If you're looking at this, you probably know that a new super 16mm Fisheye for your A-Cam, Milliken, or Super 16mm Photo-Sonics 1VN (available from me) did not exist until now! To get super wide surf, skate or snow shots, you have been trudging along with dual perf 16mm film and a Century 3.5 mm fisheye, then cropping in to 50D stock to try to get the best image.
Or, perhaps you have been putting a PL to C mount adapter on a $5,000 Optex 5.5mm or Elite 4.5mm and hoping you don't destroy it.
Well, worry no more... Here's a brand new 5.3mm fisheye... (135 degrees horizontal coverage across the full super 16mm frame) that won't let you down.
I convert 1VN cameras to Super 16 for action cinematographers and developed this lens to fill a niche for my end users. Now it's generally available and being used on a Milliken super 16 in the surf, Photo-Sonics Super 16mm in the snow. My snowboard customer has shot his 1VN super 16 with it and loves it. "Better than the Century" was his text message from the telecine bay... (he uses the short Super Cinetar II version of their lens).
The Photo-Sonics Rental Department owns one of these lenses, too.
So how does it compare to the Century 3.5? Well the Century 3.5mm is about 120 degrees horizontal view across the regular 16mm frame. Mine is about 110 degrees across the 16mm Frame... and 135 across the Super 16mm Frame... so you're going to get MORE image in super 16 with my lens than you will with a 3.5mm Century on regular 16 and cropping to HD. And you get a far superior image that won't be as grainy.
You say "wait Brent... your lens give 110 across 16mm and the Century gives 120 across 16mm. The difference between 110 and 120 degrees isn't much, but the 3.5mm compared to 5.3mm seems like a big difference. Where is the discrepancy?"
(Here's the straight dope on the "3.5mm". It's focal length was NOT calculated from fisheye lens equations. It's was estimated from a table of FOV versus focal length in a cinematographer's guide. This straight from the mouth of the former owner of the company who released the lens. More than likely it was a rectilinear table and was not valid for Fisheye. I spoke to the current head of Century Division of Schneider Optics, and he told me that he calculated the FL of the 3.5mm many years ago and got somewhere around 5mm. I got the same number. So the Century 3.5mm fisheye is REALLY about 5mm.)
The guys at Element Technica and Paradise FX tested my lens and did comparison frame grabs between the 3.5mm (5mm) Fisheye and My 5.3mm lens.
Here is the century 3.5mm (5mm) FRAME GRAB. <-- click. As you can see, it softens up on the edges. To be fair, all of them are not like that.
Here is my 5.3mm FRAME GRAB. <-- click. As you can see, it is very sharp to the edges while wide open, but not quite as wide.
Enough said. My lens is plenty wide... and exactly what you need to shoot extreme wide angle, barrel distortion, in your face, high speed action.
Take a look. Footage at www.brentfinley.com/images/cine/s16fish/ The .mov file has 3 clips. Clips 2 and 3 are from my super 16 fisheye.
The lens weights 8.6 oz (245 grams).
This lens will not fit a Reflexed Bolex.
Cost is $1500.00
Email or call with questions.
Brent 602-550-6103
Thanks.
Written and maintained by
Brent Finley
