Lens Test: ISCO Ultra Star Red - Anamorphic Projector Lens -

[@avejst]

impressive optics! thanks for sharing your Passion with all of us 👍😀

[@MediaDivision]

Thanks Asger.... it is our pleasure

[@Holtenstein]

I've had multiple ISCO Ultra Stars. 3 different gold versions and Red versions. They all perform equally well from my testing. If I were looking to buy one today I would save some cash and buy a gold version. Then maybe add a Schnieder True-streak filter to get the flares?

[@isaacbedford3644]

why the gold version?

[@Holtenstein]

@@isaacbedford3644 I haven't checked in a long time but they used to be considerably cheaper. Optically either nearly identical.

[@MediaDivision]

You can make the ISCO red flare.... we'll get into that in SCOPE three

[@Holtenstein]

@@MediaDivision I think a filter would be better than modifying the coatings. But that's me. Plus you can choose the amount and the color with a streak filter.

[@mattiacursi3466]

Great! I have one of those but how can i unscrew the anamorphic part from the aspherical one? Do i have to unscrew those tiny screws ? 0:43

[@MediaDivision]

aspherical? You mean spherical! I only had one combo and that came of without unscrewing screws?! That doesn't meant that yours is the same... mine maybe just had the screws missing

[@andkwiat]

Mine I could just unscrew the lower part of the body of the red

[@tiagojordao4105]

First of all, excellent presentation quality and style to your video. I really enjoyed it. I have a question about this lens: I'm looking for an anamorphic lens to place in front of my 1080p projector (JVC X7900), in order to horizontally stretch a 16:9 image into a 2.35:1 image. The absence of flares and the combination of rather large diameter and short length makes me think this could work. I need to project at the shortest throw distance, which might increase the risk of distortion. I wonder if there's any input you could give me in this situation. Thanks in advance.

[@MediaDivision]

Thank you. Well. 16:9 2x is not 2.35:1 .... not even close. 16:9 and 1.3x is close. Only 1.3x are wide enough in your context. Also, projector attachments are never "short throw"" as that would require gigantic front elements. Watch the SCOPE series to understand squeeze factors, aspect ratio, coverage.

[@tiagojordao4105]

@@MediaDivision Ok, I think I see what you mean. Then I need a 1.33x lens. What I meant about "short throw" was that my projector's zoom is already at its widest setting (minimum throw distance), that is, a wider cone of light, which increases the risk of distortion when adding an anamorphic lens in front of it. You've put me in the right track, thank you so much. I'll sure watch your scope series, seems like excellent content.

[@MediaDivision]

Sure....I understand what a short throw means. The Isco can only cover a certain FoV (field of view). That is true for all projector attachments. That is something like the FoV of 80mm with a Full Frame sensor with the ISCO, and equivalent lenses on smaller formats. That works the same way for projectors. You can only cover longer focal lengths, so, no short throw with a large projection.

[@tiagojordao4105]

@@MediaDivision Thanks again. I think I can make this work with a 65mm SLR Magic Anamorphot adapter. You've been very helpful, keep up the great work.

[@bobbydrake8965]

@@MediaDivision From all I’ve seen. For me it’s as if I am Arri’s child; I don’t really care about flares, I hate distortion, I hate all aberrations and I like my image to be sharp. So I think I like the Isco Red the most because from all I’ve heard about it. And I want to pair it with Sigma Art lens: 18-35 and 50-100. What I want to know is if it can be done and what would I need? I see that in this video they only paired Sigma with a 1.33x adapter if I’m not mistaken. But I really want to pair the sigma lenses with Isco Red 2x Adapter. Please can anyone share if it’s possible?

[@MatthewMin]

That flareless anamorphic and sharpness is just what I want!! May I know your thoughts on this anamorphic paring with EF 70 200 2.8 IS? It has 77mm front threads, I don’t know if it’ll work.(I hope it’ll work )

[@MediaDivision]

A zoom… that large an long… I don’t think so

[@LonxKong]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the only problem with putting projector lenses on zooms is that the front attachment tends to extend and rotate. Making alighment and focus really tricky. I'm currently planning on using one of these with a solid cine-zoom as the taking lens. (Specifically the cinematics rehoused sigma 50-100). It's static when focusing and zooming so I think it'll be usable, besides the vignetting beneath like 60mm, I think. @Media Division What do yall think?

[@colorist-idealist]

Have you tried using the anamorphic part with the native spherical lens attached to the camera, no third party lenses? On the anamorphic part there is a focusing ring from 1.5 meters to infinity, maybe you don’t need to buy single focus module and will there be focusing with a native spherical lens?

[@MediaDivision]

No, you can't focus or stop down that way

[@lesco_music]

I think, I need to buy another anamorphic Isco-Projection Lens. I love this look and I've got one for my 35mm Projector. (I bought a Kinoton FP30 D from Düsseldorf and it's the best 35mm Projector I've ever worked on. 😁)

[@jonnynoakes9070]

Do you know what taking lens you would need for a super 35mm sensor and the Isco gold scope? 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@MediaDivision]

It depends on the size and position of the entrance pupil of the taking lens. It should work from around 55mm on super 35mm, if the gold start is similar to the red star.

[@jonnynoakes9070]

@@MediaDivisionthank you - and thanks for all your amazing work - you are the GOAT

[@bobbydrake8965]

From all I’ve seen. For me it’s as if I am Arri’s child; I don’t really care about flares, I hate distortion, I hate all aberrations and I like my image to be sharp. So I think I like the Isco Red the most because from all I’ve heard about it. And I want to pair it with Sigma Art lens: 18-35 and 50-100. What I want to know is if it can be done and what would I need? I see that in this video they only paired Sigma with a 1.33x adapter if I’m not mistaken. But I really want to pair the sigma lenses with Isco Red 2x Adapter. Please can anyone share if it’s possible?

[@MediaDivision]

If you want a clean and transparent image.... why go for anamorphic at all? There is nothing wrong with a good spherical image and anamorphic is all about the optical artefacts coming with it. None of the projector lenses will work on the Sigma Art zooms. The FoV is way to wide on the 18-35 (even on MFT) and the 50-100 is way to long, vignetting hard due to the large front element. If you watch SCOPE Chapter 3, we explain why the position of the entrance pupil matters and build a Angenieux Zoom with an 1.33x adapter. Also, we build one with a Catta ACE in our Zoom episode. Generally... anamorphic is one of those fields where zoom lenses are not a good idea.

[@vedadrokkor]

It's all very romantic but in a small country I had no use of anamorphic lens. Sold my Iscorama 36 pre mc on ebay for 4300$ few years ago.

[@yxx_chris_xxy]

Isn't living in a really small country causing more of a problem with lenses with large minimum focus distance? If you mount an anamorphic lens and your country isn't wide enough, you can always put it in the left or right third of your field of view for a nice composition and have neighboring countries left and right of it?

[@35latte93]

Thanks for the video! Sorry for stupid question, if I pair it with 58mm on the full frame will I get strong vignetting?

[@MediaDivision]

Absolutely… depending on the specifics of the lens you try 80mm and longer

[@EnglishPete]

Is there a way to adapt this to a Ursa Mini with EF-Mount?

[@MediaDivision]

Of course… our setup is EF, with s35 format I recommend something accordingly wider for a taking tens. Watch Scope Capter 2 and 3 for a lot of info about modding and rigging

[@StivenAgoubi]

I'm trying to figure out how to get this lens set to infinity focus! Any reference as to where yours is? I've been trying to calibrate it for a few days now and can't seem to get good results

[@MediaDivision]

the marking is BS for sure. Just set your taking lens to infinity (visual confirm at infinity object) and than focus the isco on top until the same object is in focus. If you can't get good results the lens might be miss-aligned... tito has videos on how to fix that.

[@anamorphicalan]

Hi is it common for Isco red star for using ring to rotate from infinity to past 1.5m to infinity? I Do Not Know if something is wrong with my copy of lens. When I change focus of lens nothing happened

[@MediaDivision]

I am not sure what you mean?

[@anamorphicalan]

@@MediaDivision I unlock focus ring from infinity to 1.5. I see no change with lens. I can rotate focus from infinity 360 to infinity endlessly. Is this normal for Isco to do? I have no idea if my copy is broken

[@MediaDivision]

Maybe there is something lost on translation, but the sentence “from infinity 360 to infinity endlessly” doesn’t make sense to me

[@anamorphicalan]

can I use great joy 1.35 anamorphic lens on top of Isco red star and taking lens? what would the img be?

[@MediaDivision]

I don’t have one, so, you have to try yourself. As the Isco is 2x it would be way to wide. I expect the great joy to Vignette hard

[@anamorphicalan]

@@MediaDivision no worries, I will test for you. care to see results of too wide scope?

[@MediaDivision]

not really... I tried my Letus 1.33x on a several 2x scopes.... it results in what I mentioned above and there is nothing in the image to strive for.

[@chinitopinoy1726]

@@MediaDivision what if you were to shoot with your camera vertically, would shooting with the 1.33X plus 2X scope be of any benefit?

[@chinitopinoy1726]

@@anamorphicalan did you test this already? I would like to see this setup when shooting with your camera vertically.

[@gabrielmatteoorlando]

What is the maximum opening that the taking lens can have (e.g 52 or 70mm)?

[@MediaDivision]

You can't put a number on that... it depends on the shooting situation and how much mechanical vignetting bothers you

[@gabrielmatteoorlando]

@@MediaDivision ok makes sense but for having minimal vignetting?

[@MediaDivision]

Still, depends on focal length, sensor size, many factors… on full frame I got good results with a Leica R 90mm f2… front is slightly larger Tag rare of the ISCO. Refer to SCOPE Chapter Two for details

[@nicholaspitts9720]

@@MediaDivision Out of curiosity (might be a stupid question) when you say "full frame" here do you mean that your frame width was around 36mm? Or do you mean that your frame height was around 24mm? (Which, assuming a 6:5 ratio, would mean your frame width was about 28.8mm). I'm only asking because I am trying do figure out what the best lens setup for my situation is and I am wanting to make sure I am understanding what is being said here :)

[@MediaDivision]

@@nicholaspitts9720 36mm would be way to wide. It covers 24mm height and all common 2x aspect ratios with the shown focal length. It produces a certain maximum field of view... you get that with the corresponding focal lengths on any format. I suggest you watch SCOPE Chapter Two for further insights.

[@fbnx4219]

Great video, but this is not a 16mm format lens. It is made for 35mm projectors (as is the bigger non-integrated lens, that you also showed).

[@MediaDivision]

Well… I do have a 35mm version of the ISCO… and it is drastically bigger

[@fbnx4219]

@@MediaDivision There have been different version and generations of lenses. But I can say very confidently: There has never been an integrated ISCO Ultra Star for 16mm film. But even without knowing the ISCO lineup: The easiest way to tell is the 70.6mm mounting diameter, which has never existed on any 16mm projector.

[@MediaDivision]

If you say so… I can't verify, and at this point it is not of importance to me@@fbnx4219

IT is so weird ... it si so good... normal and idk ... i bet it is okay to work with but it is not that exiting imo. erverything looked fine and controlled but this is not what i want a anamorphic lens for. I like more flares and so on ...

[@MediaDivision]

We will explain in SCOPE chapter three how you can make the ISCO flare. The ISCO is surely something for a more detailed approach to an image

@@MediaDivision huh that would change that a lot! I am looking forward to it!