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Sharp cheap 2x anamorphic lens


Marty
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What is difficult?  The best way is using flare, with grid setting on viewing screen, to see the flare whether is horizontal.  But if really no flare, you just take circle/square/rectangle object, can easy to find distortion after decompressed.

 

 

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I think @Marty means that he is not able to secure it properly and make it stay perfectly horizontal.

To do that you either need to add some screws (that's why "professional" clamps have screws inside them) which will keep the adapter in place:

 

OR

Get a lens collar, like I suggested in the first place.

image.png

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Thanks!

Indeed I'm not able to make it stay perfectly horizontal. I also have another problem that is even more concerning : I can't get a sharp image. My guess is I should be able to get a sharp image whether or not it's perfectly horizontal.

I can easily tell when the taking lens comes in and out of focus.
It's a lot less easier to tell when the anamorphic adapter approaches focus and gets out of focus, yet I can still tell when it does. But my shots don't look sharper than 360p quality, even at 4k.

Will the distance between the taking lens and the anamorphic adapter change that ?

Could it be a matter of how many times I rotate my anamorphic adapter's focus ring ? Shouldn't I get a sharp image as long as  the oval (when I look at the front end) stretches from bottom to top and not from left to right ?

Am I missing something ?
I'm using a gh5 and the adapter is as close as possible to my taking lens. The camera produces very sharp images on this taking lens without the anamorphic adapter.

Each time I turn on my camera I'm asked to confirm and choose the focal length. I don't know what number I should give to my camera. I tried different figures but it doesn't seem to solve the sharpness issue.

The seller doesn't seem particularly dishonest. He told me he thoroughly tested the anamorphic adaptor and that it produced excellent sharpness. Yet he tells me he can't really help me, he says he can't tell what's wrong with my optical chain. I have opened a paypal claim just in case, and I have 10 days to return the lens if I can't get it to work by then.

I was also thinking about a minimum focus issue, but I don't think the image is sharper when I shoot things that are far away from me.

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50 minutes ago, Marty said:

My guess is I should be able to get a sharp image whether or not it's perfectly horizontal.

Yup, that's right.

 

50 minutes ago, Marty said:

Will the distance between the taking lens and the anamorphic adapter change that ?

No, it shouldn't.

 

50 minutes ago, Marty said:

Could it be a matter of how many times I rotate my anamorphic adapter's focus ring ? Shouldn't I get a sharp image as long as  the oval (when I look at the front end) stretches from bottom to top and not from left to right ?

Nah, you should get a sharp image at all focusing distances. And yes, your anamorphic adapter should be set so that the oval is vertical.

 

52 minutes ago, Marty said:

Each time I turn on my camera I'm asked to confirm and choose the focal length. I don't know what number I should give to my camera. I tried different figures but it doesn't seem to solve the sharpness issue.

No camera setting will solve the issue you have. It's clearly related to your lens combo.

 

53 minutes ago, Marty said:

Am I missing something ?
I'm using a gh5 and the adapter is as close as possible to my taking lens. The camera produces very sharp images on this taking lens without the anamorphic adapter.

My guess is: you're doing something wrong.

 

1. Pick a tripod, put your camera on it.

2. Take a measuring tape and put some subject (be it a teddy bear, some bottle, it doesn't matter) @ 2 metres away from your camera.

3. Focus your taking lens so that the subject is sharp.

4. Put an anamorphic adapter in front of your taking lens (DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING IN THE TAKING LENS) and begin searching for focus (should be at @ 2 m).

 

If the above doesn't work and you can't get a sharp image, at all - something may be wrong with the anamorphic adapter you got.

But, to be 100% sure, we'd need to see a video showing you perform all the steps above.

 

Take a look at this video by Tito:

 

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I've already seen this video, but I'm going to look at it again now. I'm using a HELIOS-44M 2/58 ZENIT as my taking lens, and the thread on this taking lens moves back and forth when I focus, so the anamorphic adapter also moves back and forth, maybe it's the issue ? The other lens I have , a Jupiter 37 A 135mm,  also has a moving threaded front, so I haven't tried it yet. I don't have any other taking lens.

I don't have a tripod, only a lens support system on rods, but I can try to focus the taking lens first and then add the adapter while trying not to move the taking lens ring.

 

 

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58 minutes ago, heart0less said:

And yeah, rotating fronts are a no-no for double focusing.

Is it because it's hard on the taking lens and might break it, or is it because it messes with sharpness? Maybe both? Are my troubles the kind of trouble you run into with taking lenses that have rotating fronts?

I just did a focusing test at f/2 with enough light, the target was at about two or three meters. I managed to screw the anamorphic adapter without moving the taking lens ring's position, I even marked the position with a piece of tape, but it's still unsharp.

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11 minutes ago, Marty said:

Is it because it's hard on the taking lens and might break it, or is it because it messes with sharpness? Maybe both? Are my troubles the kind of trouble you run into with taking lenses that have rotating fronts?

No, no, no, no, no. 

They don't have anything to do with sharpness. 

The reason why rotating fronts aren't suited for anamorphic adapters is quite simple: your anamorphic adapter must stay aligned at all times (the oval in it must be vertical), it can't be rotated. And if you screw it into a lens with rotating front threads, then each time you refocus the taking lens, your adapter will be rotated alongside with it. 

Got it? 

 

14 minutes ago, Marty said:

I managed to screw the anamorphic adapter without moving the taking lens ring's position,

Like I said, you could hand hold the adapter - no need to screw it in. 

 

15 minutes ago, Marty said:

it's still unsharp.

Just provide us with some pictures / videos.

 

BTW: You happen to own GH5, just got yourself an anamorphic adapter, but you don't have any tripod? 🤔

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No, I don't have any tripod, the gh5 is actually my first video camera ever. I haven't bought a tripod yet. I was going for that cinema look before I bough the camera.

Thanks, I get it. Actually on my taking lenses the front doesn't rotate, it's just that it goes back and forth.

I'll shoot something tomorrow.

 

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  • 4 months later...

Now I wonder : Is there a real difference at all between shooting without any anamorphic adapter,  just elongating the image's width in post production, and shooting with this Isco ultra star small version that has less character than other lenses ?

 

 

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On 7/20/2020 at 5:48 AM, Marty said:

Now I wonder : Is there a real difference at all between shooting without any anamorphic adapter,  just elongating the image's width in post production, and shooting with this Isco ultra star small version that has less character than other lenses ?

 

 

I dont think the ultra stars have less character, their a modern anamorphic with, clean, neutral, or perhaps even a sterile look. but their still an anamorphic they still do all the anamorphic stuff with less exaggeration one could say. well that my interpretation anyway lol

@Tito Ferradans has an ebook out out on faking it with spherical lenses. When i had some spare money recently i bought it and its quite informative. I guess you can 90% fake it with spherical lenses, however some lens disassembly is required for some of the mods. So you can either,

1. fake it, till you make it, with tito's book and some diy

2, splash the cash for cheap projector lenses and or single focus solutions, once you tire of double focusing

3. rob a bank and buy an iscorama or atlas, cooke or  similar.

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