Our latest bit of kit arrived this week at Tadah and we’re very excited (well I am) even though we can’t get out and shoot anything with it or even have the camera it was meant for! I lent our BMPCC 4k to a friend just before the lockdown.
Anyway back to the kit…It’s the Sirui 50mm Anamorphic lens which, if you have any interest in film gear, you’ve probably already heard about and know why it’s such a big deal. But for those of you who haven’t…
Anamorphic lens are usually very, very expensive and used on big budget Hollywood films. Basically they’re able to squeeze a much wider (more cinematic) image onto a sensor designed to record more conventional sized images. Their optical characteristics also mean they produce unique blue flares much loved by the likes of JJ Abrams and very distinctive oval bokeh – those round circles of light you get in the out of focus part of an image, especially at night!
Which all means this lens will help us shoot video that looks more cinematic.
So here I was with this amazing new lens and nothing I could do with it…Then I remembered, my wife has a Panasonic G5 stills camera (not the GH5!) so I persuaded her to let me borrow it for 15 minutes and went out into the garden. Ok, so the results aren’t going to win an academy award, but they do demonstrate the Sirui’s wider aspect ratio and the last shot has that lovely blue flaring you only get with an anamorphic lens.
So there you are. The Sirui 50mm Anamorphic lens. It looks great. I only wish we could get more use out of it!
