Anamorphic lens Help beginner

Max Johic · June 10, 2013

Hi guys i have chance to buy sankor 16c for 250 for short film on canon 60d but i am also looking in to Schneider Kreuznach Cinelux Anamorphic, for 400. What would you guys recommend in 500$ range. I got my self EOSHD-Anamorphic-Guid and it say that you should not use projector lens since they might be over used and are bit and heavy but i really don't care for that since my shoots will be lock down.

It basically say this
Anything too heavy is hard to mount
and not very practical. Projection
lenses are designed for long throws
which mean the minimum focus
distances are terrible (5m+), and you
have to use diopters to do even the
most basic portrait shot. There’s also
a dearth of information on such
lenses, you never know quite what
you’re buying.
There are a vast array of projection
lenses available yet nobody has shot
any footage of worth with them - so
that tells us a lot.

Any help would be apriciated

Joerg Polzfusz · June 10, 2013

Hi,

it's possible: http://www.beeldlab.nl/anatomy-of-shooting-anamorphic/

As the device was designed for 16mm-projectors, it weights less than a 35mm one (actual weight is approx. 500g) and is more compact. And it focusses from 5ft to infinity.

However it's rear-size is only approx. 42mm (or 43mm or something like this). So you'll most likely encounter vignetting when trying to shoot with a wide-angle or even with a standard lens.

Jörg

P.S.: If I would have known that the prices increase this way, I would have bought a couple of these attachments for 20-50 EUR a few years ago and would now be very rich. ;)

Edited June 10, 2013 by Joerg Polzfusz

Joerg Polzfusz · June 11, 2013

When getting a 2x anamorphic attachment, you can basically choose between three categories:

Designed for 35mm-movie-cameras (Chrétien's original Hypergonars, ...)
Designed for projectors in cinemas (film formats: 35mm and larger - there also some for digital cinema projectors)
Designed for home cinema ("home cinema" in its original meaning: film formats: 16mm and less)

AFAIK the first category never showed up on used market (as most likely all of these first generation attachments are now found in museums).

Second category: See warnings from the EOSHD-Anamorphic-Guide (even though I've also seen some 35mm-attachments on eBay where the focussing range started somewhere between 1 and 2m, so -when in good condition- you would only have to fight with their larger weight and size.)

Third category: IMHO the warnings from the EOSHD-Anamorphic-Guide don't apply here as these attachments are smaller... . However you'll also have to watch the focussing range and the weight. The main problem with these attachments is the vignetting that's mainly caused by their small rear diameter and the -in some cases- relatively long distance between front and rear lens.

There are also some "complete" lenses (anamorphic part integrated into a "normal" lens - either designed for 35mm-projectors or for 35mm-cameras and some digital cameras). However the ones designed for projectors can't be used on a camera. And the ones designed for cameras will cost your first born.

Max Johic · June 12, 2013

Thanks for reply. Quick question over at eos hd forum one of the members told me about Schneider Kreuznach Cinemascope Anamorphic Lens that is the newest anamorphic projection lens what he is saying is this. I believe that this guy know his lenses but before i shell out 500 dollars would you know if this lens is any good ? I cant find any video samples of this lens on the web so i really cant tell if it is as good as the image sample

this is the sharpest anamorphic lens on the market you can buy

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2309956141...84.m1586.l2649 link to lens
http://www.flickr.com/photos/4995966...n/photostream/ link to sample taken by the lens

Schneider glass is Canon L Series sharp
it is modern new German glass stunning lens and takes superb images

Thanks

Joerg Polzfusz · June 12, 2013

If you really want the best optics, then you should use a new integrated lens, e.g. from HAWK or Zeiss. But be seated when taking a look at the prices! ;-)

However I doubt that you'll notice a big difference compared to "lens + attachment" when "only" using a DSLR. This is because the limiting factors would be sensor, codec, ... . So using a decent lens and a new (or nearly new) Schneider anamorphic might be the next best solution. What irritates me in this auction are two facts:

* What's exact model of the attachment? (AFAIK that design has already been used 20 years ago - not to mention that I can't look up details like the focussing range, ...)

* Is the attachment damaged (quote: "it flares like crazy") or should you simply use a proper lens hood?

Joerg Polzfusz · June 12, 2013

BTW: The attachment on eBay is still golden. However the current attachments are black (plus a silver/gray front part). Not sure when they've changed the colours - 2011? However they didn't just changed the colours, but also improved the lenses...

Joerg Polzfusz · June 12, 2013

It looks like it's a "ES Cinelux Ultra Anamorphic 2x MC". On vimeo and youtube you'll find several videos shot with it.

There are at least three different versions of this attachment (oldest first):

* Golden with focus-knob (most likely the one eBay)

* Golden with focus-ring

* Black (with gray/silver front) with focus-ring (current model)

Not sure whether there are also older versions of this attachment that aren't "MC". (To me the quote "it flares like crazy" sounds like an older non -MC-version.)

Joerg Polzfusz · June 12, 2013

Oooppsss... it's not a "focus-ring" on the later models as you'll need an allen wrench to focus.

Max Johic · June 12, 2013

I found some examples of the video but the guys say that he needed to lens re-housed lens and it cost him 2k what does he mean by lens re-housed

alan doyle · June 19, 2013

most of the big projection lens are overpriced and sold by turds.

have an easy life buy something small like a 16c or 16f...kowa 8z or bell howell.

if you are rich iscorama if you could afford a hawk lens i would assume you would have people advising you.

sankors are the best entry level bits.

redstan.com can also give you advice about optics

steve waschka · June 29, 2013

i have a schneider super cinelux 2x. the one with the focus knob. as a taking lens adapter its one of the better choices. its threaded at the rear but i think its an odd size. i know i ground out the threads on step ring and press fit it to the schneider. now it is 77mm which allows it to go back and forth with most of my lenses with standard step rings. it focuses down to about 9ft. then diopters get me the rest of the way. prob with anamorphic adapters is the vignette. if you use a doubler it seems to minimize the vignette. on a standard spherical for most larger video cameras and 16mm or so film cameras... you will go no lower than 45mm FL. so youll have to decide how you will mix the shots or crop on your wider angle shots. I have recently purchased a schneider wide angle attachment for another purpose and messed with it in front of the anamorphic. the wa adapter i bought is not focus thru and is useless for the anamorphic purpose. HOWEVER i believe a high quality thru focus wa adapter in front of the anamorphic adapter MAY bring your shots back fairly wide. But its a lot of glass. and i have lenses i have messed with that have too much CA to be usefull in this sort of application that are otherwise fine for their intended use. So you may find some otherwise perfect glass gets wierd when you start fitting all this stuff together. then the final issue is dual focusing. You have to get a sharp horizontal with your main lens then get a good vertical with the anamorphic. If my setup wont do that at wide open with no darkened corners i feel its useless. Then if the edges rainbow from ca when i stretch in post... it also is useless. I do not own an integrated anamorphic. and i NEED one. they are NOT cheap. But this paragraph is just a glimpse of why. The big Lomos have also treated me well and because they are soooo big you can usually go a liitle wider on your spherical before vignetting. But they are rickety and require a lot of fiddling.

Edited June 29, 2013 by steve waschka

steve waschka · June 29, 2013

max that photo is awesome. the effort that it took to get thru the learning curve to get to the schneider to get that shot makes it beautiful. most people are gonna ask why you just dont crop a high res photo.