Anamorphic lenses for standard 16mm Aaton...options

[Stephen Perera]

Hi all, sorry to bore you with this but......what anamorphic lenses are available for standard 16mm format Aaton XTR camera - my camera is NOT Super 16 and does NOT have PL mountI can use lenses with Arri BL (Arri bayonet) mount and Nikon F mount as have Aaton adapters for both. I can also adapt M-42 to Nikon to Aaton mount.

also....would it be worth the 'bother' or is there anything special to shoot anamorphic on standard 16mm format camera? I would welcome comments. I am mostly interested in lenses and finding those special lenses in my eyes....hence I am wondering. In stills photography I have my 'special' lenses list and I want to try out a few to see what i think on my Aaton.

Edited December 10, 2019 by Stephen Perera

[Aapo Lettinen]

most anamorphics are intended for 35mm cine format (very expensive nowadays) OR projector use (cheap option but generally crappy image quality on camera use and annoying mechanics and time consuming operating them). the ones with shorter focal lengths usable on 16mm cameras tend to be low quality (like a projector anamorphic attachment combined with a whatever-one-can-get-one's-hands-on-to lens which fits the camera. The good attachments are highly valued and priced accordingly.

If you would like to try the attachment route, there is stuff like the Century 1.33x adapters originally made for DV cameras which could be usable with some of the short focal length 16mm lenses if they have small front elements etc. They generally don't focus properly with stills lenses or at least not very well or the image quality is bad because they are originally intended for short focal lengths  

[Aapo Lettinen]

1 minute ago, aapo lettinen said:

If you would like to try the attachment route, there is stuff like the Century 1.33x adapters originally made for DV cameras which could be usable with some of the short focal length 16mm lenses if they have small front elements etc. They generally don't focus properly with stills lenses or at least not very well or the image quality is bad because they are originally intended for short focal lengths  

I believe they COULD work pretty OK with something like switar-style small lens with something like 12mm focal length or something like that. Haven't tested it because I don't have suitable wide angle for 16 format 

[Dom Jaeger]

I don’t think you’ll find much to be honest, outside of adding anamorphic adapters or projection lenses which never work terribly well. (As Aapo just wrote..)

The only dedicated anamorphics you might find in a compatible mount would be old Arri UltraScopes that came in Arri Standard mount (which usually works with Bayonet mount cameras). 40mm was the widest focal length. 

These guys in Spain seem to have a set:

https://www.camaleonrental.com/gb/ultrascope-set/

They say PL mount, but it may just be an adapter on the original Standard mount.

We had a set at the last rental house I worked at, they were a bit funky but fun.

 

[Stephen Perera]

8 minutes ago, Dom Jaeger said:

I don’t think you’ll find much to be honest, outside of adding anamorphic adapters or projection lenses which never work terribly well. (As Aapo just wrote..)

The only dedicated anamorphics you might find in a compatible mount would be old Arri UltraScopes that came in Arri Standard mount (which usually works with Bayonet mount cameras). 40mm was the widest focal length. 

These guys in Spain seem to have a set:

https://www.camaleonrental.com/gb/ultrascope-set/

They say PL mount, but it may just be an adapter on the original Standard mount.

We had a set at the last rental house I worked at, they were a bit funky but fun.

 

well funny you should say that Dom.....Cameleon Rental are the nearest rental house to me in Malaga like a 1hr 30 min drive!