a blog by Matthew Duclos
If you’ve ever browsed forums or joined a Facebook group for budget anamorphic lenses, there’s two things you’ll find in an abundance; Micro 4/3 cameras, and Frankenstein rigs held together with adapters and gaff tape. But now there’s a cure for one of those… The Vazen 1.8x Anamorphic Prime Lens.
Continue reading “Vazen Creates Native Anamorphic Prime for Micro 4/3”
Cooke is keeping up with the trend by adding large format anamorphic lenses to its esteemed lineup.
After enthusiastic reception for the Cooke S7/i’s, this is certainly the right step forward.
First focal lengths to come will be 40mm, 50mm, 75mm, and 100mm, followed by 32mm, 135mm, and 180mm – all T2.3 with 110mm fronts. Continue reading “Something New Is Cooke-ing…”
Just ahead of NAB, Angenieux has announced a revised version of it’s 44-440mm Optimo AS2. The new lens is a 42-420mm T4.5. It retains the same physical dimensions and base optical design as the 44-440mm which was released back in 2016 – but features a few key updates. Continue reading “Angenieux 42-420mm AS2: An Updated Anamoprhic Zoom”
Yep. We did it again. Last year the folks at ShareGrid, Old Fast Glass, a brilliant, talented crew, and myself came together to test a wide variety of vintage lenses to give the cinematography world a sort of sampling, flight, if you will, of the various vintage lenses and what sort of characteristics you can expect with when using them. It’s been shared thousands of times and utilized in who knows how many pre-production meetings to determine the visual aesthetics as it pertains to lenses for a specific project.
So what’s next… ANAMORPHIC! The subject that baffles so many with a shroud of mystery. Optics designed to provide a wider field of view when bound by a specific format, fashioned by unsung geniuses from around the world – some a shining beacon of optical engineering superiority, and others a trophy of intentional flaw for the sake of introducing artifacts and characteristics that, to the average viewer, carries a subconscious nostalgia, lending honesty and legitimacy. But most importantly… They’re beautiful! Continue reading “The Ultimate Anamorphic Lens Test”
It’s that time again. Start your Monday with a bit of light reading featuring some news, tips, social media, and buying advice from TheCineLens.com. On to the news! Continue reading “Weekly News Roundup #3”
It was only a matter of time before Angenieux anamorphasized it’s 25-250mm Optimo Style and here it is. A 44-440mm T4.5 2X anamorphic zoom. This lens rounds out the rest of Angenieux’s anamorphic line-up which consists of a wide 30-72mm T4, and the mid-range 56-152mm T4. Let’s take a look at some of the finer details of this brand new anamorphic telephoto zoom. Continue reading “Angenieux Reveals New Anamorphic Zoom Ahead of NAB”
Back in April, at NAB, Cooke teased us all with a silhouette of a new zoom lens – the first zoom from the manufacturer since the workhorse 18-100mm, or if you recall the 15-40mm CXX from 2004… Then at Cine Gear earlier this year Cooke gave us a few more hints including the fact that the lens will be anamorphic. Continue reading “Cooke Unveils Details of New Anamorphic Zoom”
Arri published a new video to their YouTube channel in which Zeiss Service Trainer & Technician goes through the step-by-step process of removing the factory front and rear element and replacing them with the new uncoated flare set. The purpose of the flare set is just that, to increase the flares and imperfections, or “character” of the Arri Master Anamorphics. Continue reading “Arri Shows You How To Install Their Flare Set For Master Anamorphics”
Here’s a unexpected announcement. The first thought that comes to mind is, what glass is this? My guess is Leica R series 35-70mm. Check out the press release from P+S Technik below. Continue reading “P+S Thechnik Announces 35-70mm Anamorphic Zoom”
The Veydra Mini Primes were widely debated when they launched their Kickstarter campaign. Cautiously optimistic cinematographers who had been waiting for a pro-level Micro 4/3 cinema lens contributed, and exceeded the modest Kickstarter goal of $50,000 with a whopping $272,000 final pledge. After the first batches of the Mini Primes began arriving at the door steps of generous early adopters, those that didn’t contribute to the Kickstarter were… well, kicking themselves. The Veydra Mini Primes have continued to be the most professional, cinematic choice for Micro 4/3 motion picture projects. So now what…? Clearly Veydra is no one-trick-pony as they’ve just announced several new projects ahead of NAB 2015: Continue reading “With Success of Mini Primes, Veydra Lays Out Plans”
It’s always nice to see two well established companies collaborating. Just ahead of NAB 2013, seeing Angenieux and Cooke work together is a perfect example. Cooke has a long history of making some amazing prime lenses. Angenieux sets the standard for motion picture zooms. Imagine the things they can do, combined. Just this morning, an announcement of just that, a collaboration, was released and the results are nothing short of excellent. Cooke will be offering a completely new line of anamorphic primes that will be about the same size and shape of their S4/i line of lenses, color matched with 5/i primes. Not to be outdone, Angenieux is releasing a professional anamorphic zooms lens to complete the Cooke prime line-up. Now you can have a complete set of primes and zooms, all anamorphic, all matched, all professional grade. Continue reading “Angenieux and Cooke Join Anamorphic Forces”
Eric Koretz recently posted a very nice article detailing his experience with the Hawk Vintage ’74 on his blog, The Image Hunter – Shot In The Wild. Koretz describes how the lenses performed and provides plenty of perfectly de squeezed frame grabs and setup shots. Continue reading “Testing the Hawk Vintage ’74 Lenses”
Zeiss has been on a roll over the past few years. Their ZF.2 lenses became an overdue success and with those came the Compact Primes CP.2 and the Light Weight Zoom LWZ. They’ve recently announced their short line of high speed CP.2 lenses deemed Super Speeds as well as their new 70-200mm Cine-Zoom and even a range of professional anamorphic primes at NAB this year. Their product line-up just gets better and better with no hint of stopping anytime soon. Continue reading “Zeiss Teases New Lenses, IBC 2012”