I need a 5D2 with a PL or Panavision mount for Anamorphic Any ideas? at DVinfo.net

Thomas Lowe · June 14th, 2009, 10:39 AM

We are trying to match 35mm anamorphic to some 5D2 timelapse footage. I'm wondering if anyone has a Panavision or PL mount for a 5D2? Anyone know where I can have this done quickly?

I have already contacted Doug Underdahl (PL conversions) and Axel Gimenez (Panavision adapter), but am still waiting to hear back from them.

Any ideas? Could I shoot on Nikon or Canon lenses and somehow fake an anamorphic look in After Effects or something? Also, how would I focus and frame with anamorphics on a 5D2? Won't the LCD view be terribly skewed?

Thanks for any help.

Nick Hiltgen · June 15th, 2009, 06:04 AM

I'm not sure exactly how the pl or Panavision mount will work, if I recall correctly both of those lenses have parts that fall "behind" the mount which would hit the shutter. So I think it would be difficult to create a cheap and easy adapter for working with PL mount lenses, but I could be wrong.

As far as monitoring that might be significantly easier, a lot of the older monitors have a vertical stretch that will allow you to squish the image to see it in the correct aspect ratio. This may only exist on tube monitors but at least it's something.

Thomas Lowe · June 16th, 2009, 09:30 AM

Just to follow up on this, I had a chance to try some Panavision anamorphics on my 5D2 yesterday. I'm prepping for some 2nd unit work shooting RAW, still digital timelapse that is supposed to match 1st unit's 35mm film anamorphic. The 50mm Primo fits and works well using one of the Panavision>EOS adapters that was custom built recently at the Hollywood location.

The 50mm Primo T2 covers about 80% of the sensor, resulting in a nearly square "4K" image, meaning that it's roughly 4K wide and 4K tall. But once you unsqueeze the image at 2:1, you are left with nearly an 8K image. Or, 6K x 3K, for example.

Sample shot:

I want to stress that I am using these lenses for full-frame 21MP RAW timelapse shooting, not cropped 1080p video, which would be useless to shoot with 2:1 anamorphics, IMO.

Jon Fairhurst · June 16th, 2009, 10:51 AM

Nice pics, Thomas!

I'm trying to get my head around the equivalent focal length. It's a 50mm, but a 2:1 anamorphic, so that would be a 25mm equivalent - except it's cropping horizontally at 4096/5616 or so. That makes a 35mm lens equivalent or so (34.3mm), if I have my numbers right.

BTW, that's a nice setup with test targets and lights for aligning three cameras at a time. But I would think that for matching cameras for a single shoot, you'd want to look at a single target, unless those lights are amazingly well calibrated.

When working with post houses in the early '90s, colorists wanted only one monitor in the room. That kept clients from asking that the picture be graded to look like the colors on the second, less-well aligned monitor. It's pretty much impossible to align two monitors identically, and I would think that the same applies to lights.

Nick Hiltgen · June 16th, 2009, 07:40 PM

Hey Jon, I think that picture was taken at panavision hollywood, those three charts you see are lined up with bays so that multiple people can check out gear at a time, not necceraily for matching cameras, I would think you would need (or at least I KNOW i would need) a much more controlled atmosphere. Sorry if I'm offering up already obvious information.

Jon Fairhurst · June 16th, 2009, 08:44 PM

Being at Panavision, as compared to a production house, the three casual bays make sense.

And best of luck to Thomas. May all of your timelapse shoots go well on the first take!

June 14th, 2009, 10:39 AM	#1
Thomas Lowe Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 33	I need a 5D2 with a PL or Panavision mount for Anamorphic Any ideas? We are trying to match 35mm anamorphic to some 5D2 timelapse footage. I'm wondering if anyone has a Panavision or PL mount for a 5D2? Anyone know where I can have this done quickly? I have already contacted Doug Underdahl (PL conversions) and Axel Gimenez (Panavision adapter), but am still waiting to hear back from them. Any ideas? Could I shoot on Nikon or Canon lenses and somehow fake an anamorphic look in After Effects or something? Also, how would I focus and frame with anamorphics on a 5D2? Won't the LCD view be terribly skewed? Thanks for any help.

June 15th, 2009, 06:04 AM	#2
Nick Hiltgen Trustee Join Date: May 2003 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 1,427	I'm not sure exactly how the pl or Panavision mount will work, if I recall correctly both of those lenses have parts that fall "behind" the mount which would hit the shutter. So I think it would be difficult to create a cheap and easy adapter for working with PL mount lenses, but I could be wrong. As far as monitoring that might be significantly easier, a lot of the older monitors have a vertical stretch that will allow you to squish the image to see it in the correct aspect ratio. This may only exist on tube monitors but at least it's something. __________________ I have a dream that one day canon will release a 35mm ef to xl adapter and I'll have iris control and a 35mm dof of all my ef lenses, and it will be awesome...

June 16th, 2009, 10:51 AM	#4
Jon Fairhurst Inner Circle Join Date: May 2006 Location: Camas, WA, USA Posts: 5,513	Nice pics, Thomas! I'm trying to get my head around the equivalent focal length. It's a 50mm, but a 2:1 anamorphic, so that would be a 25mm equivalent - except it's cropping horizontally at 4096/5616 or so. That makes a 35mm lens equivalent or so (34.3mm), if I have my numbers right. BTW, that's a nice setup with test targets and lights for aligning three cameras at a time. But I would think that for matching cameras for a single shoot, you'd want to look at a single target, unless those lights are amazingly well calibrated. When working with post houses in the early '90s, colorists wanted only one monitor in the room. That kept clients from asking that the picture be graded to look like the colors on the second, less-well aligned monitor. It's pretty much impossible to align two monitors identically, and I would think that the same applies to lights. __________________ Jon Fairhurst

June 16th, 2009, 07:40 PM	#5
Nick Hiltgen Trustee Join Date: May 2003 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 1,427	Hey Jon, I think that picture was taken at panavision hollywood, those three charts you see are lined up with bays so that multiple people can check out gear at a time, not necceraily for matching cameras, I would think you would need (or at least I KNOW i would need) a much more controlled atmosphere. Sorry if I'm offering up already obvious information. __________________ I have a dream that one day canon will release a 35mm ef to xl adapter and I'll have iris control and a 35mm dof of all my ef lenses, and it will be awesome...

June 16th, 2009, 08:44 PM	#6
Jon Fairhurst Inner Circle Join Date: May 2006 Location: Camas, WA, USA Posts: 5,513	Being at Panavision, as compared to a production house, the three casual bays make sense. And best of luck to Thomas. May all of your timelapse shoots go well on the first take! __________________ Jon Fairhurst

June 16th, 2009, 09:30 AM	#3
Thomas Lowe Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 33	Just to follow up on this, I had a chance to try some Panavision anamorphics on my 5D2 yesterday. I'm prepping for some 2nd unit work shooting RAW, still digital timelapse that is supposed to match 1st unit's 35mm film anamorphic. The 50mm Primo fits and works well using one of the Panavision>EOS adapters that was custom built recently at the Hollywood location. The 50mm Primo T2 covers about 80% of the sensor, resulting in a nearly square "4K" image, meaning that it's roughly 4K wide and 4K tall. But once you unsqueeze the image at 2:1, you are left with nearly an 8K image. Or, 6K x 3K, for example. Sample shot: I want to stress that I am using these lenses for full-frame 21MP RAW timelapse shooting, not cropped 1080p video, which would be useless to shoot with 2:1 anamorphics, IMO.