Why anamorphic

An anamorphic system can be thought of as having two lenses, one for the horizontal field of view, one for the vertical. Thus the "spread" of the bokeh balls will be different for each axis, with there being more spread vertically when behind the focal plane, as they typically are than horizontally.

This makes ovals. One beauty of this video is also its explanation of why this only works if the anamorphic element is in front of the iris ring, as it is in most prime lenses. In some lenses often zoom lenses , the anamorphic element is behind the iris, which doesn't create this effect.

This has led to the misunderstanding that it's the iris itself which creates the ovals, but that isn't true. But if you've ever wondered exactly why rear element anamorphics don't feel as "anamorphic" front element, now you've got a deep dive to help you. If you are an anamorphic shooter, this video is absolutely worth your time. It might not affect your everyday decision on set, but always good to have a better understanding of how the images you craft end up looking a certain way.

It also has a nice explanation of how anamorphic lenses create those streak flares astigmatism, same as your optometrist might diagnose. I hope you like war stories — because this lens is part of one! The anamorphic lens was first used on French battlefields, during the First World War. The lens provided soldiers in tanks with a wider look outside of tanks — quite clever actually sorry, Germany. Thankfully, we no longer have tanks filling the streets and so the anamorphic lens has found itself another purpose — in the filmmaking industry.

For the professional filmmaker ready to deep dive into the tech specs. Download our FREE guide on advanced anamorphics. After the Second World War - yes, the lens made a comeback in World War Two -the anamorphic lens left the army and joined the toolbox of filmmakers.

The film industry quickly recognised the potential of anamorphic lenses, especially the ability to capture wide-angle shots to combat the rise in popularity of the televisions - which were at the time finding themselves in many American households. Shots from this lens created an exciting widescreen effect which could not be replicated in the home, forcing Americans to go to the cinema. Plot twist, then streaming services like Netflix and HBO came, making every living room a cinema.

But that's another story. Where was I? Widescreen was pulled off by using lenses that capture a wider aspect ratio and squeezing the image onto a narrow film strip. This is known as CinemaScope, a filmmaking process in which a motion picture is projected on a screen, with the width of the image approximately two and a half times its height.

Cinematographers worldwide love anamorphic lenses, and for good reasons! They help achieve that epic cinematic look. Yes, I said epic! The lenses provide an incredible aspect ratio. You can capture 2. This gives a wide field of view that is distortion-free in the centre. Even with close-ups, the distortion will be minimal. This wider ratio became known as CinemaScope. It has a very shallow depth of field in the centre of the shot.

The compression means you can capture much wider shots from the same spot - ensuring you don't miss Travolta and Thurman bust out their dance moves. Be aware, however, that most sensors today, will have a wider aspect ratio than 35mm, so if you choose to opt for 2x anamorphic lenses this will produce a super wide ratio.

Anamorphic lens footage is also recognised for its cinematic black bars. This is what happens when you attempt to squeeze a wide aspect ratio onto a screen that has a narrower one. This is because the screen has to fill the shot side to side. The thing is the anamorphic lens has a pretty unique type of flare.

Aside from horizontal lens flares, you'll get an oval bokeh. Bokeh is the way the lens captures out-of-focus lights in the background.

Just to compare, a traditional lens would produce a ball-like bokeh rather than oval. When it comes to deciding whether to use an anamorphic lens, it is very much down to you and your personal taste and preferences. As Roger Deakins once said: 'It's not about the type or brand of your lens, it is about what it does for your story'.

Clever words, Sir Deakins! Choosing the anamorphic lens also means choosing to get a wide aspect ratio, an incredible depth of field and a distinct, oval-shaped bokeh.

And if you think your next creation needs a sense of warmth and closeness to it, then the anamorphic lens might be the ideal choice. An anamorphic lens is a unique lens. My advice — just try it out. I can tell you about how awesome it is till I'm blue in the face. Ultimately, it all depends on your preferences and the kind of mood you want to convey. I will leave you with this, though: the anamorphic lens looks fantastic on screen and gives a nostalgic look.

Experimenting with it might even make you a better filmmaker. It introduces different framing and allows greater detail in each image. When in production you will typically have to choose between two classes of lenses, the anamorphic or the spherical. Spherical lenses have less glass for light to pass through and simpler mechanics.

They tend to produce sharper images with minimal distortion across the entire picture. The anamorphic lens is often identified by its reduced sharpness, increased distortion, and falloff —the closer we get to the edges of the image, the more distortion and softness we get.

It also produces far more dramatic lens flares; this is because of the extra glass inside the body. Fair warning, I'm going to have to use some jargon in the following explanation — continue at your own risk. To convert these into widescreen non-anamorphic square pixel formats, you need to stretch them horizontally. Anamorphic widescreen was a response to a shortcoming in the flat, spherical widescreen format.

With a non-anamorphic lens, the picture is recorded such that its entire width fits within the film's frame, but not its full height. I've spent some time now on describing the wonders of the anamorphic lens. Such formats were technical triumphs but required expensive specialized equipment, not only to shoot but also to exhibit. Movie theaters and studios could not justify the expense. A more economical solution was needed if widescreen was ever to be a success.

Enter the anamorphic lens. Like a circus funhouse mirror, an anamorphic lens stretches an image in one direction. Because of their stretch, anamorphic lenses appear oval when you look through them. In the early '50s, 20th Century Fox recognized their potential for movie-making and purchased the rights. By putting an anamorphic lens in front of the camera, a wider image could be squeezed onto standard 35mm. To project widescreen, a cinema simply needed to install a wider screen and put an anamorphic lens in front of their projector to de-squeeze the image.

By retrofitting existing equipment rather than requiring studios and cinemas to buy new equipment, Fox gave widescreen the push it needed to finally become widely adopted. They called their invention Cinemascope. In the years that followed other studios developed competing systems for producing widescreen images. Many of these used spherical lenses. These characteristics can be used to support the story of a film, or simply induce nostalgia thanks to their association with classic or epic films.

Before we dive into the unique visual characteristics of anamorphic lenses, make sure to download our FREE Ebook: The Ultimate Guide to Camera Lenses so you'll be able to decide which lenses best fit your next project. Every type of camera lens has distinct qualities and visual characteristics that every image-maker should understand. Download our FREE e-book to get in-depth explanations on prime vs. Nowadays, cinematographers typically choose the squeeze factor based on the aesthetic of the image it produces.

But in the past different squeeze factors were used to produce different aspect ratios when combined with different sized film or digital sensors. For example, the most common type of anamorphic lens is a 2x, which was originally designed to produce a 2. These practical considerations are no longer relevant as modern digital cameras are capable of emulating different capture formats. As with all lenses, anamorphic lens designs have improved greatly over the past 80 years.

Vintage anamorphic lenses have lots of imperfections but some modern anamorphics are almost indistinguishable from their spherical counterparts. A wide variety of looks can be achieved with anamorphic lenses.

Images shot with anamorphic lenses typically have a unique appearance. As a result of squeezing the image horizontally, out of focus areas of an anamorphic image stretch vertically.

This gives anamorphic images their trademark oval bokeh. Anamorphic optics blur the background more than equivalent spherical lenses. Some anamorphics disproportionately magnify objects closer to the camera. As a result they have a perceivably shallower depth of field. This can help subjects stand out against their background. Early anamorphic lenses had a tendency to flare when hit with a bright light. Thanks to the anamorphic elements these lens flares would streak horizontally across the frame.

While modern lens coatings can eliminate anamorphic flares, many manufactures choose to use coatings that encourage flares.

Different coatings produce different colored flares. Both anamorphic and spherical lenses suffer from a fall off in sharpness as you move away from the center of the frame. This effect is more pronounced on an anamorphic lens, especially on vintage lenses. Some cinematographers use this flaw to help them produce softer and more organic images. Many cinematographers prize this characteristic as it can help integrate subjects with their background in a perceivably more realistic manner.

Vintage wide anamorphic lenses can suffer from distortion as you move towards the edge of the frame.