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Anamorphic newbie..
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  • SkeptikalSkeptikal
    bleach551

    Thanks for the links.
  • bleach551bleach551
    Skeptical,

    Anytime!
  • MarkVMarkV
    Oh my god! Thank you for all! Such a helpful informations here! Well.. I'm looking into SANKOR 16D or ISCO ULTRA-STAR .. and I will try to experiment with this later... btw. these 1,33x/1,5x anamorphic lenses are little bit overpriced ..
  • RobertoRoberto
    I have had to go through the anamorphic learning-curve myself, from the days when we had to squeeze everything we could out of the academy aspect ratio of super-8, through 16mm and finally 35mm.
    Back then - and even today, I rarely heard anybody talk about flare, Hell, we probably thought bokeh was a martial art!
    In 30 years of filmmaking and lecturing it, my advice has always been to watch the best movies. When one touches your heart, watch it again, critically.
    These days, I still do it. For 2.35:1, I'm kept busy just pausing the DVD, measuring the way subjects are framed on the screen, timing the shots with a stop-watch. I keep my PC onlline to imdb's"technical details" for each film.
    I'm still buggered if I notice if a film was shot on super-35, 2-perf, anamorphic or even a soft-matte as long as the framing is right. Wide-screen is different. You learn to let the talent walk right across the frame before you pan.
    You also have to learn to crawl before you can walk. I haven't noticed many of these vimeo clips demonstrating even a basic literacy in widescreen.
    Give yourself a break. Crop your shots until you get it right.

  • EOSHDEOSHD
    Avoid the Ultra-Star! Or any other gold anamorphic projection lens. They're cheap for a reason.
  • stoneystoney
    Hmmm... 2560×1080 HDTVs are coming to market. Native 2.35:1 aspect ratio. But I guess it's not practical at this point.
  • MarkVMarkV
    @EOSHD Right... :-) but the SANKOR 16D looks good!?
    @Roberto You are 100% right here! And I'm trying to do the same! Thanks you for this words..
    .. of course the first step is croping the shots :) (btw. I'm really looking forward to try out the RED EPIC at 5K.. and 2.35:1 shots ..:)
    @stonebat Ohh.. 2560x1080 ... we really don't need this at this point I think... give it time...
  • B3GuyB3Guy
    What I'm most amazed at with the gold anamorphics is that nobody has figured a way to make them useful. Sure, they've got obscene minimum focus distance, but they're dirt cheap, and they're in good supply! I would think there'd be some way to extract the main "anamorphic" lens element and make that work similar to a LA-7200 or something. Is there any reason this would not be possible?
  • EOSHDEOSHD
    The Sankor 16D is good. @B3Guy you should read this http://www.eoshd.com/anamorphic-guide :) Don't make a mistake and buy a paperweight lens.

    The projection lenses cannot be taken apart and made good. The elements are designed to work in one configuration and they are sealed in tight. Also like all lenses the alignment of the elements has to be perfect down to the last microscopic measurement otherwise the image will be completely blurred.

    The LA7200 is not a typical anamorphic lens, it is far more simple in construction than a focussing Isco or Kowa.
  • B3GuyB3Guy
    That's on the top of my reading list ;) As a poor college kid, I gotta get the next paycheck in the bank first.
  • Roy_BattyRoy_Batty
    A great book about film cinematography is called "Masters of Light" (a collection of interviews with several top cinematographers such as Gordon Willis, Haskell Wexler, Conrad Hall, Vittorio Storraro, etc). It's not about anamorphic per se, but several of the DPs talk about shooting anamorphic. By the way, one of the best 2.35 scope films I've ever seen is "Klute" shot by Gordon Willis. Worth studying. The films of Sergio Leone, especially "Once Upon A Time in the West" is also worth a look or two.
  • MarkVMarkV
    Now.. this is really cool! They are selling a Anamorphic Lens Clamp that makes a mounting an anamorphic lens much easier! (http://vid-atlantic.com/anamorphic.html) also they are selling a very good ISCO 1.7x anamorphic lens (http://vid-atlantic.com/lensshop.html) for $775.00.. personally I will probably go with the SANKOR 16C (and this lens clamp) and eventually crop the sides a bit in post.. yet, I'm still not sure about the standard photographic lens with SANKOR 16C mounted in front..

    (or should I buy GH2 instead of this anamorphic gear?! :D)
  • B3GuyB3Guy
    Get a GH2. These lenses are cool toys, but the GH2 is amazing! (I've used the "king DLSR" 5DmkII, and it is no contest).
  • jpchavezjpchavez
    what do you think about the KOWA 16-A?
  • jpchavezjpchavez
    also guys do you know whats the lenght on the atlantic clamps and redstan??
  • soundgh2soundgh2
    Alan (Redstan) is on Ebay again with clamps, diopters etc
  • RobertoRoberto
    @soundgh2
    >Alan (Redstan) is on Ebay again
    You're free to post a link to any items for sale :-)
  • RawBRawB

    Just like MarkV I am also a Anamorphic Newbie , with lots of questions. If there is another Anamorphic topics for beginners or you want me to start a new one, just let me know.

    I have a Proskar-16A 2x and use an anamorpic patch to shoot in mjpeg mode

    My problem, Adobe CS5 will not import the 'anamorphic' files. With other 'normal' .mov files I do not have this problem.

    Hope to hear from one of you.

    Best regards, RawB

  • itimjimitimjim

    Mov is just a container. Launch in QuickTime and go to the video inspector, which should tell you what codec it was recorded in. I think it should be MJPEG which CS5 shouldn't have a problem with. What is the error message?

  • MarkVMarkV

    There definitely shouldn't be problem with opening (GH's) motion JEPEG files in CS5. Working fine for me!

  • RawBRawB

    UPDATE II: Thought I Found it... Thanks Guys, you got me searching in the right direction. It has something to do how my drive was named, Quicktime cannot regonized it. I moved all files to another drive Quicktime plays all files and was able ONCE to import the files in Adobe CS5. After this one try I got the same problem, Adobe shows "Genereting Peak file..." and then crashes. In the QT file info the pixelsize is strange I think [photo 3]:

    propertiesANAM_MOV2.JPG
    277 x 261 - 22K
    propertiesANAM_MOV.JPG
    353 x 325 - 36K
    quicktime MovieInfo.JPG
    365 x 280 - 32K
  • RawBRawB

    After uninstalling an overkill of video codecs all works well!

    Another question, what lens works best with the Proskar-16A , a 35mm or a 50mm? What would you guys recommend.

  • gokeygokey

    Hi there,

    Got my adapter a few days ago, started testing with it. I love how it works with the old pentax lenses I have. Seems to work best from F4-F8

    Gear Used: --

    GH2 Cluster v4 driftwood -- pentax-m SMC 50mm 1.7 -- Bell & Howell Kowa anamorphic apdater 2x -- Mattebox -- Polarizer 4x4 -- Graduated filter --

    Here is the result

  • Roy_BattyRoy_Batty

    To anyone who has shot with a 2x anamorphic, can you describe your focusing method?

    Do you simply measure the distance between subject and camera and set both the anamorphic and the taking lens to the same distance? Is there some other way t do it?

    Also, how do you make sure that the orientation of the anamorphic -- the alignment to vertical -- is precise (to prevent blurring and distortion of the image)? Do you go by the marking at the top of the anamorphic or do you go by eye?

  • P4INKillerP4INKiller

    Man, the subject of anamorphic lenses give me a headache. I really want to shoot anamorphic, but I'm having difficulties finding the good stuff.

    And then I read about people who have got a wide array of anamorphic lenses, and they keep picking up more.

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