Keeping it in the Cinematic Family
Another big plus for George was the fact that the V-AF lenses are so lightweight that they’re perfectly suited to being carried around, which comes down to the fact that they’re housed in a plastic body, rather than one made out of metal. “I’m getting on trains and planes and going to places all the time,” says George, “and so weight is a big consideration for me.
“Some might feel that the construction of the lenses means that their build quality isn’t up to that of, say, the Sony G Master range, whose lenses are far bulkier and feature metal housings, but they’re not only far more expensive, they’re also a lot more to carry around. The comparative lightness of the V-AF lenses was one of the main things that got me interested and sold the system to me.”
Affordable anamorphic
For George another selling point was the fact that the V-AF lens range comes with an electronic mount around the front lens barrel, meaning that it’s possible to attach accessories. There’s a manual focus ring that features a nice wide grip that makes it much easier to switch off the AF and work in traditional manual focus mode if desired, something that George, who loves the cinematic feel of that approach, finds himself doing on regular occasions. There’s also an anamorphic adaptor, said to be the brightest anamorphic solution on the market and compatible with all but the widest 20mm lens in the V-AF range, and this suddenly opens the door to a film look that once was very much the sole domain of the advanced cinematic filmmaker.
For those that have yet to encounter this approach, just think of the effect known as Cinemascope, where the film is super wide and thinner than normal, and stretched right across the screen. The process involves squeezing and then de-squeezing the footage, and it’s a classic format for feature films, and can look amazing. However, the dedicated lenses that offer this facility have traditionally been eye-wateringly expensive, but now Samyang’s adaptor is helping to change all that.
“It’s great that the V-AF lenses make it so much easier to try out anamorphic filmmaking,” says George, “and I’ve really enjoyed seeing what it can do. It’s a very strong look and, compared to standard photographic lenses, it’s not so clean and sharp, and you’ll naturally be bringing through some imperfections by mounting a spherical lens to an anamorphic adaptor. But this is what people love about the anamorphic approach, and it’s only now that it’s becoming more widely available.
“For me I would think that it could be a little too much for a commercial client to take on board, but if I find myself working on a documentary then I think it could be ideally suited. I’m also enjoying the opportunity to see what it can do when I’m working on personal projects, and I love the fact that this approach is so accessible and affordable now.”
