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First Lomo square front test


QuickHitRecord
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I finally had a chance to take my Lomo square front (OCT18 mount) out:

[center]http://vimeo.com/44522585
[/center]

I actually meant to shoot more footage for a stronger shot sequence but the Lomo is the MOST frustrating lens that I have EVER worked with! It also delivers my favorite image! Very, very cinematic.

I bought mine from au8ust on eBay and it is immaculate. Truly a beautiful piece of glass. But the design of the lens is very frustrating. The anamorphic and spherical elements are held together by one small tab (i.e. one point of contact) and focusing is extremely difficult. The front element is very heavy and if I ever tilt the lens down, gravity causes the two elements to separate, distorting the image. And even with the stopper that I added to the Velbon support track to keep the front element from falling off completely, tilting up or down puts the weight on the taking lens makes turning the focus ring very difficult. I have never cursed so much at a lens and many of my shots were not usable.

But there is an [i]incredible[/i] look here, probably my favorite of all of my lenses, and I am determined to make it work. I am currently working on a few tweaks that may make it much more usable.

One more thing: This is not a low profile lens. Every single person who walked by stopped to ask what it was, which was kind of distracting.
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[quote author=QuickHitRecord link=topic=881.msg6375#msg6375 date=1340380249]
I finally had a chance to take my Lomo square front (OCT18 mount) out:

[center]http://vimeo.com/44522585
[/center]

I actually meant to shoot more footage for a stronger shot sequence but the Lomo is the MOST frustrating lens that I have EVER worked with! It also delivers my favorite image! Very, very cinematic.

I bought mine from au8ust on eBay and it is immaculate. Truly a beautiful piece of glass. But the design of the lens is very frustrating. The anamorphic and spherical elements are held together by one small tab (i.e. one point of contact) and focusing is extremely difficult. The front element is very heavy and if I ever tilt the lens down, gravity causes the two elements to separate, distorting the image. And even with the stopper that I added to the Velbon support track to keep the front element from falling off completely, tilting up or down puts the weight on the taking lens makes turning the focus ring very difficult. I have never cursed so much at a lens and many of my shots were not usable.

But there is an [i]incredible[/i] look here, probably my favorite of all of my lenses, and I am determined to make it work. I am currently working on a few tweaks that may make it much more usable.

One more thing: This is not a low profile lens. Every single person who walked by stopped to ask what it was, which was kind of distracting.
[/quote]

that looks lovely.  shame you didnt get more usable footage. 

re your problem with weight stopping smooth focus ring turning I have found the same thing.  Try to fashion some type of roller support which attaches to a 15mm mattebox rail mount system and provides the front 'anamorphic attachement' to roll back and fourth on a wheel or ball bearing while focusing.  maybe attach the wheel to the bottom of the anamorphic attachment so it can roll on a track attached to a 15mm rail system.  I am considering the edelkrone micro rig as a mounting system for this concept.
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[quote author=richg101 link=topic=881.msg6412#msg6412 date=1340478674]
[quote author=QuickHitRecord link=topic=881.msg6375#msg6375 date=1340380249]
I finally had a chance to take my Lomo square front (OCT18 mount) out:

[center]http://vimeo.com/44522585
[/center]

I actually meant to shoot more footage for a stronger shot sequence but the Lomo is the MOST frustrating lens that I have EVER worked with! It also delivers my favorite image! Very, very cinematic.

I bought mine from au8ust on eBay and it is immaculate. Truly a beautiful piece of glass. But the design of the lens is very frustrating. The anamorphic and spherical elements are held together by one small tab (i.e. one point of contact) and focusing is extremely difficult. The front element is very heavy and if I ever tilt the lens down, gravity causes the two elements to separate, distorting the image. And even with the stopper that I added to the Velbon support track to keep the front element from falling off completely, tilting up or down puts the weight on the taking lens makes turning the focus ring very difficult. I have never cursed so much at a lens and many of my shots were not usable.

But there is an [i]incredible[/i] look here, probably my favorite of all of my lenses, and I am determined to make it work. I am currently working on a few tweaks that may make it much more usable.

One more thing: This is not a low profile lens. Every single person who walked by stopped to ask what it was, which was kind of distracting.
[/quote]

that looks lovely.  shame you didnt get more usable footage. 

re your problem with weight stopping smooth focus ring turning I have found the same thing.  Try to fashion some type of roller support which attaches to a 15mm mattebox rail mount system and provides the front 'anamorphic attachement' to roll back and fourth on a wheel or ball bearing while focusing.  maybe attach the wheel to the bottom of the anamorphic attachment so it can roll on a track attached to a 15mm rail system.  I am considering the edelkrone micro rig as a mounting system for this concept.
[/quote]

Incredible stuff, is LOMO.  What began as a cheap " toy " camera be be now much loved with a real cult following

[img]http://www.hypergurl.com/blog/images/lomo2.jpg[/img][img]https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRqUvnf90z4jCcKYUX1FKA0HOLVIckiOd9D5Sa20GkxrCzcwwbv[/img]
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  • 7 months later...

After quite a bit of searching and some emptying of my wallet, I now have the complete set (35mm, 50mm and 75mm). The 75mm was a fluke and for the most part it helped eliminate the need for awkwardly front-mounting a diopter, and then I was only a 35mm lens away from having the whole cine set. Heavy breathing while rack focusing and a bit difficult to monitor, but they have a lot of character (personally, I like the look of these much better than my Iscorama). They seem to look sharpest at around f/4 and up:

 

https://vimeo.com/58433480

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These look great!  Very cinematic.  Did you work out the kinks as far as handling and foucs go?  Are you planning on keeping the super wide ratio for a project or will you cut off the sides?  Isn't there a hack for the GH2 that allows for 4:3 recording (using the whole sensor)? 

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These look great!  Very cinematic.  Did you work out the kinks as far as handling and foucs go?  Are you planning on keeping the super wide ratio for a project or will you cut off the sides?  Isn't there a hack for the GH2 that allows for 4:3 recording (using the whole sensor)? 

 

Thanks. I quite like the look that I am getting from these as well. With the help of a little servicing and collimation, I think that I've got the handling figured out. The focus will always have some breathing but I actually don't mind it. Also I have figured out how to monitor in 1.5x with my SmallHD so I can crop the footage as I am importing it and it's like the 2x never was (except for that amazing stretched bokeh).

 

What I really need here is an MFT camera with built in ND filters like the AF100. Otherwise, I can't really take this outdoors. I'm hoping that Panasonic will announce an AF200 or some other MFT update at NAB. I'll hold off until then before investing in a 4x5.6 matte box and filters to put in front of this thing.

 

The hack does allow for 4:3 recording, but it's only at 30 frames per second. I'd rather just crop in post.

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The hack does allow for 4:3 recording, but it's only at 30 frames per second. I'd rather just crop in post.

 

 Oh, that's right.  I'd take 24fps over the whole sensor too.

 

Breathing on an anamorphic is one of those "defects" like horizontal flaring and ovoid bokeh that I would consider a feature instead of a bug.  I definitely like the 2x stretch look over the 1.5x, but it does raise some difficulties in practical terms. 

 

I'm looking forward to seeing future projects you shoot with this set.  Keep us posted...

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I had time for another quick test, this time with the 35mm Square Front. At infinity focus, it is a true 2x stretch. But at close focus, it's only a 1.78x stretch. And here's what's really crazy: there is a vertical stretch of 104% as well!

 

I will have to try this on my other Lomos to see if I get the same results.

 

I also discovered that my 3x3 matte box will fit in front of my 35mm without vignetting (as long as I crop it to 1.5x). I was worried that I would have to buy a new matte box and filters that would offer enough coverage -- this is very good news!

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Wow! Congrats on your constantly growing collection of cool anamorphics!

Your Lomos produce a very nice picture: As you mentioned not so sharp and contrasty but very beautiful! Can you operate Lomos alone with ease? Anyway now you are prepared for different situations: For quick and easy you own an Isco (and of course I have to mention your small Hypergonar) and for epic stuff your Lomos -fantastatic. I am curious on your upcoming work. 

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