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Short film on Anamorphics

Michael Millichamp

Michael Millichamp

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Hey guys,

I am currently in Pre-Production on my new short film and I have decided to shoot on the Epic in Anamorphic.

The three lens set I am considering are:
KOWA's
Lomo Round fronts
Lomo Square fronts.

Does anyone have personal preference on any of these lenses, or have any information at all on them? Maybe some test videos or something along those lines?

Thanks,
Michael
 
Be careful with Lomos, they're mechanically pretty poor and really vary from set to set in terms of performance. The advantage there is, with a cropped 16x9 sensor, the 35mm on the Lomos is wider than the 40mm Kowa, which is the widest in that set - and not very wide unless you're shooting with a 4:3 Alexa or 35mm film. The Kowas are generally much more production friendly from my experience...but I preferred the optical characteristics of the Lomos. I'd ignore the square front Lomos though.

I think it really comes down to what's more important...artifacting (the beauty of anamorphic) or mechanical reliability.


** Even in 5k on the epic, the 35mm isn't nearly as wide as it would be on film...but the 40mm might be okay for you on Epic if you're used to only having the 35mm as a wide on a sensor like the Red. I hope that made sense.
 
It made perfect sense!

I found a site that offers a 22mm Lomo roundfront.

I heard it wasn't that great optically, lots of distortion.

Correct me on this if I'm wrong, but here is what I've gotten figured out.

If you shoot a 50 anamorphic, your field of view is actually 25mm, since it would be divided by 2. but your DoF would still be 50mm. Correct?

Meaning, a 35mm will have a field of view of 18mm. Or close enough. But, since there is a 1.3 crop factor on the Epic, it will be closer to a 22. Is that all correct?

If not, I would love some more knowledge!

Thanks!
 
You're right about the field of view - and the crop factor. On 35mm film a 35mm anamorphic is a great wide angle lens. On a Red or Epic, it's kinda in between - like a 24mm. If you're not into wide angle, it's great. If you are, it's never good enough.

I've never used the 22mm Lomo anamorphic but I have used a 25mm on a Red One and being a fan of wide angle anamorphic photography, the 35mm just wasn't wide enough most of the time...always used the 25mm.
 
Be careful about Lomos.

My set is seriously sharp but I have had them gutted and rebuilt by the best tech in the world....just know the set you are renting.

Square fronts have the mumps at min focus and are not as close focusing as the RF's.

If you are looking for fairs in your short my SFs are killer. I'm sure most SF's look great.

I'd go with a combo of 22mm and 35mm SF and 50 and 75 RF

CAN'T SPEAK TO THE KOWA's ad I've never used them.

Pm me for links to my set if you'd like a visual reference.
 
Björn Benckert said:
Why look towards the low end ? :smile5:
Click to expand...

I'm guessing he's going for a look.

I would love to shoot on some Todd AO's not for price but for the movies I love shot on them.

Same reason I bought my SF's.it wasn't a matter of high or low. I just love 70s' Russian cinematography
 
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