nickgorey

Hey guys,
I've been tinkering away for the past couple months and have finally come across something I'm very excited about. I cracked open the Sony VCL and, unlike the Helder, it is made up of 3 optics. I found by mounting the front two elements of the Sony adapter in front of the rear focal element of the B&H, you not only get a much wider, but acceptably sharp from edge to edge, but you also have a non-extending focus unit. Focus is accomplished by pushing or pulling the center optic of the now three focal elements. This quick tease is on s16 with a 35mm lens.
 

Unfortunately, the helder ended up being a bust. While I loved the added width, corner sharpness was awful, extending ridiculously too far into the middle of the frame. It would be useable for close ups, but I wanted it for landscape : /. Your aluminum ring looks great @Bold! Again, I am still waiting on mine....
In other news, I was able to get infinity focus with the original optics. I will post images once I'm home.
I also found that the Helder adapter can be used as a range finder, it's optics are strong enough! Could be a viable solution for smaller anamorphics to avoid those corners, just gotta house them in a helicoid. Now if I could only crack open this Sony adapter...I am still so impressed by the quality of the glass in that thing....

@Bold you're machinist is a lot faster than mine, excited for the pictures.
I've made a huge (at least I think so) discovery in terms of getting wider with this lens...
My Helder .45x wide angle adapter arrived and my camera came back from repair and I got right to testing it out. As it turns out (and so I feared) the Helder is not .45x like the Sony is .7x, but more relative to the Sony more like .8x––so the Sony is actually wider. Not too upset with my $20 let down, I took the adapter off and noticed it was two pieces, a macro element and a wide element. In a fit of curiosity, I removed the front focal element of the B&H from my helicoid and replaced it with the wide angle part of the Helder. What do you know, it worked! Not only did it work, it seems to allow better infinity and a serious added wideness to the taking lens, as well as bringing close focus down to around 5 inches. On top of the added wideness of the 2x anamorphic, there seems to be an around .7x wideness added by the Helder element. Even better, it appears to eradicate the infinity focus issue, as well as bring my close focus down to ~4 inches!
Some test video with a Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 (Take note of how wide it appears) on BMMCC (s16):
 

Well that cost more than I had hoped, but the new machined aluminum collars fit great, and have been dropped off for anodizing. Now I just need to order some lock screws.  Once I get everything back, I will post pics of my B&H mod Mk II.  Should be ready by the beginning of June.

I love the closeup on the eyes!
In regards to the WA adapter, tests on my modded B&H produced poor results.  I believe this is because the helicoid sets the WA adapter too far from the front element of the B&H.
I've decided to bite the bullet, and engage a machinist to create an aluminum part to replace my polyurethane.  We reviewed all the pieces my mod to ensure that this new part will fit properly in my custom support bracket. I should have a final product in a few weeks.
Cheers,
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I'm contemplating making a short run of these, if enough people are interested.

I use a Sony WA adapter for their handy cams.  The front thread of the BH is almost 55mm, so just use a step ring to attach a WA adapter.  I used the Sony because they are readily available and cheap.  Because the one I'm using is 0.7x, it makes lenses a little wider.   Handling is tough though.  The weight of the WA adapter makes the setup extremely front heavy.  I always use rails to mount the lens.  Also the front rotates, so make sure your lens is clean.