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Vazen 40mm T2 1.8X anamorphic lens


kye
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I've seen this pop up in my YT feed a few times now, and this rig that Tom Antos just posted looks pretty sweet...

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His YT post (yes, these are a thing now) says:

Quote

Been shooting on a new setup ZCAM E2 with Vazen 40mm T2 anamorphic lens and PortKeys BM5 monitor. Simple but fun rig.

 

 

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15 hours ago, heart0less said:

That's why people came up with all those DIY anamorphic adapters.

Not only you feel some sense of a personal achievement when you finally get it working and looking good, it also saves you a lot of money.

Yeah.

Of course, at $3250 from B&H, it's a lot cheaper than other offerings!

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  • 4 weeks later...
21 hours ago, photographer-at-large said:

That's a pretty interesting lens. It equals roughly a S35 40mm f3 image wise and bokeh wise which is pretty cool especially considering its small size. Image looks really nice, even though I kind of regret the saturated blue flares that looks like a cheap knock-off of Panavision primo's flares.

Vazen guys would be really smart to work with some dop's and directors to find a better look. Anamorphic is about the look, it's a very fine line that separates a bad lens from an organic, desirable one. They really need some inputs from pros. Also the non swappable lens mount is a major turn-off as the M43 mount seems in jeopardy on the mid term horizon.

Good job nonetheless. 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
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VZ (Vazen) 40mm t/2 Anamorphic Prime is the world’s first 1.8X anamorphic prime designed for Micro Four Thirds cameras with 4:3 sensors. Characterized by its front anamorphic design, the VZ Anamorphic prime delivers a butterly smooth oval bokeh, signature blue horizontal flare and the widescreen cinematic look.

The 1.8x squeeze produces a cinematic 2.39:1 aspect ratio to your image when capturing with 4:3 M43 sensors like Panasonic GH5 and Z-cam E2. The lens features a fast t/2 aperture and 2.7” minimum focus distance, the focus breathing is also minimal .

Despite the rugged design, the VZ anamorphic prime is relatively compact and lightweight. It was designed with the finest mechanical functionality to allow cinematographers to film with ease. The 95mm front diameter allows usage with standard matte box and the independent aperture and focus rings are built with 0.8mod cine gears. The focus throw is 300°.

Other focal lengths of the VZ primes are in the works. We expect a 28mm and 65mm VZ 1.8x  anamorphic primes for M43 sensors to be launched later of the year.

Other M43 cameras like Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera (BMPCC 4k) can also be used.

 

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Well... not only is it specifically designed for 4/3" 4:3 sensors, it is specifically designed for a mirrorless system. That means the transmission distance between lens and sensor is very very short. So, you can't just slap on an EF mount with a huge flange distance like you could the other way around (where the adapter works like a macro tube, just bridging the gap). If they would've designed it for EF so it could've been adapted to MFT, it would've required an unnecessarily bulky and heavier design. By designing it specifically for a popular range of anamorphic shooting cameras, including the Panasonics that even have specific anamorphic modes with in-camera de-squeeze, they're keeping the lens no more bigger than it really needs to be. One area where they can really set themselves apart from the competition (well, except perhaps Sirui now; also regarding prices) and would be very benificial for gimbal use, as size and weight quickly becomes a factor there.

Sirui got asked a lot to 'please do EF mount!' as well. Same problem, so we won't see this very 50mm f/1.8 1.33x anamorphic get an EF mount. But they said they'll see what can be done in the future in terms of new developments. Of course EF or Nikon F mount is the more versatile, I get that. There's a bunch of native EF cams in the industry. Also allows adapting to any mirrorless mount. Whereas with mirrorless mounts, unless it's an interchangeable one, it's picking and choosing and you're stuck with it. There however, you can adapt MFT to both E-mount and Z-mount as it turns out.

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I would die happy if they would go in the opposite direction: 16mm coverage. There are many wonderful 16mm film cameras not being used because it is costly and/or impractical to convert them to the coveted Super-16 format, but 1.8X anamorphic and “Regular-16” would be a match made in heaven! 
 

Their 28/40/65 already cover the format, they could just do a wider lens for 16mm specifically, and re-house the other three lenses in PL mount. 
 

I’m scheming regardless to get that 28mm onto my Eclair NPR, but it would be preferable to have a wider option. I would think they could do it with the anamorphic optics from the 28mm and a new spherical block designed around the smaller 16mm image circle.

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On 12/9/2019 at 2:06 AM, kye said:

Current retail is $5750 for the above without power or media..  It looks super-cool but wow you pay for it!


Yes, but look at the cost of an Alexa Mini / RED Gemini / etc with any of the mainstream anamorphic cinema lenses. 

You may find Tom Antos' setup doesn't cover even a tenth of the budget of those. 
 

On 12/9/2019 at 10:10 PM, kye said:

Of course, at $3250 from B&H, it's a lot cheaper than other offerings!


Exactly! I'm excited by all these new "cheap" anamorphic options which are hitting the market. 

No anamorphic zooms yet though. 

Heck, I'd just like to see more affordable spherical cinema zooms hit the market as well!

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On 1/4/2020 at 7:59 AM, Julien416 said:

Vazen guys would be really smart to work with some dop's and directors to find a better look. Anamorphic is about the look, it's a very fine line that separates a bad lens from an organic, desirable one. They really need some inputs from pros. Also the non swappable lens mount is a major turn-off as the M43 mount seems in jeopardy on the mid term horizon.

Good job nonetheless. 


Wish more low budget cinema lenses in general had swappable mounts. 

Especially as the market they're often trying to pitch them to, these are still BIG INVESTMENTS for them. 

And it would be reassuring to know you can likely use these lenses for a looooong time. 

As sure, you've been using a Panasonic GH5 for the last few years, and thus a MFT cinema lens seems like a great idea! But what about later in the year when you swap to a Fuji X-T4? And then in 2025 when you change over to a Sony a7Smk3 when it finally ships? Would be great to keep on bringing along your lenses with you!

 

On 1/15/2020 at 9:24 PM, Caleb Genheimer said:

I would die happy if they would go in the opposite direction: 16mm coverage. There are many wonderful 16mm film cameras not being used because it is costly and/or impractical to convert them to the coveted Super-16 format, but 1.8X anamorphic and “Regular-16” would be a match made in heaven! 


There is a mod you can do yourself for regular 16mm cameras to go wider, not S16, forgot the name of it at the moment. 

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