SLR Magic has announced a brand new set of anamorphic cinema lenses. Known for manufacturing affordable optics for filmmakers, SLR Magic’s new ANAMORPHOT-CINE lens lineup is comprised of a 35mm T/2.4, the 50mm T/2.8 and the 70mm T/4, all of which are built on the PL mount, but can be adjusted for Canon EF, Micro Four Thirds, Sony E-mount and Nikon F lens mounts.
Unlike traditional lenses (also known as spherical lenses), anamorphic lenses capture a much wider scene by horizontally compressing the image onto the sensor or film. Originally, this was done in order to fit a a much larger image onto the size of a 35mm negative to save money while also keeping image quality intact.
In the age of digital, it isn’t so much done for the sake of image quality, but to replicate the wider image ratio that’s become synonymous with cinema imagery. By using an anamorphic lens over cropping, hardly any resolution is lost. SLR Magic says ‘25% or more sensor/negative information’ is saved as a result of using the anamorphic lenses over cropping.
An example of a negative shot on a spherical lens (left) compared to that shot on an anamorphic lens (right). Notice how much more space is utilized.
SLR Magic’s ANAMORPHOT-CINE lenses have a 1.33x ‘squeeze’ factor, which means any sensor capable of shooting 16:9 ratio can result in footage that is a 2.35:1 ratio, a wider and more cinematic look.
The ANAMORPHOT-CINE lenses don’t yet have a price or release date, but SLR Magic says they’ll be showing them off at the upcoming BVE Expo in London on February 23rd through 25th.
Image credits: Anamorphic lens illustrations by Andreas used under CC BY-SA 3.0
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