Love vs Production

Filming

Sep 12

This is a tough decision. I fell out of favor with anamorphic lenses a long time ago. I lost a stop of light, and everyone and their dog was using them badly. The cheap ones just looked awful. Spherical distortion and focus blur were huge issues. The VFX workflow is a nightmare too.

Recently, against my better judgment, I purchased a 35mm 1x6 anamorphic lens. I fell in love with it instantly. At f1.4, there was no loss of light, very little spherical distortion, and overall, just a beautiful image. It felt liberating. I could capture huge wide vistas like they have in all of my favorite films.

BUT! It’s huge, it’s manual, and although I never shy away from a manual lens, I come from a background of manual lenses and believe they’re always better than an autofocus lens. However, I use it on the DJI Ronin 4D, and the weight matters. Changing to another lens is a pain because you have to change out the attachment.

Despite these drawbacks, I love it.

DJI executed a brilliant strategy with the Ronin 4D by compacting prime lenses. This resulted in an absolutely stunning image. Colors are rendered magnificently, and the grading is incredibly impressive. Lens swapping is a breeze—just click on and off. They’re lightweight, fully automatic, have tracking enabled, and can fit in your pocket. In a production scenario, they’re simply exceptional. I adore the image and the tone, but there’s one downside: they lack the character of the 35mm Anamorphic.

I have a challenging shoot coming up, and I’m torn between following my heart and my head.