looks pretty sweet vic, all with the SLR Magic 35mm as a taking lens?

@ vicharris...what taking lens did you use with adapter

@JuMo @PierreB

You know, I'm not sure which is which. I did use the new 35mm taking lens but I also used the Voight 17.5 on some shots though Andrew made it a point that the results could not be guaranteed on it. I should have kept track of what was what. As soon as I get some damn time I'll go through all the footage again and see if I can hear anything. Also I haven't released any of my footage due to the fact I'm by no means an expert with this stuff and actually having problems getting files to export correctly.

Looks like it will be SLR Magic's 1.33 Anamorphic vs Letus35 AnamorphX

Just wanted to update this thread, I received mine and this video will show you the very basics of using the lens:

Here is a comparison of resolution and flaring vs the LA7200

From Andrew @ SLR Magic:

NEW: SLR Magic Anamorphot 1,33x – 50

PRESS RELEASE

Hong Kong, China (Feb 10, 2014) – SLR Magic is proud to announce the SLR Magic Anamorphot 1,33x – 50 for indie filmmakers.

In the past, many indie filmmakers who wanted to shoot anamorphic had to depend on rare vintage lenses, which was not always reliable. In hopes to provide a reliable and available solution for indie anamorphic shooters, we had active feedback from http://www.personal-view.com forum users in the "Most wanted ANAMORPHIC lens" topic; as well as technical assistance from http://www.eoshd.com for the past two years.

To achieve the much loved 2.35:1 scope aspect ratio, which gives a very pleasant, epic effect, filmmakers must crop off the top and bottom of standard 16:9 footage when using spherical lenses with modern digital cameras. As a result, 25% of sensor/negative information is discarded.

As a commitment to the film industry, SLR Magic developed this 1,33x anamorphic adapter to help filmmakers maximize their image quality by preventing this loss of vertical resolution. The unique 1,33x squeeze factor uses the entire 16:9 sensor/negative area to achieve the desired 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The Anamorphot 1.33x – 50 does this by compressing a 33% wider field of view to fit the width of the 16:9 sensor/negative without compressing image height.

Modern professional cinema cameras have large sensors capable of capturing an image in the 2.35:1 format directly, using spherical lenses, but film makers still desire the anamorphic “look” which often limits them to using rare vintage lenses. These present a number of difficulties in practice such as size, weight, lack of close focus, availability, and high price. We sought to overcome such issues with the SLR Magic Anamorphot.

The SLR Magic Anamorphot 1,33x – 50 create a unique "artifact" such as horizontal lens flare, commonly referred to as anamorphic streaks, and may create slightly elongated bokeh when achromatic diopters are used. Over the history of cinema, these same stylish effects have contributed to the cinematic "look" of epic motion picture photography. Characteristics that shape this anamorphic “look” come from “front-mounted” anamorphic adapter designs such as the SLR Magic Anamorphot while “rear-mounted” anamorphic designs have more suppressed anamorphic characteristics.

We will offer The SLR Magic Anamorphot 1,33x – 50 in two editions. The standard edition may have slight cosmetic imperfections such as small dust motes which has no observable impact on image quality. It usually takes a lot of imperfections to perceptibly degrade the image quality of a lens. Feedback from the "Most wanted ANAMORPHIC lens" forum topic showed many indie filmmakers wanted an affordable anamorphic lens option over rare vintage anamorphic lenses to use as "tools" for filmmaking. Cosmetic perfections lead to long labor hours in making an anamorphic lens and it is the main reason for high cost of new anamorphic lenses. It was a practical decision we made to offer two different editions to cater for these two consumer needs. The standard edition will have no material or optical compromises over the the SPECIAL EDITION. The SPECIAL EDITION will be sold in Hong Kong only and it is the same as the standard edition in terms of the materials used and optical image quality but extra effort would be put into the assembly process where it would be free of any dust motes (at the time of purchase only). The SPECIAL EDITION would be made "by order" basis.

The SLR Magic Anamorphot 1,33x – 50 and SLR Magic 77mm Achromatic Diopter Set (+0.33, +1.3) will be available from authorised SLR Magic resellers by March, 2014.

There is currently a pre-order offer for people who follow our twitter handle @anamorphot and email it to support@slrmagic.com by Feb 14th (GMT +8).

The Anamorphot will be available for viewing at the CP+ show in Yokohama Japan from Feb 13-16 in the Video Area for Professionals at the "Digital-hobby" booth.

The SLR Magic Anamorphot 1,33x – 50 and SLR Magic 77mm Achromatic Diopter Set (+0.33, +1.3)

Technical Data:

SLR Magic Anamorphot 1,33x – 50 Lens Type: Anamorphic adapter Compatible Cameras: All Cameras

Its upgrade potential from the LA7200 is obvious, evident in multiple videos directly comparing the two and years now of LA7200 videos posted. Not only is it sharper but it's useful at stops and with focal lengths that simply aren't doable on the LA7200. That's a simple fact and that's before using diopters.

Flaring is a matter of taste. It won't be for everyone. For folks who love the pronounced blue streaks seen in epic Hollywood motion pictures shot mostly on Panavision lenses, like they early films of John Carpenter and the anamorphic work of Jan De Bont, they should get a kick out of it.

Its bokeh is no worse than any other 1.33x adapter. It's better than what you get with the Century Optics in this regard pre-diopter and doubly so based on the fact that you can use it on a MFT @ 50mm at a stop of f/2.8 without diopter which you cannot do on the Century Optics. Also, it's worth noting, the distortion of bokeh comes from the adapter but the pre-stretched shape of the bokeh comes more from the taking lens.

Folks have commented negatively about seeing "egg shaped" bokeh in one or more of the videos posted so far but that's more to do with the spherical optics than the anamorphic. I noticed the exact same look in several instances watching Trance the other night, shot on Hawk V-Lite 1.3x anamorphic lenses. The problem with all of these videos is people project some ideal image in their head as to what these things should look like that's at best based on a positive reaction to anecdotal exposure in films, while ignoring the inconsistencies within the same films in shots that don't have the same convergence of perfect settings, components and shooting variables.

This is true for all sorts of issues, another big one being the idea that somehow shooting on film means you wouldn't have to worry about blown out skies or windows somehow, the implication being any of these new, affordable RAW cameras should be able to do that even though none have the DR of film and film cannot do it in every shooting scenario. The criticism is unfounded in reality but it can be made in the vacuum of the internet on forums such as this because there are so few professionals lurking with the time or interest to squash such foolishness.

Anyway, I'm evaluating the SLR Magic Anamorphot now, comparing it to my Century Optics adapter, and I can tell you straight out it most definitely is a worthy upgrade. I'll be keeping my Century to have in the bag, for B-Cam or when I want just a little wider than I can get with the SLR Anamorphot on MFT (and don't mind how much softer it is at the edges even at f/4) but for general shooting I can already tell (as if the videos posted weren't compelling enough) it's no contest between the two, especially once you get longer than 24mm.

Not liking the flaring, that's fair. Some people like the way the Letus flares while I say, "what flare?" I think it's great we finally have some new options that are definitely upgrades from both the Century/Optex and LA7200 adapters.

@jleo yes it does! Here's a still posted by drewski310 in a similar thread over at Reid's site, comparing bokeh against an Iscorama:

...top image is the SLR Magic Anamorphot and the bottom is the Iscorama. There are, of course, caveats to stacking diopters to get your dramatic, cinematic close-up but none so large as the restrictions you would face shooting with projector lenses.

What is up with the price differences? Really, add an additional $1000 more for no dust in lenses?

Andrew of SLR Magic sent me a message that addresses this concern directly:

In the attached image you see a regular edition SLR Magic Anamorphot 1,33x -- 50 with a typical case involving a few dust motes. These do not negatively impact image quality. It takes hours to calibrate an Anamorphot and sometimes, despite our efforts, a speck or two is left at completion. The only way to remove these particles is to take the lens apart and realign all over again from scratch adding hours of labor per lens by our most experienced lens makers. This is what you pay for with the Special Edition.

Because the particles have no negative impact on image quality the standard edition is offered to customers who, at PV and elsewhere, expressed a strong desire for a sub-1K price on any new product of this type. We guessed, during the early design phase, that the cost would be about $1500 which is close to the present reality of $1899 now that it's built.

If price was no concern the next problem would be volume. If we offered only one product meeting the Special Edition's specification for a dust free assembly we could only ship double digit units per month. Similarly, the SLR Magic 50mm T0.95 Hyperprime retails for 3-5K and is made to very high specifications which limits our production to 2-5 pieces per month. These numbers may work for rental houses but not for mass market. We make very little on those lenses because of the added time and expense during manufacture.

I think it is fair to be clear to consumers. We want to market the Anamorphot as a tool and not a jewel. For those customers that want to buy an anamorphic jewel we have a Special Edition to meet that demand. The standard edition is designed to get the job done at an affordable price and make anamorphic photography accessible to more consumers. IMO it is not much different than what you find in lenses claimed "mint condition" on eBay.

...he says that pre-orders are coming in at about a 10:1 ratio of standard to special edition.

It's a build-to-order lens. You order direct from the manufacturer. I believe this policy has to do with resellers and not creating inventory of the Special Editions. That makes more sense than tinfoil hat time.

Sorry for jumping in, again, I received a message from Andrew at SLR Magic that it's more complicated than I thought. My apologies for posting incorrect info and unintentionally adding to confusion on the subject. I have to remember what might seem obvious to me isn't always right.

Actually we are selling the SPECIAL EDITION in Hong Kong only for many reasons.

There are some customers who want perfect box, no dust, no scratch, and original packaging. It sounds simple but it is not possible to guarantee if we ship it.

1) In the US customer service is very good. Europe as well. You can open a brand new box and inspect and if you like it you pay for it. Or, at times you buy it, play with it, if you do not like it then ask for a refund in 30 days. With this in mind, we cannot guarantee no dust in lens, we cannot guarantee no scratch, we cannot guarantee perfect box, and we cannot guarantee original packaging.

2) If we ship out if Hong Kong, it has to go through customs inspection. When this happens customs officer opens a package and often times do not put things back in the correct order or method as they did not purposely try to remember how it was when they take the item out. We even had a lens where customs left a fingerprint on the lens element. Sometimes after customs inspection the officer does not repackage it in the same protection then it ships to customer with damaged packaging and to some customers they do not want a single "ding" on the packaging.

3) In Hong Kong if you walk in a electronics store you first pay for your lens in full then the sales bring you your new lens to inspect. If there is a problem at the time then they bring you another lens and return the first to the manufacturer. To many US and EU customers this is not friendly service. But in reality, this is the best customer service since it guarantee you are the FIRST to ever touch the lens. By doing so, it is clear to both customer and store that the condition of the lens at time of opening the box there is no previous damage by either party.

How far was he away from that tree? Looks like he was right up on it.

@kholi if he used the same lens for his SLR Magic and Iscorama comparison (scroll up to see it paired with the shot of the keys) then it was a 60mm which would mean he had some distance.

I'm curios if that's just with the Tokina or not though.

@vicharris thanks for the clarification.

Received from Andrew of SLR Magic regarding my comments on the rather unusual arrangement for the Editions: "It is an unusual announcement but wanted to make those things clear to avoid unnecessary returns from users who just want to buy anamorphic to have a play then return it afterwards because a dust speck as the reason. In the past you cannot buy a legacy anamorphic just to play then return it back to the individual seller."

It seems they are worried that many customers will "have a play then return it". While I empathize them, wouldn't that be the risk for all vendors? It seems now that serious buyers who wants a brand new, good quality lens need to pay that $1000, not only for more precise manufacturing but presumably also to make up the loss for those who will return their lenses.