PepperJay

Hey, Bioskop.Inc, yeah, I tried to focus out of my window from here to across the street, but nothing but a glob of murky smear, regardless of iris or focal distance on my prime. And correct on that light source--I'd never seen a penlight take up the entire frame--like it was set for microscopic levels. I finally gave up yesterday and shipped it back to the seller in Prague (before I accidentally scratch it). Sad, as it was the only Isco I had owned, and now the baby Möllers and Hypers are way too expensive for me. But I have more than enough lenses to experiment with for the time being, and I thank you again for your input and encouragement. I feel like a bit of a quitter, but the window for this $400 lens was closing faster than I was making any progress.
 

Sounds like it could be the alignment then, even a few millimetre rotated each direction can ruin a lens.

All good, tweak--the image actually improved to a less globby mess at f16~22, but still nothing even distinguishable up to at least half a mile away (lots of subjects on bright days out here). My only theory at this point is that there is some misalignment within the lens itself. I didn't mention that in the listing earlier (mainly because I felt it was something I was doing wrong), but the seller rated it as a "C+" condition lens, as they stated that it had marks from possible fungal cleaning. Before I bought it, I asked the seller if he thought the cleaning marks dramatically hampered the image quality, and he said he didn't know, but he would be happy to take it back if I weren't satisfied. Perhaps I should have been wary of the "didn't know" part, as he sells lenses for a living (though perhaps not as many anamorphics.) But given the fact that I could see a pretty clear image of my TV when holding the lens 2 feet away from my eye, I don't think cleaning marks have anything to do with the problem. My thinking (for what it's worth) is that it has to do with the internal alignment/distance within the lens when it was cleaned, as there are definite signs that the rear of the lens was indeed opened prior to my acquisition of said turkey. Granted, we're talking about milimeters of distance between the elements, but perhaps these tiny lenses are even less forgiving. Thanks to all again--as I gain more personal experience, I'll share as you have with me.

I got your point. Looks like he is struggling & was giving out more info in the process - like a good forum member should (not a 60yr old wannabe relic timewaster!)
I'm sure from his pics it's a distance thing, if not......a metallic thanksgiving meal!?

Yes, I agree - the only problem with stopping down is that most things will look in focus, but are they?
You really need to find out what your anamorphic looks like actually in focus at its optimum. This is because when you focus through you are better able to judge how much off the mark it is - you don't want to end up with some footage being really sharp & other bits which aren't.
It's the same with dual focus anamorphics - sometimes, when you're aligning the anamorphic & taking lens, things can appear to be in focus, but when they really are the image pops up nice & sharp.
Also, racking focus focus when you're stopped down can be done, but it's not as noticeable compared to when your lens is open wider (obvious, I know). The best tip for achieving a good rack focus, with these focus through lenses, is to have a taking lens with a long focus throw - it takes longer to rack, but it shows up more.
@PepperJay - how is it going? Any luck yet or is it a turkey?

I have s82x and it will focus almost any distance if you stop down a bit.

True, none of them are really "focus through", but you should be able to get some half decent focus stopped right down (which he says he can't). This I find strange.

That is strange. But looking at the second picture, i would say that you are too close to the TV - so perhaps the minimum is 5m not 5 feet. The light source shouldn't be covering the whole frame. The last pic looks like you're aimed at the wall.
The Iscomorphot S8/x2 has a minimum of distance of 4/5m & the Widescreen 2000 is 5m - so it might be worth trying to focus at something further away. 5m is quite a distance & I had real trouble with this distance in my front room, so it took me a while to get things to focus.
On a 5d2, you'll need something over 75mm. On APS-C or below a 50mm should be fine.
If not try to contact QuickHitRecord - he's a really nice guy & might be able to point you in the right direction.
Experiment - remember to adjust the taking lens, as sometimes the distances on these things aren't that accurate.
 

Yeah the focus through thing is one of those myths/lies that circulates - with these 8mm attachments, it's just wishful thinking. The Iscomorphot S8/x2, which is also fixed focus & it doesn't really play well with racking.
But having said that, I've also got the Isco Widescreen 2000 & in order to rack with that you need a diopter +0.5/0.25 (a weak one) and then stop down the taking lens a little - worth a try if you've got the right diopter.
Good luck

So, I am assuming that you read this post:
You will need to align the anamorphic - the best way to do this is to shine a bright light at it (use your phone's light & don't get too close) & you should see the flares/streaks. These flares need to be horizontal, if they aren't it will be very difficult to get the lens to focus. So you just turn the anamorphic until they are horizontal.
Try to get a clean focus at 5 feet - i.e. without any diopters (measure it with a tape measure to get yourself in the right ball park & set your taking lens to 5feet, then do minor adjustments until the object you are focusing on pops into focus).
Lastly, this is not a focus through - it's fixed focus at 5feet. You use the diopters to be able to focus closer & you just adjust the distance on your taking lens to reach the right focus distance - a lot of trial & error.
Hope this helps.

Maybe miss-aligned?