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Anamorphic Zoom Lens up to 5500 USD ?

A

Artur Kowalewski

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Anyone knows this lens:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOMO-Arriflex-20-120mm-f-3-3-PL-Anamorphic-cinemascope-Panavision-Lens-RED-Arri-/121052730025?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item1c2f4e12a9
Is there any other zoom lens which is better or similar to this one ? Up to 5500 USD. I need good, but not very expensive anamorphic zoom for one project.
I know that LOMO are very specific lenses - one of them are really sharp, some soft and not well build. But maybe someone did any tests or was using anamorphic zoom and can share with me/us.
Oh, it does not have to be LOMO or Russian optics. It was just sugestion. Maybe some Western stuff in good price ? But it has to be zoom.
 
This lens is well regarded for being of a good optical quality (search these forums and you'll see people often discuss them).

The only thing to consider with this zoom is it's spherical and has a rear anamorphic element. This means you don't get any anamorphic style lens flares or other effects that you may be looking for (ie - bokeh is round and not ovular)... also, it's not as 'creamy' as a front anamorphic.

So, you're not going to get that much benefit from the anamorphic side of this lens, if you're looking for flare/cream etc.

There isn't really any other Anamorphic (front) zoom out there - in the West or old Sov Block... most will be rear ana adaptators added to old Cookes or Angies.

Russian wise, there's the Foton and it's Anamorphic Foton-A squarefront attachment (which, incidentally also has a rear attachment ana) - they're in the $3K-$5K range now but are T4.2/3 (variable depending upon age/year of manufacture).

Or the 20-85 Ekran/Lomo zoom (T3) - but again, you'd need the rear ana on that and this will probably be around $5K+ (and it's spherical - so no oval bokeh or flares).

It comes down to the look you want, if it's bokeh, flares, creaminess (etc) you'll need a front anamorphic.
 
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Thanks Andy.
So, there's no front anamorphic zoom lenses in that price range ? i mean 5000-5500 USD (maximum) ? Only lenses i know which are front anamorphic lenses are prime LOMOs (35/50/75 and i think 100 or similar focal length). but they are not very cheap these days and to collect three of them... well, it's more than 10k USD i guess. so i just wanted to save some money and get lens like 20-120mm to cover all focal length i need... and even more.
Generally, this 20-120mm LOMO lens from eBay or 20-85mm EKRAN or FOTON. And nothing else. And they all have rear anamorphic element like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/290830164380?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
Oh, and by the way - maybe someone know if this anamorphic adapter can be used/converted to be used with Angenieux 20-120mm lens too ?
 
Hi Artur

The only front anamorphic zoom in the $5K range is the two piece Foton zoom with it's Foton-A Squarefront atachment. There aren't any others (that I know of!).

You'll pay $3k-$5K for one of these, and they're a gamble. I have two of the Foton zooms (soon to be 3) and one is amazing... the other is crap. Both have been professionally serviced (remounted to PL & collimated etc)... so it's risky, but you might get a good set. You WILL need to get them looked at and serviced.

Both the 20-120 and 20-80 are spherical lenses and only become anamorphic with the addition of a rear ana adapter. This means you loose about a stop and a half and you don't get any anamorphic aberrations.

The rear ana adapter you#re linked is the one made for the 20-120 OPF-18. That can also be used for the Angie 20-120 or the Cooke, but you will need a lens tech to set it up for you.

So, if you want anamorphic zoom under $5.5K you have two options:

1) Rear ana on a spherical zoom (20-120) - which will loose a stop/stop and a half and you won't get any lens flare, oval bokeh or 'typical' anamorphic look.
2) Go with the Foton (37-140) & a Foton-A squarefront adapter - you'll get the typical anamorphic style with flares, oval bokeh and streaks etc - but the zoom is two pieces and needs to be set up to work well... and you're stuck at T4.4 (ish) as your wide open spot... so you'll need to be a few stops away from that to get best performance.

The only other option is to try teh route a lot of DSLR shooters use, with a combination of a modern zoom and some type of anamrphic adapter... but I don't know much about that side.
 
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Thanks again Andy.
So, Foton lens is one like this, right:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/FOTON-LOMO-37-140mm-f-3-5-T-4-4-Zoom-Lens-in-Konvas-OCT-18-mount-adaptable-/271153007147?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item3f21fa8a2b
There are few of them on eBay if it is this lens. So, You think better is to buy one of them, service it, collimate and... check how it perform ? And if You got right one, with excellent image quality look for Foton anamorphic atachment and add it in the same service You did collimating and servicing ? Is it right order for searching of anamorphic zoom ?
 
Hi Artur - looks like it's just you and me on this thread! :)

Yes, that's the Foton zoom. As you can see on Ebay, there are a few around at the moment - even one at $299 (but the lens looks so scratched that it would only be worth buying as a throw away).

The Foton will cover 4K on Epic, but has slight vignetting on 5K. It's fine in 5K ana mode (when coupled with the Foton-A squarefront).

Honestly, I'd look to buy from a more reputable dealer (someone like Raf), who will take things back if you're not happy.

If you're looking to use in it's original form, go with OCT-19 mount. If you're going to get it remounted to PL, OCT-18 will be a cheaper purchase point. You'll be spending more than the cost of the lens to get it remounted and collimated (you'll probably find that it needs some type of repair - and re-lubrication as well).

The Foton-A ana attachment is getting rare these days, so picking one up when you see it is probably the best option.

As a side note, this was on Ebay recently (Foton and front Ana), I don't know if it sold privately (Ebay items often end up in private sales), but the seller is a Reduser - so you might want to track him down and discuss directly with him? - here's the link http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOMO-Foton-...=&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Good luck!
 
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Well, Andy, maybe this subject is boring and only i do not know so much about anamorphic lenses ;) That's why ;)
Thanks a lot. I wrote an eBay message to this Seller. I hope it is enaught. I do not know how to find Him on RED Forum. I'm 100% decided to buy anamorphic zoom or 2-3 anamorphic primes if they be in good price. But You have 100% right - rear anamorphic is just a format, and NO flares, etc.
Oh, and OCT18 is much, much better mount to convert to PL. I think i have 2-3 stainless steel OCT18 to PL adapters. They are very well made. OCT19 is not so easy, but i think it is not a problem at all too.
 
I shot this video for Charlie Winston with Audrey Tautou on film with the Lomo anamorphic 40-240. At some point the iris broke and I had to take it apart, while in a tiny village in Spain and try to fix it. I was able to wedge it wide open and the 2nd day of 2 was shot wide open, using ND's to get exposure. Liked that lens a lot, but eventually had to do a gear purge and sold it to Morgan Schmidt. Not sure if he has it any more. The image is pretty solid 40-200, at 240 not so much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf_JWtVwexA


Matt Uhry
www.mattuhry.com
 
So, to be sure. LOMO 20-120mm is spheric lens. When attached 2x anamorphic back attachment it is 40-240mm, right ? Becuse i'm getting confused. Or we are talking about two different lenses right now.
And Matt - very nice video, very good sharpness. I'm impressed.
 
Artur

Yes - the OPF-18 20-120 becomes a 40-240 (approx) lens when it has the rear ana adapter. You gain distance, but loose T-stops :) - and it's a spherical.

The 20-120 is a very (very) nice lens. Some say it's as nice as Lomo primes... it certainly has a nice character.
 
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So the link i've posted (eBay sell) it exactly the same lens with 2x attachment (20-120 became 40-240). And this is the same lens which was used in the video. But still this is rear anamorphic attachment, so no flare, etc., just ana image frame.
 
Artur Kowalewski said:
So the link i've posted (eBay sell) it exactly the same lens with 2x attachment (20-120 became 40-240). And this is the same lens which was used in the video. But still this is rear anamorphic attachment, so no flare, etc., just ana image frame.
Click to expand...

Yes!
 
Thanks for the nice words on the video... one of my favorites.

Basically think russian copy of cooke 20-100... with a cool macro function and easy to add / remove anamorphic converter.

Matt Uhry
www.mattuhry.com
 
OK, so i can get this one under 1000 USD (not in MINT condition, but...):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/290830164380?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
And now i have a question - does it fit just OCT19 20-120mm LOMO lens ? Or it will fit also LOMO OCT19 primes ? I see camera mount (it's OCT19 for sure), but what kind of mount is there from lens side ??? Any specific type to be connected ONLY to 20-120mm LOMO lens ?
 
Artur Kowalewski said:
OK, so i can get this one under 1000 USD (not in MINT condition, but...):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/290830164380?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
And now i have a question - does it fit just OCT19 20-120mm LOMO lens ? Or it will fit also LOMO OCT19 primes ? I see camera mount (it's OCT19 for sure), but what kind of mount is there from lens side ??? Any specific type to be connected ONLY to 20-120mm LOMO lens ?
Click to expand...

Hi Artur - sorry I missed this post earlier...

So you're still looking at the 20-12/40-240 despite the lack of oval bokeh/flare etc? Not the Foton/Foton-A?

A quick answer, you'll have to remove the OCT-19 mount/collar from the rear and then slide on the ana adapter. Like adding a rear extender (which you can also do to this lens). I suppose it could be used with normal primes - but I doubt it, as there hasn't been any evidence of that... so maybe it only fits zooms. It makes sense that it was maybe engineered only for zooms (that have a fixed rear glass).

My version of this lens is PL'd. So I unscrew my (removable) PL adapter collar and twist/lock then grubscrew into place the anamorphic. It takes a minute or so for me... and always 5 minutes at least for any nervous AC as I scowl at them to be careful :)

When getting this lens, be careful that the inbuilt diopter function still works. Sometimes this doesn't... or it's been removed when fixed or converted to PL. Basically, you have a dial-able diopter function at the rear and this works in anamorphic and spherical modes. I'd presume it works in the tel-extenders modes too - but I don't have any of those :)

This will give you an idea of the lens size... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJICDqXSx_I&feature=youtu.be&t=16s but it is embarrassing that they put a lens of this size onto a Scarlet without any support. If the lens mount shears away, you've damaged the camera and your lens has smashed to the floor in tiny pieces. I cringe when i watch it... - kids and toys I suppose - maybe some basic camera support teaching is in order ;)
 
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Andy, no, no, it's not like that ;)
Now i'm looking for:
1) rear attachment to add it to Angenieux or Lomo zoom;
2) Foton or any other front anamorphic zoom... or prime lens;
I just want to compare them. I'm new in anamorphic lenses, so i want shot some on both of them and see what i really need.
About this attachment - this one under 1000 USD is sold :/ He has also two in better condition, but will costs me 1100 USD or 1300 USD (this second one is near mint or even new one). Still in OCT19, but if i buy this one i'm almost home. I won't convert it by myself, becuse i'm not right person for this job, but i will look for someone who can adapt it to PL instead of OCT19. I do not think it will be very hard to find someone to do this. And i think about LOMO 20-120mm or Angenieux with the same focal lenght. Foton... well, Foton or any other front anamorphic front lens... it's a different story ;)
So, if i know what i really need i just sell one of them and leave the one i like more. I think it is good idea.
 
One more thing Andy.
Is there any way or any ana rear adapter that can be used with some old/new zoom lenses ? For example. I want one rear ana, but for 20-120mm and 25-250mm lenses. Can it be done ? Just to check which one is better. I mean in PL mount of course.
 
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