Anamorphic still photography: Hi just interested to see if anyone else is using an anamorphic set up to take still images. I just started playing around with a anamorphic projection...

gabrielcody

Hi just interested to see if anyone else is using an anamorphic set up to take still images. I just started playing around with a anamorphic projection lens mounted to my taking lens a helios 58mm f2.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

gabrielcody wrote:

Hi just interested to see if anyone else is using an anamorphic set up to take still images. I just started playing around with a anamorphic projection lens mounted to my taking lens a helios 58mm f2.

I have anamorphic lens, its a Kowa, but I have used it only for movie making!

repleo Loc: Boston

gabrielcody wrote:

Hi just interested to see if anyone else is using an anamorphic set up to take still images. I just started playing around with a anamorphic projection lens mounted to my taking lens a helios 58mm f2.

I have to confess, I never heard of anamorphic photography until I read your post. I had to Google it. Its seems interesting, but I don't think it is for me.

Post some of your experiments to enlighten us on the topic.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

repleo wrote:

I have to confess, I never heard of anamorphic photography until I read your post. I had to Google it. Its seems interesting, but I don't think it is for me. Post some of your experiments to enlighten us on the topic.

"enlighten us" Yes, that is a good idea.
And repleo, what is the best reference you found.... sharing is easy and what UHH is about.
And repleo said, "Its seems interesting, but I don't think it is for me." Because...

Shutterbug57

Good way to shoot fat broads that want to look skinny. You know those gals that just know you can make them look thinner than they really are. Now you have just the tool.

Anvil Loc: Loveland, CO

I had to Google "anamorphic still photography" to find out what this is. It looks quite interesting. Do you squish the photo in Photoshop, or something like that?

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

OK. Petapixel has an article on this.

https://petapixel.com/2014/05/07/shooting-anamorphic-lens-dslr/

The condensed version is that these are cylinder lenses that intentionally distort the image in one direction. They are generally used to "squeeze" the image horizontally to fit a panoramic view on a regular film frame (or sensor). It's how widescreen movies have been shot and projected for years. At the movies, a corresponding lens spreads the image back out to produce the wide image on the screen.

I would presume that any number of software packages wuld be able to stretch the image back out for viewing or printing.

kstephens43

If you were around in the 1960s and 1970s, the best example of anamorphic lens use was called CINEMASCOPE, which allowed theaters to show extremely wide images--much wider than what we see today. However, as television became highly popular, tv producers wanted to be able to show Cinemascope movies (such as Ben Hur, with Charleton Heston) on tv. The only way to do that was to chop off both the right and left portions of the image and leave only the middle portion, which would fit the tv format. Alas, that lost the benefit of movies specifically shot in Cinemascope, and as a result, the Cinemascope format for movies died.

repleo Loc: Boston

dpullum wrote:

"enlighten us" Yes, that is a good idea.
And repleo, what is the best reference you found.... sharing is easy and what UHH is about.
And repleo said, "Its seems interesting, but I don't think it is for me." Because...

"Because"..... The lenses or adapters are expensive and awkward looking - not something you would take on a walk-about or want to pack for travelling.

Also, from my brief Google research, it is primarily a movie technique. It was developed as a way to squeeze wide angle panorama (eg Cinemascope) movies onto standard size film stock. In simple terms, the anamorphic lens squeezes one axis of the wide shot to fit on the full frame of the film. Another anamorphic lens on the projector stretches the image out to the desired wide format on the screen.

Thinking about it again, I suppose anamorphic lenses could be useful for shooting the increasingly popular 16:9 format onto 3:2 format sensors without cropping off 20% +/- of your pixels.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

You can easily "squeeze" images in Photoshop or other editors. What do you get trying to adapt a weird movie lens to a DSLR that you can't do on the computer.?

woodworkerman Loc: PA to FL

IMHO, "Letterboxing" destroyed the charm of the old movies when shown on standard TVs. I do like the wide aspect ratio of modern TVs. I might like to try these specialty lenses on my DSLR.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

woodworkerman wrote:

IMHO, "Letterboxing" destroyed the charm of the old movies when shown on standard TVs. I do like the wide aspect ratio of modern TVs. I might like to try these specialty lenses on my DSLR.

I think cropping the ends of the image was worse, especially for wide format films.

repleo Loc: Boston

JohnSwanda wrote:

You can easily "squeeze" images in Photoshop or other editors. What do you get trying to adapt a weird movie lens to a DSLR that you can't do on the computer.?

It was originally a film technique - (ie pre-Photoshop). However, with digital, I think you would use PS to re-stretch the image that had been compressed onto the sensor by the anamorphic lens. You could also just print it in its compressed state. The lenses also produce oval shaped bokeh balls and interesting flare renditions.

Do your own Google search if you are interested.

gabrielcody

The lens forces 2x width onto the sensor and you squeeze it in photoshop or other programs by doubling the width by 200 %.

gabrielcody

The lens squeezes it onto the sensor you squeeze it in photoshop and instant 2x panorama.Also if you use a 100mm taking lens you get the field of view of a 50mm with the compression of the 100.Also interesting lens flares and oval shaped highlights.