Is it time for you to film with anamorphic lenses?
Hey, my name is Matt Johnson with whoismatt.com.
And today I'm going to be answering that question and reviewing an anamorphic lens
because I've been filming with this Sirui Saturn
35 millimeter anamorphic for a while now, and I think it's pretty cool.
Before we get started though, for the sake of ethics, I want you to know
that Sirui did send me this lens, but they sent it to me in exchange for me
posting an Instagram reel about it, which I happily did.
And you can check that out on my Instagram page, which I will link to down below.
Anyways, after I posted that real Sue Ray didn't ask me to do anything else,
so I'm making this video purely because I want to.
And I think anamorphic lenses are cool and I'm not getting paid for this video
by Sue Ray or anyone else for that matter, and they don't even know
that I'm making this video.
Anyways, let's start off by talking about what is an anamorphic lens.
In essence, an anamorphic lens is a lens that is purpose built to distort
the image that your camera is recording.
unlike a normal camera lens like the Sony 24 millimeter
that I'm using to record this video right now, with that lens,
you can put it on a camera and get a nice wide angle field of view
that will look great straight out of camera.
Alternatively, though, with an anamorphic lens,
your camera is actually going to record a distorted version of the image
where everything is squeezed together horizontally.
the amount of how much squeezing
is going to happen, and how distorted the image is going to be
is going to depend on how the lens is manufactured with all anamorphic lenses
having a number associated with them, such as a 1.6 X or 1.8 x or two x, etc.
and all of these numbers are really telling you the ratio
of how squeezed the image is going to be horizontally versus vertically.
So for example, a 1.8 x anamorphic lens will give you 1.8 times
more horizontal information than a traditional lens
side note, by the way, a lot of older anamorphic lenses are actually made
to be used with cameras that can record in the four by three aspect ratio,
which is going to record an image that looks like
it's made for an old TV that isn't widescreen.
But there are now newer lenses like this ray lens that are made for full frame
cameras that do not give you the option of recording in four by three well.
Cool.
Matt I got this anamorphic lens and recorded this distorted footage
that has a lot more horizontal data, as you say, than a normal lens.
What do I do with it now?
Well, here's where things get cool because you now need to un
distort the image through a process called D squeezing,
which you can do in any of the major video editing software
programs today, either manually by using a horizontal stretching effect
or by using presets that are included in most video editing softwares.
This d squeezing is a really fun process and to me
it gives a similar feeling of satisfaction that I get
when I'm color grading a log image, just like how it's satisfying
to see the colors that you film
go from super flat and desaturated to super contrasty and colorful.
You get the satisfaction of seeing all of your footage looks
squeezed and distorted, then suddenly all stretched out and correct.
It's really cool and I could d squeeze things all day
so make I work it like a Jamba Juice.
But I'm not squeezing the oranges and squeezing.
I don't know.
Anyways, this d squeeze
image is going to really give you a look that is iconic in Hollywood.
Over the years, so many movies have been filmed in anamorphic
and so many viewers are used to seeing their films presented in this way.
So filming in anamorphic is just another way
to immerse your viewers in the video that you are creating now.
One thing that I'm sure you may have noticed about these squeezing
in the examples that I'm showing you is that these squeezing comes at a cost.
Namely, you are going to see black bars appear
at the top and bottom of your video footage.
If you're working on a normal 16 by nine video timeline So this is something
that may blow your mind, but the reason that a lot of Hollywood
films are presented in a wider aspect ratio than a typical 16 by nine video,
meaning that whenever you watch
a Hollywood film on your TV and it has the bars on top and bottom,
the reason you are seeing those bars
is because many Hollywood films have been shot with anamorphic lenses
which then need to be squeezed and result in those black bars
at the top and bottom.
Yes, what I'm saying is that unlike many of us on YouTube
that have to add those black bars
in post to make our videos look more cinematic and copy Hollywood,
if you're filming with an anamorphic lens, you don't need to do that.
The black bars come with the lens.
It's pretty cool.
and remember earlier that I said that different anamorphic lenses have different
amounts of distortion, that they apply to the image that's being recorded.
Those 1.6 x, 1.8 x, two x numbers, etc..
Well, the higher that number is, the more distortion is applied
to the footage, the recording, and the more distorted the image,
the larger the black bars are going to be on the top
and bottom of the image whenever you squeeze it.
So the main thing that you need to keep in mind is that if you decide
to film it anamorphic and you decide to use more than one lens,
I would definitely make sure that all of your lenses match up in terms
of how much they are squeezing your image, because otherwise
either your bars are going to be different sizes
on the top and bottom, which can be really jarring,
or you're going to need to crop off the edges of some of your video clips.
So everything matches up anyways.
This distortion is one thing that makes anamorphic lenses unique,
but there is one other big reason to film anamorphic,
and it's the reason that I'm betting that you've noticed,
especially considering how many different companies are selling
anamorphic lenses these days and advertising the features of them.
This big other feature of filming in anamorphic
is the addition of anamorphic lens flares.
Yes, if you've watched any J.J.
Abrams films like Star Trek or had the opportunity
to use an anamorphic lens before, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.
These are those massive blue or orange flares that you get
reflecting in your shot to look super dramatic.
And here's where we get to talk
about personal preference, because these anamorphic flares
have been a point of contention for many filmmakers.
So filmmakers love the colorful flares look and cannot get enough of them
and are throwing up lights in their videos to make even more flares.
While other filmmakers want a cleaner, a simpler esthetic,
and find and perfect lens flares to be distracting, whether you like them or not
is really going to be up to your personal preference.
But I do want to point out something really interesting and exciting
about this hue ray lens in particular that I really like.
See, Typically, whenever you're purchasing an anamorphic lens,
the manufacturer is going to put a lens coating on the glass of the lens
that's going to dictate the color of the flares that you get from it.
For example, most anamorphic lenses are going to have a blue coating on them
that makes the flares blue.
This brings us to this new 35 millimeter from Su Ray, though.
And what I love about this lens is that instead of limiting you to a blue flare,
they also give you the option of selecting a natural flare color,
which means that whatever color the light source is in your video,
that your lens is picking up, the lens is going to make the flares that color. Yes.
There's no more requirement for you to have blue flares in your films.
Instead, you can use this anamorphic lens like any other lens do you normally use,
and that the lighting that you're using dictate the color of the flares?
I personally love this because I'm the kind of filmmaker
that always found anamorphic flares to be a bit distracting,
especially whenever they were super blue, because half the time I felt like
I wasn't watching the video. I was watching the lens flares.
They were distracting
because they were such bright colors that didn't match the rest of the scene.
But with this 35 millimeter, things are different because now the flares are going
to match with whatever you're filming, and I think it's pretty cool.
So that's what an anamorphic lens is and what makes them special.
But we still have to answer the question,
Is it time to start filming your videos in anamorphic?
And here's where things get really interesting
because in the past, for most situations I would have said no.
And there are two big reasons why.
The first reason is the complexity of the setup.
in the past,
anamorphic lenses have been pretty rare and difficult to find
because there aren't many companies making them anymore.
And in addition, using some anamorphic lenses required you
to essentially mount an anamorphic lens to a more traditional camera lens
and essentially use a dual lens setup to film an anamorphic.
This got really complicated really quickly because you would attach
the anamorphic lens to a traditional camera lens
set the traditional camera lens focus to infinity
and then use the anamorphic lens for focusing,
all the while hoping that the focus was working right, dealing with a softer image
at times, or the focus playing up a line perfectly and worse,
a decent amount of these anamorphic lens adapters only worked with much tighter
lenses, limiting you to filming in anamorphic at tighter focal lengths,
only in short, it was a big pain and I never really found it worth it.
But that all changed a few years ago when we started to see companies like Seu
Ray offering new anamorphic lenses that removed the vast majority
of these complexities and compromises that older, anamorphic lenses had.
And I got to say, this new 35 millimeter is the cream of the crop.
not only is this lens incredibly compact and lightweight, it's also sharp.
It attaches to your camera just like any other normal full frame camera lens.
It has a normal focus ring, just like a traditional lens.
You get clicklist aperture control.
And overall I've only really found two downsides to using this lens.
The first downside isn't a huge deal, and I'm
sure you're not surprised to hear it, but this lens does not have autofocus.
It's as gearing if you want to attach a follow focus ring
and then maybe you could use something like the lighter on the thrown
in to give it autofocus.
But I don't think I've ever seen a native autofocus
anamorphic lens, but I bet we might in a few years.
Anyways, the other con of this specific story lines is a little bigger
and something that you're definitely going to want to be aware of, and that is that
this lens is not very good when it comes to the minimum focusing distance.
Unfortunately, this 35 millimeter has a minimum
focusing distance of about three feet, which is pretty far away,
especially for a 35 millimeter, which is a lens.
Usually want to get it pretty close to people when filming.
So that means that out of the box,
you're not going to be able to use this lens for close ups.
It's a bummer, but there is a workaround, and I want to give a huge shout out
to Brandon Lee, who first showed me this lens
when we hung out in New York City because he made a video
about the lens that I will link to down in the description.
And in that video
he showed off a really cool workaround for this minimum focus distance issue.
Brennan's recommendation was to invest in a set of DIOPTER,
which I purchased as well, and I will link to down below
and if you put one of these diopter on the end of your lens,
it essentially is going to give this 35 millimeter nearsightedness.
The lens will have a much closer minimum focusing distance,
but will lose the ability to focus to infinity.
So if you're filming, say, a talking head, for example,
and you really want to film your interview in anamorphic, but you're stressing
about not being able to get the subject close enough to fill up the frame.
Throw one of these diopter is on your lens
and you're going to be able to focus much closer
and get a much shallower looking depth of field, which is great.
Oh, and by the way, this lens has a 2.9 aperture,
which is pretty good, but it's definitely not going to be
as vocal issues as, say, af1 point four lens, for example.
So keep that mind.
Anyways, as you can see, this 35 millimeter really solves a lot of the
complexities and issues that come from filming with a 35 millimeter lens.
And there's really only one other thing that we need to talk about
that has kept me from recommending anamorphic lenses in the past.
That's one thing, is the price.
Look, I think we can all agree that most lenses these days are expensive.
I feel like lenses
were getting cheaper toward the end of the popularity of diesel cars,
but then all of the camera manufacturers discovered they could make mirrorless
cameras and charge dramatically more for their lenses.
And suddenly we're seeing lenses that cost 2000 plus dollars all the time.
I got to say them.
I wish that some of the older, anamorphic and higher end anamorphic lenses
out there only cost $2,000 because you're looking at
spending 9000 plus dollars for some of them
and they're even more specialty anamorphic lenses like those from Cooke.
And with those you're looking at spending $30,000 or more just rent them.
That's what they want.
They want you to rent them. Okay.
Don't don't go by a Cooke lens.
I mean, you can if you want to let me borrow it and I'll review it.
That'd be fun.
Anyways, my point is that anamorphic is a niche type of lens
that has always been expensive.
Unless you find a fantastic deal on eBay.
Thankfully, though, things are friendly changing
because I'm happy to tell you that this new ray of 35 millimeter lens
doesn't cost tens of thousands of dollars or even a few thousand dollars.
No, they've priced it at 1300 bucks, which I feel is pretty reasonable.
And at that price point with this lens,
Sue Ray have really made me rethink my position on anamorphic lenses.
They've simplified a lot of the complexity that comes from filming.
In anamorphic,
they've made the pricing so much more approachable for many filmmakers.
They've made the flares less glaring and now all we have left to do
is answer the question Is it time to film in anamorphic,
if you like, the thought of getting black bars
on your footage naturally and not having to add them in post
while also getting some really killer lens flares,
then I would say yes, it's time to film an anamorphic guess what though?
You're also going
to need to edit in anamorphic too, and to help you out with your editing
regardless of whether you're editing anamorphic or traditional footage.
I've put together a free guide called edit videos like a pro, and this guide
is going to walk you through how to edit better and faster than ever before.
It's a completely free gift.
You can download it, link down in the video description.
Thanks so much for watching.
I'm Mat Johnson with an anamorphic beard, whatever that means.
Have a great day.