Caleb Genheimer Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 This is a Superscope, an RKO prism anamorphic from the mid-1950s when many systems flashed in the pan of development. There’s something really satisfying about actually snagging TWO of these for $150, and having them show up in their original boxes complete with Superscope red font box tape, and a manual still in the envelope it was originally mailed out in, post-stamped from my home state of Minnesota. Based on the pictures, I was rather worried about fungus, but they opened up easily, and are cleaning up to look brand new, a new coat of crinkle paint being the only needed exception. According to the manual, they’re good from 75mm and up (on 35mm), and can vary squeeze from 1X to 3X. There’s an additional micro adjustment screw for dialing in even squeeze across the image. Seeing as these have no focus control, I’m interested to test wether they can handle focus through, and perhaps sacrifice one as an optics donor for a more camera-friendly re-house. If all else fails, they’re quite stunning as-is, and a slice of cinema history for the bookshelf. If anyone has experience with prism anamorphics, please chime in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redimp Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 I've said this multiple times on facebook and will repeat here once more – there is no concept of focus through. There's no simple way to explain why, but bottom line is – if you have squeeze on one axis, you have astigmatism, and it needs correction. "Focusing" anamorphic block is simply correcting astigmatism for that specific focus plane. Original gottshalk's patent shows the ultra panatar prismatic design in the schematics, if prismatic lenses were 'focus through' that patent would make no sense and we won't have 60 years of cinema history created by this patent. Or think about it this way – if there was such thing as 'focus-though' would any cine lens manufacturer in their right mind fiddle with any other design? tweak 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caleb Genheimer Posted April 12, 2020 Author Share Posted April 12, 2020 Good to know! All of my cameras are currently in use at a client’s studio, so I don’t have any way of testing these currently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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