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The complete guide – How to turn any lens into an “anamorfake”

Anamorphic lenses seemed to disappear in popularity for a while but there is no doubt now that they’re back in a big way. And while there are some moderately low-budget options out there from companies like Sirui, Samyang and Great Joy, they’re still above the budgets of many who just want to play around and experiment. And playing around and experimenting happens to be Tito Ferradans’ speciality.

Over on his YouTube channel, Anamorphic on a Budget, he’s experimented with a lot of DIY “anamorfake” options and he’s put together a complete guide on how you can do it yourself to pretty much any lens you already own. At least, he’s put together the first part of it, which is the video above.

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“Great photos! You must have a great camera!”

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If you take your craft seriously, the odds of having heard these words are quite high. Audiences associate good images with great cameras, and for the longest time, this (almost) accusation has bothered photographers who felt their skills were downplayed. The interesting bit is that we’re walking towards making the “great cameras = great photos” equation true! And they fit in your pocket.

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Extreme lens modding with the Helios 44-2

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I’m Tito Ferradans and today we’re here to work on a few upgrades to the Helios 44-2 Extreme mod. You probably watched the original video, as it is the most popular one in the channel. After finishing the mod and doing it over and over to fulfill ebay orders, I started to wonder about some other components I handled repeatedly for the mod.

Namely the optics. Not everyone wants polishing – which I can understand, and I myself prefer the unpolished version – so I kept staring at this black coating that covered the sides of the biggest glass elements. I decided to give it a go and try to take it off. In order to do that, I used what I had at hand: nail polish remover.

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Taking sandpaper to M42 lenses to get that anamorphic look on the cheap

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Tito Ferradans here for a lengthy video involving some serious modding and unique looks. Summer is here and DIY projects are up. A few weeks ago I was blown away by a few photos posted by one Victor Danell with a modified Helios 44. His process was to “polish” the glass elements with a strong abrasive and sand the inside of the barrel in order to increase how light bounces around.

The resulting effect is a light and wonderful glow to the brighter areas of the frame. It’s an effect I was trying to re-create in post since forever and having the opportunity to do it in-camera was just too much to resist. Then I pushed the concept a bit further, painted some things inside the lens, replaced the aperture and added a flare filter inside the lens as well.

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