I also love the rendering and functionality of anamorphic lenses.
So a thought crossed my mind that kept me so preoccupied with whether or not I could, that I didn’t stop to think if I should. Some of the best combinations have been made possible with a little experimentation, and Malificent found a way.
WHAT IS ANAMORPHIC? …AND WHY?
The anamorphic format is a cinematography technique used to record a widescreen image onto a non-native widescreen aspect ratio (usually 35mm film with a ratio of 3:2). The image is “stretched” with more information recorded on the sides, requiring “de-squeezing” in post-production.
The anamorphic look is also characterised by deformed oval bokeh, horizontal lens flares and potentially reduced sharpness, increased distortion, chromatic aberration and falloff (vignetting).
My curiosity into this stemmed from whether I could record a larger image onto the GR III’s APS-C sensor without resorting to a wide-angle conversion lens that would alter the compression of the scene, making far-away objects seem even further away to foreground elements. The “cinematic” and non-clinical rendering breathes a certain unique aesthetic which is an added bonus to the image making process.
So how is this possible and what does the combo look like?
You will need the four parts below:
- Ricoh GR III (obviously)
- NiSi 49mm Filter Adapter for Ricoh GR3
- A 49-52mm Step-Up Ring
- SLR Magic Anamorphot-40 1.33x Anamorphic Adapter
LET’S GET STRETCHY
My quick medhod for stills is to reduce the image height to approximately 75%.
COMPARE THE PAIR
Bottom: Ricoh GR III with crop set to 35mm, straight out of camera
SHOW ME THE STETCHY WIDESCREEN!
ADDITIONAL NOTES ON COMBO
The Anamorphot-40 is rated to cover with the minimum focal lengths of 28mm on APS-C and 40mm on Full-frame cameras provided the front element diameter is less than 40mm. As the Ricoh GR III’s lens is technically an 18.3mm lens (28mm in 35mm terms), the adapter exhibits heavy vignetting.
When using anamorphic adapters, the “taking lens” or prime lens in the combination also plays a role which may affect the output in terms of chromatic aberration, flaring, sharpness and even bokeh rendering. The Ricoh GR III has a simple but very effective lens design with excellent sharpness across the frame which does not impact the final result adversely.
Some anamorphic adapters impose a limitation to the minimum focusing distance on your subject. The SLR Magic Anamorphot-40 has a Normal/Near adjustment ring that allows focusing on subjects closer than 1m/ 3ft. Paired with the Ricoh GR III’s lens that is also optimised for close-focusing and macro can get you some interesting results.
FINAL MUSINGS
I’ve been a long time fan of SLR Magic’s solutions to achieving an anamorphic output with their versatile Anamorphot adapter series.
Certainly, this experiment stemmed more from curiosity than anything else and I was pleasantly surprised by the still relatively compact size and performance, both in terms of auto-focusing and image output.
It is now worth considering that this pairing can be adapted to other compact systems, whether it is the Fuji X100 or Leica Q2 series. Even mirrorless-optimised lenses with a small front element diameter such as the Sigma I-series is a strong contender for pairing with the Anamorphot-40, taking advantage of recent advances in focusing algorithms… paving the way for accurate focusing of a “squished image” or even active tracking in video.
Simple and adaptable.
Super wide. I hate having stuff attached to the gr3 however.
That’s fair, the compact size of the GR is the best thing about the camera.
The beauty of the NISI adapter ring allows it to attach and detach quickly.