Are there any Nikon anamorphic adapters?

[Brandon Fraley]

But designed to cover 4:3 1/3" chip.

Good point. Although people have used it successfully on the HVX with it's 16x9 sensor, but again it's 1/3".

I believe it's made for the DVX's 72mm lens, and all my nikon lenses are 77mm, so I might need a step down ring or something, but again, Zack says he's done it successfully, albeit a little soft.

 

[Zack Birlew]

Maybe Jim will make an anamorphic adapter for 35mm lenses. I would sure buy one.

LongValley? Element? Birger? Viewfactor? Alesniak? CinemaTechnic? - There might be a market here.

I asked some guys at RED about that. They said it wasn't likely that they would be the ones to do that. They said Schneider Optics who would be the best bet for coming up with that. I think RED could at least give it a shot with all of their connections for lens manufacturing.

Yes, as has been said a dozen times in the past, the Panasonic Anamorphic adapter on 16:9 cameras is an unorthodox method of getting that anamorphic look and just the plain ol' 2.40:1 aspect ratio (even though it's not true 2.40:1, it's closer than anything else available).

77mm lenses will require step-down rings. Obviously you're going to lose some zoom range with wider lenses like the 17-35mm 2.8 zoom, if it will even work for such a wide lens that is. Prime lenses will be the better choice though. I've just PMed someone about this a little while ago, but lenses with 72mm threads, like the Nikon 85mm 1.4, could very well not work at all with the adapter due to vignetting. You could always zoom in a bit in post if you have the resolution (ie. RED's 2K or 4K) to allow it but the easier option may be to opt for the 85mm 1.8 with 52mm filter threads instead.

EDIT: Oh, sorry, I forgot, there are a few Nikon 85mm 1.8 lenses. The manual focus Nippon Kogaku versions are 52mm threaded and the other AF versions are 62mm thread. There is also an 85mm 1.4 AF that is 77mm threaded and so is the Zeiss ZF 85mm 1.4, both probably won't work but that is still an untested hypothesis.

 

[Andrew Ceperley]

Now, I've also been thinking about getting a Century 58mm-threaded Anamorphic adapter for testing on lenses with 52mm filter threads and a 52mm-58mm stepping ring. That lens may be better optically than the Panasonic and it'll be more compact than the series of stepping rings I'm having to use with the Panasonic adapter. Just have to find one to try it out.

Funny you say that, I was doing the same thing for a couple months fairly recently.

These are some stills (not yet color-corrected) from a test (the guy with glasses) and a music video using that same method. The Century adapter was put on a 28mm, a 50mm, and a 135mm. Unfortunately, the adapter tends to greatly reduce the sharpness of the image at times. The 50mm tended to be the sharpest.

The music video will be online sooner or later, if you want to see it in motion. Anything wider than 35mm tends to vignette and distort.

 

[Zack Birlew]

Fantastic! Can't wait to see it!

As far as the Century adapter goes for me, I've been struggling with the practicality of buying the adapter, usually about $500-700 range, or buying a new lens or two as all I have is some digital zooms and the one manual 50mm 1.2. That's good to hear that the 35mm range is the most practical wide angle as I've been eyeing the 35mm 1.4 AIS.

But I've also been doing a little DIY conversion for my GL1/GL2 bayonet version of the Century anamorphic adapter. I've been trying to use a 52mm-size Cokin filter adapter and squeeze it onto the adapter with a couple of screws and washers. The 52mm hole goes right over the anamorphic element and the bayonet mount and it screws onto the 50mm 1.2 just fine, albeit losing the ability to rotate the front anamorphic element because of the washers squeezing it down. Because of that, the whole adapter has to be screwed and unscrewed to get it just right. However, I've suffered the same problems with softness at higher f-stops and, in the case of the Century adapter, it's unusable at the desireable f/1.2-f/1.4 range. Stopping down to f/2.0 is better but, still, for maximum sharpness I find f/4.0-f/5.6 is the best range. I don't know if it's because I'm using a weird DIY workaround to make the bayonet adapter fit, the results may be different with the native 58mm adapter and a stepping ring, but if that really is the case then I'm no better off with the Panasonic anamorphic adapter. I must say though, I believe the Century beats out the Panasonic in terms of flare performance (ie. prettier). But for sharpness, the Panasonic anamorphic adapter at least is a little more forgiving with image sharpness at f/1.4. Sadly, f/1.2 is just not feasible with anamorphics, maybe in the future but it just isn't usable at the moment as it is. Still, I'd like to get a 58mm threaded version and try it, I figure at least it will be another anamorphic adapter I can use as the Panasonic anamorphic is just as demanding of the f/4.0-f/5.6 range. But if not the 35mm 1.4 AIS, there's also that Tokina 11-16mm 2.8 which is also looking pretty nice for roughly the same price it would be to get the adapter. It's just really hard to decide at the moment.

If RED makes a new anamorphic adapter, I'd certainly love to try it out as it would have to spank the Panasonic adapter for 4K+ work. They have some more incentive now with the FF35 cameras coming out but, as I've said before, they didn't seem too interested when I asked not too long ago.

 

[Andrew Ceperley]

That's so funny that you mention the bayonet mount adapter. The music video was shot with that (the first tests I did were on a rented adapter with the 58mm thread, I bought - mistakenly - the bayonet version)

The rear ring (the part that reads "Century Precision Optics U.S.A. Blah blah blah) with the yellow dot unscrews after loosening the little silver screw (thus removing the bayonet mount). After hours of trying to figure something out, I placed a 55 to 62 step-up ring between the bayonet mount and the lens, and screwed the bayonet mount back on, tightening it to hold the step-up ring in place. Sticking through was now a 55mm thread, so with a step up 55 to 52, I was in business. I noticed the lack of sharpness with both the rigged bayonet and the filter-thread versions of the adapter though. I wanted a 62 to 52mm step-up, but I haven't been able to find one...and I kinda got lazy and gave up looking. The nice thing is, this method doesn't eliminate the ability to rotate the anamorphic element.

Don't be too excited. The video was made on a budget of about 10 dollars (okay, 15...) on some student-stages a friend still in school had reserved. The footage itself is from an HV20 with a brevis35 (doesn't help the already softened image), nikon lenses, and the adapter. Not quite the Red One.

Unfortunately, the director decided to go in a funky cardboard set, 60's, surreal direction, and I got there thinking 80's anamorphic...but we made do.

The nikon lenses with the adapter on them end up physically looking like mini-versions of some of these Lomo's people are going crazy over (myself included).

I've never used the panasonic adapter. Aside from the lesser flares, any other drawbacks?

 

[Zack Birlew]

Well, nothing more than has already been discussed. The Panasonic adapter has nice flares, I just thought the Century adapter made prettier looking ones. It's all in the eye of the beholder though.

I'm definitely going to have to try doing the step ring modification. B&H actually has a general brand 52-62mm step up ring for about $7 or so. Aside from that, there's the Heliopan version for $30. However, do you think a 58mm thread could fit or does the bayonet mount block that, hence the 55mm-62mm? The reason I ask is because 58mm-62mm step up rings are available as well and 58mm is a more universal size for either stepping up or stepping down. Short of that, do you think it would be possible to simply screw on a 62mm spacer and leave it at that? I unfortunately don't have the adapter with me at the moment, I'm traveling, so I can't physically see what this modification would look like after taking off the bayonet mount. Are there 62mm screw on threads underneath the bayonet ring or is 62mm the only size that conveniently slides in and then the bayonet must be replaced over it to make it stick?

 

[Andrew Ceperley]

Well, nothing more than has already been discussed. The Panasonic adapter has nice flares, I just thought the Century adapter made prettier looking ones. It's all in the eye of the beholder though.

I'm definitely going to have to try doing the step ring modification. B&H actually has a general brand 52-62mm step up ring for about $7 or so. Aside from that, there's the Heliopan version for $30. However, do you think a 58mm thread could fit or does the bayonet mount block that, hence the 55mm-62mm? The reason I ask is because 58mm-62mm step up rings are available as well and 58mm is a more universal size for either stepping up or stepping down. Short of that, do you think it would be possible to simply screw on a 62mm spacer and leave it at that? I unfortunately don't have the adapter with me at the moment, I'm traveling, so I can't physically see what this modification would look like after taking off the bayonet mount. Are there 62mm screw on threads underneath the bayonet ring or is 62mm the only size that conveniently slides in and then the bayonet must be replaced over it to make it stick?

The 62mm seemed to be the only size that worked (and I tried a lot of things, the 62 was an accident really). The bayonet mount has to be screwed back on to hold it in place (which it does quite well). There are no threads underneath the mount. I think a 58mm should work. It might be tight though. I have a 55 in now, and 3 extra mm don't look to be problematic, but I wouldn't know without testing. You might have to go 55mm and then step to 58mm.

Of course, you could, if you were a mechanic of some sort, theoretically construct something that would screw on where the bayonet mount screws in, and have your 58mm threads be on the end of it...but that's getting complicated.

 

[Andrew Ceperley]

Here's the music video, un-cropped and anamorphic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QReM1_8WDQ8

Not a great example quality wise, but you get the idea.

In the end, after that project, I think the process is useless on Nikon lenses. It's just too soft the tighter you get. Everything in this video is either 28mm or 50mm...anything closer was just unacceptably soft.

 

[Zack Birlew]

Well, I tried the 58-62 step up ring and the 52-62 step up ring, neither worked as you described. Maybe you used a particular brand of stepping ring? Both of them simply fall into the space where the bayonet mount is and I tried tightening the bayonet over them but neither could get a good firm grip, the 52-62 not even working as the opening is too small and fits too snugly around the anamorphic element to move to the inner edges of the bayonet mount. Oh well, I guess it's just a bust.

In other anamorphic news, I've tried and successfully found that even though the 18-200mm zoom may not work with the Panasonic anamorphic adapter, the 18-105mm works splendidly with a stepping ring but, unfortunately, it requires a 72mm spacer, whether a UV filter or the ring from a 72mm diopter filter, like I use. I'm leaning towards the 72mm UV filter route for this as the ring I use is too thick. Unfortunately, 18mm-24mm is most likely going to have bad vignetting anyway but the rest of the range is useable, save for very slight edge vignetting at 35mm, 67mm filter size is a little too close to 72mm I think for this to work all the way throughout the zoom range. If the zoom had a 52mm filter size, then we'd be in business. But unfortunately, it looks like if you want to go the Panasonic anamorphic route, it will have to be with primes.