Anamorphic for girls.

[Christina Ava]

Hello to everyone,

 

I would love to start shooting anamorphic video with my canon mark iii, and I am thinking to buy an entry level anamorphic lens and the adaptors required.

 

Would you kindly direct me to the right path of anamorphic discovery?

Which lens should I start scavenging the internets for..and if you own a mark iii what is the adaptor that works?

Is there a topic for Anamorphic lenses for canon i can search;

 

My budget is modest. 

my anamorphic appettite big.

 

Thank you for your help

c.

 

[JohnBarlow]

Hi Christina,

 

You have a 5D3, then with Magic Lantern RAW and using the crop modes you have the perfect full height CinemaScope camera.

Full height CinemaScope is 18.6mm sensor height and the crop modes will easily accomodate this.

 

The Scope you should be looking for is a 2x stretch and the Bell & Howell Kowa 2x is a perfect choice for beginning your journey into Scope.

 

Later you may want to upgrade to the RectiluxNo5 which I am developing

 

The Kowa looks like this one

[Julian]

Maybe it's incorrect to asume that everybody with a 5D Mark III (wants to) shoot(s) raw...

[Christina Ava]

Thank you John, :D

i am trying to find some footage shot on the Kowa with a mark III, maybe in vimeo.

 

Julian where I am from I dont know anyone that wants to shoot anamorphic period, in any camera.... :) 

 

personally i have always loved the cinema feel of anamorphic and having the mark iii is an awesome chance for me.

 

c.

[dhessel]

I just posted this one yesterday, its a MKII with a Kowa Prominar 16H. Its not a MKIII but should be close enough. Also I used Helios lenses for the taking lenses both of which have swirly bokeh so some of the character of the depth of field is coming from that.

 

Overall the Kowa is a great lens, sharp even wide open, it produces a nice warm orange anamorphic flare in sunlight. An example of which can be seen at then of the video. I picked up mine for $500 since it had focus issues wide open. Turns out the front and rear glass were ever so slightly out of alignment which I was able to fix my self. Just something to keep in mind since both of the anamorphics I purchased of ebay had this same issue.

 

http://www.eoshd.com/comments/topic/3811-fall-colors-5dmkii-raw-anamorphic/

[Christina Ava]

Hi dhessel, the image is sharp, have you shot anything with no color grading or added sharpness filters etc;

 

Thank you! 

[dhessel]

I did zero sharpening on that footage but I did shoot at 1472x1250 using ML Raw, stretched that out to 2944x1250 then down scaled to 1920x818.

 

Here are some of my ungraded shots, these are totally unmodified except for pixel aspect. I uploaded with the 2.0 pixel aspect so thay may or may not play squeezed. One thing to note is that ML Raw video is very flat compared to standard h264 so I feel that raw video always needs grading. Also I was rushed so I didn't always expose as well as I could have and may have missed my focus as well. It is difficult using the dual focus especially wide open. I can confirm the lens is sharp when I have tested it wide open using a fixed object and tripod and made sure to nail the focus.

 

Here are a few.

https://vimeo.com/78834957

 

https://vimeo.com/78834959

 

https://vimeo.com/78834964

 

https://vimeo.com/78834966

 

https://vimeo.com/78834967

 

https://vimeo.com/78835842

 

https://vimeo.com/78835664

[Christina Ava]

thanks for the uploads!

[Paulio]

Be aware the Kowa is dual focus, meaning you have to focus both the taking lens and the anamorphic.

I owned one and they create beautiful images, great minimum focus but the dual focus was totally impractical

on set, it slows things down too much and time is money on set. If it's for personal use i'd say go with a kowa

but if you making films or any sort of professional application you may want to look at the new SLR magic,

century optics, or if you have the cash an iscorama.

[christrad]

I don't agree with u Paulio. I think Double focus just need some practice even if I've never used it on set.

I own a 5D MarkII with a Kowa for Bell & Howell (wich I highly recommand like John Barlow) and here is my last video, it's not Raw but H264.

On this vid, I had only a short time (like 2 hours) and you'll see by yourself that double focus is possible...

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x16on4j_ange-aux-abbesses-anamorphic-kowa-for-bell-howell_creation

[Christina Ava]

thanks for the input Paulio, yes Iscorama is a number one choice, but out of budget, i will look into slr magic and century

great advice, dual focus is a bit too much, not that i cant handle it for personal projects...will probably make you an excellent focus puller.. :D

[dhessel]

Dual focus is not that bad unless you are wide open. I haven't tried yet but I believe you can set the anamorphic to infinity and focus only with the prime if you are stopped down far enough. I have had very good luck with just estimating the distance to subject and setting both the taking lens and anamorphic to that distance. I recently did a run and gun shoot of my 2 year old at an indoor play area at f2.0 using this technique and at least 95% of my shots where in focus and the rest were usable for most of the shot.

 

Also the slr magic adapter is a prototype and not available yet, there is the panasonic LA7200 but that is fairly expensive allows for single focus but is terribly soft on the edges especially on a full frame sensor. Right now if you want single focus your options are very limited.

 

Unfortunately with most adapters you will need to give up on focus pulls or spend a lot of time practicing.

[JohnBarlow]

My advice is not to sacrifice the art for ergonomics. Nothing touches Cinemascope like real Cinemascope.

 

There are some Steadicam Ops out there who would walk off set if you assigned a puller to their crew

 

This is where it is...

 

https://vimeo.com/77266490

[Bioskop.Inc]

Basically, anyone who says dual focus lenses are a pain just haven't spent enough time learning/practicing.
Its all about being able to judge distances & when you know how far 2m is, for example, you'll get quicker at hitting focus.

Once you get good its like second nature & it takes no time at all to focus both lenses perfectly in unison. 

Also, its very hard to focus pull & operate a camera at the same time, so the reasoning behind getting an Iscorama, if you don't have a 2 man crew, is a defunct one - so if you are a lone shooter an iscorama might save you a little bit of time focusing but not that much.

 

Kowa for B&H or a Sankor 16D - they both have large rear elements, will be perfect for a 5D3, Kowa is more expensive & the Sankor has blue flares.

[dhessel]

I agree with that statement for the most part. The only time it was difficult for me was when I was trying to focus on an object about 5 feet away at f1.5. It just took a little time to fine tune both to nail the focus. If either one was a little off the focus gets soft.

 

Sometimes I wish I had a rig where I could quickly move the Kowa out of the way, focus the prime, then move the Kowa back and focus it. Once the prime is properly focused it is quick to focus the Kowa.

[Lucian]

Basically, anyone who says dual focus lenses are a pain just haven't spent enough time learning/practicing. 

 

Sorry but i gotta disagree. I owned and used a B&H kowa for over a year and got about as good as you can really get with a dual focus system, but the fact is it takes additional time and adds additional margin for error, not acceptable on set. Great adapter for personal stuff, beautiful images, but not practical for any sort shoot where you have crew involved. Look at the above shots, most of them have messed up focus. Look at all the kowa stuff online, half of it is out of focus. If you have plenty of time and are filming your mates/kids/trees etc it's no worries. But a couple of soft shots can really screw you up on a film shoot.

 

In any case, take your time deciding which adapter to get. There is a ton of info on this site and in Andrews guide which is impartial.

 

Good luck!

[Rob Bannister]

I got pretty good at it, it really is what you have to deal with on a modest budget. I would just focus one towards infinity or close focus and then the other. You get used to how the defocus works where it will kind of get sharper but before it does the bokeh will stretch out the other way and then you know to focus the other to get it sharp.

 

Unfortunately finding amazing deals on anamorphics is not happening anymore unless you are travelling around small shops in the UK, Germany, Russia I just dont think you are going to run into a great cheap find on the internet now a days.

 

Look into the Bolex Moller lenses, The kowa 16H, 8z or BandH, and maybe even get up to the iscomophot single focus anamorphic lenses. Besides that the iscorama lenses are all over priced. The only other thing I can suggest is the anamophic filters or the DSO Dog Schidt Optics Lenses. You can fit oval apertures and really get a nice fake out of them. No vignetting or anything because its back at the aperture level.

 

I dont want to keep polluting threads with samples of this but you can msg me for some or look for some of my posts using these.

[Christina Ava]

Hi Rob, yes I am familiar with Dog Schidt Optics and melting bloke, they have some great "whacked" lenses, and they have a usualy long waiting list.Its a thought to consider but I am researching for the real deal too...

 

cheers

[richg101]

I'd suggest grabbing anything.  everything will work.  just make sure you have an 85mm taking lens since that will allow use on your full frame sensor.

 

Based on your videos on vimeo I think the limitations of a dual focus system will probably lead you into being creative in combatting some of the limitations.  I find locked down anamorphic shots where the subjects are kept within the plane of focus instead of being chased by a focus ring can look more powerful - it suggests a big camera and a huge camera support.

 

This has not been mentioned but it might end up more enjoyable (and cost effective) to buy another camera (with a smaller sensor) - thus allowing easier good results from lesser, cheaper anamorphics.  a less costly 50mm lens can then be used instead of the 85mm you'll need for your full frame sensor at the moment.

 

If staying with full frame, I would suggest you spent a portion of your budget on a nice 85mm alongside a cheaper anamorphic (Sankor is amazing value for money).  instead of more money on the anamorphic and less on the 85mm.  its all in the taking lens IMO!  

 

 

Iscorama is a nice benchmark, but since its so costly I find it not much fun to risk using out and about.  The worry of damaging an iscorama is more of a creative hindrance than a dual focus system IMO

[richg101]

Oh and ps.

 

A Helios 44 should be top of your list in terms of equipment (if you're mad enough to not yet have one already!)  Most anamorphics will vignette slightly on full frame with a 58mm, but the vignette/barrel glow is slight and very beautiful