Anamorphic

We're back On a Budget!

September 3, 2017

Tito Ferradans back here with Anamorphic on a Budget! You didn't think I was gonna go away so easily, did you? In the past few months I spent all my time directing a short-film. Up & Away, the one I was asking for help in the last video. Speaking of that video, I got feedback about my looks and how they are more important than my work. From there I got a snazzy haircut and I'll be wearing this super fancy suit to present all future episodes.

Up & Away Production

Anyway, thankfully some of you helped us out on Indiegogo. That was enough for us to get things done. It was an epic experience to direct a sci-fi short. The crew was better than anything I could dream of. We're now off to festivals and that's why y'all have to wait before it shows up here on the channel.

We shot Up & Away on the Blackmagic Cinema Camera. That's 2.5K RAW, using a pair of Iscoramas and a set of Contax Zeiss as taking lenses. The Sigma 18-35 with the Cinemorph filter was our savior for the widest shots. Everything worked out seamlessly.

Back at Anamorpic on a Budget

Now to the good stuff. I'm back with the weekly episodes. Among the next ones you can expect a review of the Iscomorphot Inflight 16/1.75x, a review for the Kowa 16H and comparison with the other top tier Kowas (8Z and B&H), plus a review of the Kowa 16D and the much anticipated Rectilux HardCoreDNA. Pretty much all of these episodes were made in collaboration with people that watch this channel. They were kind enough to lend me their lenses for a decent amount of time. If you're feeling generous, get in touch and I would love to experiment with your lenses too! I'm also coming up with anamorfake guides for other Russian lenses and maybe even some non-Russian-but-dirt-cheap glass!

It feels good to be back! Let me know, by posting in the comments, if there's anything specific you want me to cover. You can still help by sharing the videos and subscribing to the channel!

Anamorphic

Anamorphic Single Focus Shootout: "Held"

May 14, 2017

A girl is held captive, but she won't give up easily.

Held is a narrative lens test. The goal is to see if the performance of single focus adapters for anamorphic lenses influence the understanding and feel of the story. Gear specs below.

Starring Ben Clay and Tavia Cervi

Produced and Directed by Tito Ferradans
Director of Photography: Renata Batistini
1st AC: Keaton House
Production Sound: Tyler Gilbert
Original Music: João Gabriel Rodrigues
Special Effects Make-Up: Natalia Peixoto

Special Thanks to Ariana Saadat and Matt Leaf.

Camera: Sony A7s II, 4K 24fps EOSHD Log
Taking Lenses: Contax Zeiss primes (50/1.4, 85/1.4 and 135/2.8)
Anamorphic Adapter: Kowa for Bell & Howell
Single Focus Solutions: SLR Magic Rangefinder, FM Lens, Rectilux 3FF-W

USEFUL LINKS:

Anamorphic

LOMO CKBK 35OPF1-1 - 50-150mm f/2.2

April 26, 2017

It was by pure chance that I ended up with TWO huge LOMO zooms a couple of years ago. One of them was the LOMO 35OPF18-1 20-120mm T/3.3. The lens is an absolute monster - as you can see side by side with Canon's EF 70-200mm f/2.8L. But the subject of today's post is the much smaller 35OPF1-1.

LOMO 35OFP18-1 vs Canon 70-200mm

LOMO's 20-120mm vs Canon's 70-200mm.
This is NOT the lens I'm reviewing here!

A little history

This is a big one, coming in a big metal case full of Cyrillic writing. The 35OPF1-1 is a 50-150mm designed and made in the experimental optics factory CKBK. The same factory responsible for the superspeed LOMOs and some of rares anamorphics ever. This 1984 model comes in OCT-19 mount. OCT-19 is the Russian version of the PL mount, sturdier, of course. I'm using an OCT-19 to EF adapter.

LOMO CKBK 35OPF1-1 on white background

As a film lens, it was designed to cover a film frame, meaning S35 coverage. On full frame you get lots of subtle vignetting and some not so subtle vignetting at the wider focal lengths. On S35 it delivers optimal performance.

Specs and hard data

Minimum focus is 1.2m (4ft) and aperture ranges from f/2.2 to f/4. T/3.3 to T/5.6 according to markings on the lens. Yep, it's a pretty limited aperture and I don't fully understand their reasons for it... Such narrow range ensures that the eight blades keep bokeh perfectly round through all values. All rings are butter smooth in this copy and the aperture ring is maybe even a bit too smooth. It offers no resistance to turning.

This beast weighs 3.5kg (7.7 pounds) and measures 25cm (10 inches) from top to bottom. The filter thread is 105mm and the full focus throw to infinity is 300 degrees.

My copy is plagued with fungus, though. It came like that from the previous owner. Fortunately, the parasites are already dead. They haven't grown at all in the years I've had this lens for. You can take a better look at the lens and the fungus in this album.

Oh nooo!

Now the interesting stuff

Every time I put this lens on I think I should find ways of making it work for me. I never think I should get rid of it. This lens delivers all the artifacts I work hours to achieve in post. But here they're at the perfect amount and much more organic than what I achieve in post.

Chromatic aberration is strong around the corners. Actually, pretty much on all high contrast edges at the longer end the blue channel splits from the others. You can spot that around Ariana's face in some of the close ups. It doesn't bother me so much, as it seems subtler on the focused areas.

face close up using LOMO

Speaking of focused areas, you can definitely tell when something is in focus. Even at f/2.2 and the roll off to the out-of-focus areas is milky and pleasant. It gives the image a dreamy quality that I seek.

Bokeh looks like soap bubbles - the famous and expensive trioplan look -, with sharper edges around the circles. In some shots you can notice a dark shape in the center of bokeh. That is being caused by the biggest fungus spot on the glass.

LOMO CKBK 35OPF1-1 bokeh

My favorite part about this lens is the blooming and flaring, definitely. You can spot it right away in all of the sunset shots and when strong light hits the glass. The warm tones and highlights bleed onto the darker foreground (mostly Ariana's face or jacket) in a way that I am yet to learn how to fake in post.

LOMO CKBK 35OPF1-1 flaring

Conclusion

All of these artifacts combined give the lens a look that is the complete opposite of modern glass. I'm using this video as the supreme example of why I choose to shoot using vintage glass and pursue this road of unusual optics.

In terms of usability, this lens requires some sort of support system. From what I've seen in Olex's video of its turnaround, there is a Russian support, but mine came without it. So far, I've been working out my arms. If you want to use this in real life, you should really come up with a solution.

A good thing when adapting OCT-19 to modern cine cameras is that the mount is easily replaced with a PL mount.

OCT-19 mount, a beefed up PL mount

Overall, this is powerful long zoom, going from a normal length (50mm) to super tele (150mm) able to keep a fast and constant aperture through its entire range. Size and weight are definitely a challenge if you're shooting run and gun, but not so much if you're used to cinema super zooms. All the optical craziness can be seen as a positive or negative factor, depending on how you like the look of your footage straight from camera.