March 5, 2015 at 8:09AM

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You voted '-1'.

Which anamorphic adapter?

I'm looking to invest in several cine prime lenses and an anamorphic adapter (probably SLR Magic) for my GH4 (MFT), but am undecided if I will get the lenses with a MFT mount or grab a speedbooster and go with the EF mount. I'm leaning towards the speedbooster and EF route, though, and am wondering which anamorphic adapter I need to pair it with if I go with the SLR Magic Anamorphot? I know that the 2x is intended for aspect ratios in the MFT format, but if I throw a speedbooster on behind the lenses, do I need to go with the 1.33x instead?

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Andrew Reid from EOSHD.com has basically any answer you need on anamorphic. His PDF guide is a great resource. A certain question needs to be answered though...
Are you trying to ultimately deliver a 2.39:1 product? Or even a wider aspect ratio.

March 5, 2015 at 1:47PM

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Ben Meredith
Cinematographer/Filmmaker
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Basically if you're shooting in 16:9 format you want to get a 1.33x adapter no matter what sensor size to achieve a cinematic 2.39:1 aspect ratio. If you use a 2x adapter with a 16:9 ratio, you'll get a very wide image (which you may want for a certain look).
However, if you're shooting in 4:3 aspect ratio, which I believe the GH4 is capable of, you'll want to use a 2x adapter for your 2.39:1 aspect ratio.
You'll also need to research the thread size of your taking lens and the adapter to make sure it is compatible. On m43 lenses you'll have more options, but you can't go too wide with a lot of them.
The Panasonic anamorphic adapter I believe offers the most variety of taking lenses where you can actually go quite wide (14mm I believe).
If you don't look at compatibility, you might find yourself with an adapter and taking lens that causes serious vignetting.

Ben Meredith

March 5, 2015 at 4:14PM

Don't his guides cost money though? I'm of course not above paying money for a service, but for right now I'm just looking for clarification on this one topic without committing to a entire guide, though I may spring for it once I get set up.

Yes, I am ultimately aiming for a 2.39:1 output.

Navarre Megali

March 5, 2015 at 7:39PM

His guide is only 20 dollars I believe. Definitely worth it if you want to get into anamorphic.
And yeah, you can use step down/step up rings to make it fit, just be aware of the actual focal length. That's the most important. For example, SLR Magic on anamorphot on a wide lens will cause some serious vignetting.

Ben Meredith

March 6, 2015 at 12:09PM

Filter thread sizes are important, but if it's close, you could probably get away with using a step-up/step-down adapter to match it to your lens.

Anamorphic is something that I'm really interested in diving into myself. I love the look.

March 5, 2015 at 5:59PM

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Brad Tennant
Director / Cinematographer
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