Iscomorphot 1.5/8 taking lenses and calibration

[freeman]

Hey everyone, just picked up a little Iscomorphot 1.5/8 anamorphic adapter, planning on using it to film a wedding later this month. I'm starting to do some tests to see what kind of look I can get from this thing and I'm trying to find a good taking lens (shooting with a GH5) So far I've put it on my Nikon 50mm F2, not too happy with the quality of the pair. I have a Contax 50mm 1.7 and a canon FD 50 1.4, both of those are 55mm front thread so until a step-down ring comes in the mail I wanted to see if anyone else has experience with this tiny anamorphic scope. Just as a test, I attached it to an Olympus 12mm, and though it vignetted heavily, with the ETC crop it was noticeably sharper than the Nikon on the center. Same result with my SLR Magic 25mm, it was a little wide for the scope but I was able to see better quality images. 

Second, I'm wondering if this lens could benefit from a slight calibration, though I've only seen posts of this being done to some of the larger Kowa and sankor anamorphic. I have already found that I need my taking lens to be backed off from infinity to get good infinity focus. Anyone done any work on these? The grease in the lens is very stiff so I may be pulling it apart soon at least for that. 

Got a busy work week but I may be able to shoot a little with it and post something.

[freeman]

Was able to do some testing this week on the little Iscomorphot:

So far my Contax/zeiss 50mm1.7 is the best match for this lens. You really need to stop to f5.6 to get sharpness from this setup, which is going to mean bumping up my iso on the gh5. Less than desirable, but I think I can make it work for the wedding I'm shooting at the end of the month. Interestingly, I tried adapting the Iscomorphot to my SLR Magic 50mm .95. This lens really makes the Isco shine, I even got center sharpness at f2! However unfortunately anything below f4 introduces quite heavy vignetting, I believe this is because the filter thread on the slr magic is a massive 62mm compared to the 39mm Isco rear thread.