what approach are you taking for rehousing?  Are you re-purposing old lens parts?  Custom-machining a new solution?  What materials are you planning to work with?  Sorry to pester you, I'm just really psyched to see what you come up with and - if I can - follow your lead.
 
Cheers,
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Moondog lens + pana mode = super wide angle's widescreen photo
 

100% pixel crop, then can see 2 people in middle

They just come up with a version for IPAD, and for 37mm mount. 
Looks very interesting. 

I am a die-hard Moeller fan...
For me nothing comes close in terms of sharpness, imagequality, color, flare. These are so versatile and wonderful built. They have so much character. Maybe the difference is they were made for filming and the 16mm version could work on FF like any Kowa. I would definately go for Moeller 16/32 with Rangefinder if I had the money. On the other way they are so easy to handle... you don't need a rangefinder

IMO, EF85 1.8 works fine and the widest basically, but EF100 f2 is better a little bit in all, except wide angle.

I'm certainly going to be using a matte box next time in order to avoid the flares, as I agree with you completely. Again, this was a test. Better to be aware of the flares so I can take measures to avoid them when they're unwanted. It's a shame, really. The Kowa has wonderful horizontal flares, but there's no way to get them without also introducing the big blue blobs.
 
Flynn, the Kowas are from the 80s (most of them), so they're pretty much on par with lenses from that era. IMO they're the most versatile projection anamorphic. Not as "Zeiss clinical" as a Schneider, not as vintage as a Moller, but they can go the widest and tend to take on the character of whatever prime lens you use them with. KOWA FTW. The trick is finding a prime lens that they work well with. Pancakes and lenses with simple optics tend to work the best. Obviously, the Rangefinder is brand spankin new, and other than the blue flares, it really is wonderful. I'm also using a SmallHD AC-7, so I can now focus and de squeeze anamorphic as I capture it. Whole different ballgame and really, really gratifying setup to work with.
 
Yes, there are a few other "variable diopter" systems available right now, and I'm sure some of them have a slight edge over the Rangefinder. But pre-ordered for $400 with focus scale, this sucker is hard to beat bang-for-buck. I did find myself using the focus scale to rack focus consistently over multiple takes. With a better follow focus that might not be necessary, but I'm personally glad I got one with marks.

Yeah, I was interested in the 'lens cooking' tutorial for how to extract the lens elements for re-housing. I definitely don't want to change the aspect ratio!
Earlier in this thread, enny said he doesn't have to focus his B&L, just the taking lens.  Do you find otherwise?
Awesome, looking forward to it - thanks Jim!
 

My support setup is almost ready.  But the cheap Canon lens collar is cheap, so it's a little wiggly. A simple shim should do it.

B&L's have their manufacture date on the inside of the front housing.  In my case, my lens was made on Dec 1 1954:

Hi, All! 
Here are some screen grabs, from my first UHD video test with the new SLR Magic Rangefinder/Kowa 16-H/Konica 40mm/Samsung NX1.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68917223@N05/albums/72157659802564846/with/22182848755
I've done only small, simple corrections to these images, nothing drastic beyond a tiny bit of sharpening and levels tweak. This is more-or-less how this setup renders things straight to the camera. Hopefully some video will come soon, showcasing wonderful, easy focus pulls!
I did one test previous, (right out of the box of course, and it was not properly executed.) With some careful tuning of the "taking" prime lens' focus, I was able to get sharper results in this second test. The Kowa and the Rangefinder are nowhere near their max resolving power, that much is clear. The small Konica Hexanon 40mm pancake is unfortunately the culprit. Even at f4 (which all of these were taken at), it just isn't tack-sharp in the fine details. It's good enough to warrant UHD instead of HD, but it doesn't quite "pop" in the sharpness department (an attribute of good 4K that I've found very appealing.)
The Rangefinder is what is creating the prominent (large) blue "bokeh" flares, and in doing so, it robs the Kowa of some of its flare intensity. Not sure how I feel about that. Other than the change to flare characteristics, the Rangefinder leaves the image pretty much identical to what the Kowa and Konica do without it on front. It does breathe, but only a little bit, and I happen to like a touch of breathing on anamorphic. 

Hi All - I'm selling a B&H Projection Lens which I've had modded at SK Grimes to allow for smooth rack focusing. £750 including insured delivery in the UK. It is a single focus lens. Here's the pics:
 


 
SK Grimes rehoused the front element diopter so now it can close focus to at least 20 inches and it would be simple to attach a follow focus gear. Focus from near to far is approx 400 degrees, leaving lots of room for subtle focus pulls.
It has a 58mm front thread for filters etc and I'll throw in the pictured Redstan XL clamp and step up rings I've been using to attach it to my Nikons.
 
Quick n dirty rack focus here - password: olaf
(5D II Raw 1344x1120, Nikon 105mm 2.5 @5.6, no grading)
 
The Good
Pretty pretty pretty image. Like, really pretty. It has a lovely look to the defocus areas and is as sharp as the taking lens you throw at it.  In terms of usability, it is the real deal. It is single focus, it just works.  Optics are clean and good on the front and rear anamorphic block. There is a very small cleaning mark on the diopter which I can't see effecting image quality and I certainly can't photograph it. Flares are controllable, but cool and blue if you want to force it. In terms of value, if you are looking to get started straight away with a 2x single focus unit then this is a solid alternative to Iscos or adding a Rangefinder etc to something else. The Bad
The widest taking lens I've been able to use with these is a 105mm on a FF cam, which gives you a horizontal FOV roughly the same as a 50mm on a 5D, A7S etc. You still do get a vignette if you shoot 16x9 but you can either crop off the sides or shoot in a windowed RAW mode (hint: do this) to solve this. Alternatively, you can use a wide-angle adapter to get a wider image. Couple Notes on Usage
The sweet spot on this lens seems to be 85mm or 105mm on APS-C sensors. My 7D (RIP) in raw gave a brilliant portraity / close-up shot through this lens. FF anamorphic is a BIG look but to be honest, the depth of field is so shallow that I'd rather use a smaller sensor cam. On some lenses you get better results in terms of focus from backing the taking lens a little off of infinity. Not exactly sure why this is but I assume it is to do with the distance between the taking lens and anamorphic, which is always slightly different with different lenses. If I had time I'd have looked more closely at this, but as it is no big deal in practice I left it as an enigma. Two Final Things
I am not the guy selling disguised versions of these on eBay, he is in the US and I'm in the UK. His mod results in a push-pull focus, whereas the work I've had done gives you a standard rotate-to-focus system. I totally love Bold's DIY mod that he is doing on his lens, so this is not an attempt to steal his thunder or bogart on his hard work. But at the same time, I can't leave this hanging around on the shelf doing nothing when I'm basically going to be shooting BTS stills and run and gun doc stuff all next year. I love DIY projects but I had neither the time or expertise to do what he is doing, hence I sent it off to have it done professionally and to a far higher standard than I could ever do. If it doesn't sell at this price I'm going to keep it for a rainy day.   
Let me know if you have any questions or if you want me to shoot something specific!
 

Is there any optical difference between the two? When should we expect $299 version on sale in US?