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Split Diopters Tips Tricks & Setups


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I have a film coming up that I would like to try some split diopters shots on. I have not used split diopters in the past and I would interested to hear about how you have used them. I would love to see how people have rigged them on to the camera so that you can control where the split is in the frame, I don't necessarily want it to cut through the center. Please share any picture you have of your setup, as well as tips, tricks, and things to know when working with split diopters.

Thanks,

Laffrey

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Hello,

Where to start?  The biggest problem is hiding the change line from near to far;  there is a change in the blur characteristic.

Try it on digital first.  If you can find rectangular ones, they will allow for easier positioning.

For an example of a near miss in a major motion picture, check out the torpedo sequence near the climax of "The African Queen." (Bogart & Hepburn).

It tried to combine near torpedo and far boat with less success, although most viewers probably never noticed... only those who have used split-diopters.

As for a very successful use of them study "Hoffa"  with Danny DeVito (brain fade--- I've forgotten who played Hoffa--Jack Nicholson??).

Hope this helps.

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On 6/29/2022 at 4:22 PM, Eric Eader said:

Try it on digital first.  If you can find rectangular ones, they will allow for easier positioning.

 

We are shooting digital.

When you say rectangular ones are you talking about these kind what would fit in a 4x5.6 filter tray, or are there some that are actually a rectangle? 

Screen Shot 2022-06-30 at 2.02.39 PM.jpg

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Hello, 

  The shape was more for ease of positioning, as round ones are locked in position.  Choose the diopter shape  to fit your requirements.

You might find you need something that will slide left or right,  or up and down.

Your rental house should have some knowledge of what will work with what you've rented or own.

For a Panavision size diopter, call them.  If the budget allows it they can make one for you or recommend someone who can.

My suggestion for using digital meant using a still camera and whatever diopter you have, or can get cheaply, and seeing what happens in the frame and  adjusting accordingly.

The diopter you show above is split along the center.  I believe that there does exist diopters that are split short of center for lower positioning or sideways positioning and are open ended enough for sliding in and out of frame in shot as scene dictates.

Again, Panavision would be my first phone call for this information.  You're are already in LA, so it's a "short distance" call.

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The basic approach is that you set the focus on the lens for the farther object and put the clear area of the filter over that, and pick a strength of diopter that brings the foreground object in focus. Often the filter doesn't perfectly do that so then you have to shift the focus to bring the foreground into focus and hope it is close to being fine for the background, which is usually smaller in frame so harder to tell if it is slightly soft.

Longer lenses make the transition from clear to the diopter glass too wide and fuzzy though stopping down a lot might help. Conversely on very wide-angle lenses the transition area might be too sharp especially if you are stopped down too much. But then, usually you don't need a split diopter for very wide-angle shots because they seem to have more depth of field (seem is the operative word.)

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