The Kowa 40mm 35-BE Anamorphic Cine Lens & the Start of a Journey

2021 May 19 By answer 2 comment

https://youtu.be/UkB-e27dxfQ Luckily for me, I have yet to catch Covid. However, I have spent the latter part of the past two years in and out of clinics and hospitals for other reasons. It has been hard to get any projects done in a reasonable time and even harder to shoot anything for myself. When I felt well, I usually worked for others. I did what I could. That aside, I have been very lucky over the past two years. A lot has happened. I’m thankful that I continue to improve and hope that I can feel normal for more than…

Aivascope PRO 1.5x Anamorphic Lens test, quick update

2019 Nov 28 By answer 0 comment

https://youtu.be/QOEcdmLCo2g (vimeo) OK, so it’s been awhile. It’s been a weird year of ups and downs and I just don’t even know where to begin. So, let’s begin with the Aivascope Pro 1.5x single focus anamorphic adapter. After asking nicely, Valdas of Aivascope graciously lent me one of the test copies of his new lens. I was excited to give it a try and looking forward to shooting as much as I could with it. Well, first came the rainiest early summer I can ever remember. Then, I got sick. Really sick. I was in doctor’s offices and hospitals in…

GH5 Anamorphic on the iPad Pro in LumaFusion

2018 Dec 06 By answer 3 comment

Vimeo I had been wanting an iPad Pro since the first generation, but I couldn’t really justify it. I have been using a Surface 3 for my daily basic computing and simple creative work. It played back stuff from my GH5 no problem. But when I saw the new basic iPad was editing GH5 video, I was very interested. The new iPad Pros were announced and I waited until I sold a few things to order one. So far, I am VERY impressed. Other capabilities aside, the fact that it handles my GH5 footage so flawlessly and QUICKLY made…

JSD LABS: Aivascope V2 Test, New Lenses, Custom Variable Diopter

2018 Oct 06 By answer 5 comment

(vimeo) Finally getting around to filming some new videos. Hit a few snags with life but more content should be rolling in relatively quickly from here on out. I emailed Valdas of Aivascope to see if he’d let me try out his new and improved Aivascope. The video I did of the first one did well (a lot of people seemed to use it or stills from it to sell them…) and I’m still a fan. I only sold mine because I needed something I could use for anything and more often at night. Well, that’s where this new…

JSD Labs: Rapido Technology FVD-16A, all the jackets, Moller 32/2x, and Helios 44-2 at the Youtube Hanami in Yoyogi

2018 Apr 13 By answer 2 comment

(vimeo) I was lucky enough to get in on the first batch of the Rapido Tehcnology FVD-16A variable diopter. When this came out I was already in the market for a single focus solution, and Rapido just happened to have something that was exactly what I wanted and a few extras I didn’t know I wanted. I ended up getting the full set to make my anamorphic combo look like a monobloc lens. It’s not flawless but it’s very, very good. Before and after. I have the parts to use my Isco Ultra Star with…

JSD Labs: DJI Mavic Air, iPhone 7 Plus, and Cherry Blossoms in Japan

2018 Apr 01 By answer 0 comment

A few weeks ago I finally got my own drone. The Mavic Air came out at the right time and had the right specs for my needs, so I picked one up. I have flown drones plenty of times in Japan, either rentals or client’s drones, but this is the first one I have owned. It’s a different experience flying something that you personally have something invested in. One wrong move and it could be gone. So I haven’t done anything crazy with it. Drones are banned in Tokyo, which is a shame. I have been working in Tokyo…

JSD LABS: Cosmicar 75mm f/1.4 C-Mount lens with Isco Ultra Star Anamorphic Test

2018 Jan 15 By answer 0 comment

I have been gushing about the Cosmicar since I got it. I saw one image that caught my eye a year ago and it never left me, so I found it again, and discovered it was caught on the Cosmicar 75mm c-mount. I searched for other pictures and videos about the lens, and at the time there wasn’t much. In fact, I think there were only 2-3 videos shot using the lens on Youtube at the time and they weren’t great. I saw the potential, though. I showed a few samples to a photography friend of mine and asked…

JSD LABS: Panasonic GH5 VFR 180fps ver. 2.2 Test – Maihama Skate Park

2017 Dec 19 By answer 0 comment

When the newest GH5 Firmware update came out, it claimed to improve the stability of the VFR. To me, in hope, that was fixing some of the issues that I had earlier with the high speed modes beyond 120fps. We did do a few 120fps shots in Tokyo Dreams and I really didn’t see what everybody was complaining about. I had a few editors not even know it was shot in HD next to the 4K footage. So, with firmware version 2.2 in hand, I set out to Maihama Skate Park in Tokyo to practice skate filming and see…

JSD LABS: GOLDEN AFTERNOON – GH5, SLR Magic Anamorphot-50, Iron Glass Modified Helios 44M, and Kenko Orange Filter

2017 Dec 13 By answer 0 comment

I had been thinking of ways to make use of the SLR Magic Anamorphot-50 outside of it’s basic look. I had already done some tests in DCI Cinema 4K with it, which with the Anamorphot gives you the same aspect ratio as a 2x lens in the GH5’s Anamorphic Mode. I was already trying to think of tests using 1.33x lenses for landscape and wide shots to mix with 2x shots for focused areas or people. I really wish I had access to another GH5 to do some real testing of this kinda stuff. But done right, the Anamorphot…

Working with skater/Youtuber Luis Mora, ERASED

2017 Nov 21 By answer 0 comment

I use to watch a lot of Youtube. Use to, as in I have been so busy lately that I am really far behind and had to unsub form a few channels just to keep the backlog down. I found Luis from one of the many skate channels I watch and noticed he was coming to Japan. Checked out his videos, really liked them, and hit him up on instagram to see if he needed any help filming here. He responded and we hit it off well. We started planning some shoots and I met him at his first big…