The bokeh and the beautiful cinematic lens flares are just two reasons why many love the look of anamorphic. Problem is: cost.
Typically anamorphic lenses are expensive. Very. Most Hollywood productions that use them on set rent them. For us small-timers, however, even that can be financially prohibitive. As they say, if you have to ask…
In any case if you’re into videography and filmmaking you may be familiar with the company called Moment.
They’ve become known for making nifty lenses and accessories — including a low-cost anamorphic — for the Apple iPhone.
Now, they’re widening the net. A Kickstarter campaign is underway for a Moment Anamorphic adapter. It’s of the 1.33x variety, which means you’ll ultimately end up with a widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Ingmar Bergman may not approve, but I guess it all depends on the end goal. Besides he could shoot on a running shoe, and, let’s face it, the result would be perfection.
If you pledge now for the Moment Anamorphic Adapter you can get in for $999 USD as part of the “Early Bird Special.”
According to the campaign, the retail price will eventually be $1,299 so by backing early you save $300. Do keep in mind that these Kickstarters carry a certain risk that the project won’t come to fruition. That’s always a possibility. Thankfully, Moment has established a reputation — their products are sold, for example, on B&H Photo among other credible online retailers. But, no guarantees.
As of this writing the Kickstarter is 400%+ of goal. Meaning it’s a big success and people seem to love the concept. To date there are 356 backers with 27 days to go. Shipping is scheduled for December 2022.
In any case what I like about the Moment approach here is the fact that the lens adapter is of the screw on variety. You attach it to the front of just about any lens (with certain restrictions on focal length). So it doesn’t matter if the lens is a Canon EF mount, a Sony E-mount or any other kind. This is a manual, non-electronic connection.
Here’s an image from the campaign page to give you an idea of what it looks like in action:
According to Moment you set the host lens focus to infinity, and turn off auto-focus. Then you use the ring on the Moment adapter to focus subjects. There’s apparently none of the really difficult dual focus challenges found in many other competitors.
None of this wizardry will, of course, help your story, framing, or, in any way shape or form, make your project stand out from others. Keep writing and storyboarding! Do your homework! And eat you veggies!
Still, a tool like this might make take your production value up a notch or two. I’m thinking music videos and fashion films in particular — very good candidates for a slick high end look. Here it is in action:
WATCH: Moment Anamorphic Adapter WITH vs WITHOUT Comparison
Keep in mind you’ll want to make sure your camera supports anamorphic mode (1.33x), and that there’s a “de-squeeze” function so you can monitor the image as it will appear when brought into the editing timeline.
I think this is a really neat project. A very tempting offering. I may wait to see the reviews first. The Fujifilm X-H2S just came out, and I can already feel my piggy bank trying to hide.
As for Bergman?
Today he’d probably be shooting on an iPhone in 1.33. He’d win every award in the world. And ABBA and SCTV would do the same… for different reasons.
