On my youtube channel, there’s a request to show my whole anamorphic setup. I’m glad to show but it consists of so many parts. So I write down all of them here.

Setup Movies

Youtube

• https://youtu.be/DwNo2wSlOHE

Vimeo

• https://vimeo.com/446232164

Main Concept

• Keep it modularized.
• Unify the quick-release plate & baseplate to minimize adjustments on set.
• Use ratchet mini clamp lever (M5 L16) to tighten securely and fast.

Legend of Links

• o: Official Site
• a: Adorama
• ac: Amazon.com
• aj: Amazon.co.jp
• *: Affiliated

Camera & Lenses

• Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K
• Metabones Speedbooster Canon EF Lens to BMPCC4K T CINE Speed Booster® ULTRA 0.71x – MB_SPEF-m43-BTA (o a*)
• Leica R Lenses
• Leitax Mount Adapter from Leica-R to Canon-EF
• Kowa 8Z
• Kenko 82mm Diopters

Base Unit

*click image to see how to assemble

Core

• SmallRig Half Cage for Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 4K & 6K (Old Version) – 2254 (o a* ac* aj*)
• SmallRig HDMI and USB-C Cable Clamp – 2246 (o a* ac* aj*)
• SmallRig 15mm Single Rod Clamp for BMPCC 4K & 6K Cage – 2279 (o a* aj*)
• SmallRig Aluminum Alloy Pair of 15mm Rods (M12-4inch 100mm) – 1049 (o a* ac* aj*)
  • Cut into 80mm by pipe cutter

Focal reducer

• Metabones Speedbooster
  • Canon EF Lens to BMPCC4K T CINE Speed Booster® ULTRA 0.71x – MB_SPEF-m43-BTA (o a* ac* )
  • Canon EF Lens to BMPCC4K T CINE Speed Booster® XL 0.64x – MB_SPEF-m43-BTB (o a* ac*)
• SmallRig Lens Mount Adapter Support for BMPCC 4K – 2247 (o a* ac* aj*)

Quick-release plate

• Haoge 160mm Rapid Connect Long Sliding Quick Release Plate for Manfrotto – HQR-MS160 (ac* aj*)

Strap

• Peak Design Anchor Links – AL-4 (o a* aj*)

Extention points

• SmallRig Super lightweight 15mm RailBlock v3 – 942 (o a* ac* aj*)

SSD Holder

• 8Sinn Holder for Samsung T5 SSD on 15mm Rod Mount – 8-SSDH ST5 ROD (o a* ac* aj*)
• Niceyrig Aluminum Alloy Rod 1.5 Inch Length – 026 (o aj*)
  • Use when without Side Handle

Side Handle

*click image to see how to assemble

• SmallRig Quick Release NATO Rail (10cm) – 1134 (o a*)
• SmallRig 15mm Carbon Fiber Rod – 20cm 8 inches (2pcs) – 870 (o a*)
• SmallRig SWAT Rail Clamp (15mm Perpendicular) – 1245 (o a*)
• SmallRig 15mm Rod Clamp with Arri Rosette – 1686 (o a*)
• Tilta Nucleus-M Handgrip, Left – WLC-T03-HL (a*)

15mm LWS Rod System

*click image to see how to assemble

• SmallRig Drop-In Baseplate (Manfrotto 501PL QR Plate Compatible) – 2006 (o a*)
• SmallRig 2pcs 15mm Black Aluminum Alloy Rod(M12-20cm) 8inch – 1051 (o a*)
• SmallRig Canon EOS C100/ C100 Mark II/ C300 Mark II/ Sony FS7 Baseplate – 1740 (o a*)
• Haoge 220mm Rapid Connect Long Sliding Quick Release Plate for Manfrotto – HQR-MS220 (ac)

Anamorphic Setup

*click image to see how to assemble

Swing-away system

• LanParte Swing Clamp – SWC-01 (o)
• SmallRig Aluminum Alloy Pair of 15mm Rods (M12-4inch 100mm) – 1049 (o a* ac* aj*)
  • The extension rods of the lower side
• SmallRig Rod Connector with M12 Thread for 15mm Aluminum Alloy Rods (Pack of 2) – 900 (o a*)

Anamorphic Lens Clamp

• SmallRig 15mm Carbon Fiber Rod – 20cm 8 inches (2pcs) – 870 (o a*)
  • The rods of the upper side.
• SmallRig Dual 15mm Rod Clamp with Threads – 1806 (o a*) x 2 pcs
  • To fix the upper and the lower side of the Rapido Clamp to the rods
• M5 Thumb Screw x 2 pcs
  • To fix Rapido Clamp Support beams to Smallrig Rod Clamp 1806
• Rapido Technology V3 Clamp (o)
  • Support Beam x 2 pcs
  • External Ring x 1 pc
  • Inner Ring x 1 pc
  • Custom Step-up Ring x 1 pc
    • Depends on the size of rear thread of the anamorphic lens
• Nylon Thumb Screw M4 x 8 pcs or more

Double Focus Controller

*click image to see how to assemble and how it works

• Electrical Double Focus Controller
• SmallRig Single 15mm Rail Clamp 1549 (o a*)

Top Handle

*click image to see how to assemble

• SmallRig Nato Clamp Mount with Arri 3/8” Hole – 2207 (o a*)
• SmallRig Arri Locating Handle – 2165 (o a*)
• SmallRig Safety NATO Rail 150mm – 1876 (o a*)
• SmallRig SWAT Rail Clamp (15mm Perpendicular) – 1245 (o a*)
• SmallRig 15mm Carbon Fiber Rod (150mm, 6 Inches) – 1872 (o a*)

Monitor Cage

*click image to see how to assemble

• Feelworld FW279 (o a*)
• Feelworld Battery Plate for LP-E6
• SmallRig Monitor Cage for Feelworld T7, 703, 703S, MA7, MA7S, and F7S Monitor – 2233 (o a*)
• SmallRig Safety NATO Rail 150mm – 1876 (o a*)
• SmallRig Quick Release Safety Rail 7cm – 1195 (o a*)
• SmallRig SWAT Nato Rail with 15mm Rod Clamp (Parallel) – 1254 (o a*)

Smartphone Holder

*click image to see how to assemble

• Ulanzi ST-02S Aluminum Phone Tripod Mount w Cold Shoe Mount – ST-02 (az)
• SmallRig Safety NATO Rail – 1933 (o a*)
• SmallRig Quick Release NATO Clamp – 1973 (o a*)

V-mount Battery

*click image to see how to assemble

• SmallRig V-Lock Assembly Kit 1846 (o a*)
• SmallRig Single 15mm Rail Clamp 1549 (o a*)
• SmallRig Aluminum Alloy Pair of 15mm Rods (M12-4inch 100mm) – 1049 (o a* ac* aj*)
• SmallRig Single Rod Clamp – 15mm (2 thread) – 842 (o a*)
• SmallRig Super lightweight 15mm RailBlock v3 – 942 (o a* ac* aj*)
• SmallRig Rod Connector with M12 Thread for 15mm Aluminum Alloy Rods (Pack of 2) – 900 (o a*)
• SmallRig 2pcs 15mm Black Aluminum Alloy Rod (M12-15cm) 6 inches – 1050 (o a*)

• Andoer Male D-Tap B Type Power Tap to 4 Female D-Tap P-Tap Hub Adapter for Photography Power

Shoulder Rig

*click image to see how to assemble

Main Body

• SmallRig Sony VCT-14 Shoulder Plate – 1954 (o a*)
• SmallRig VCT-14 Quick Release Tripod Plate – 2169 (o a*)
• Haoge 300mm Rapid Connect Long Sliding Quick Release Plate for Manfrotto – HQR-MS300 (ac)

Handles

• SmallRig Extension Arm with Arri Rosette – 1870 (o a*)
• Tilta Nucleus-M Handgrip, Left – WLC-T03-HL (a*)
• Tilta Nucleus-M Handgrip, Right – WLC-T03-HR (a*)

Forward Extention

• SmallRig 15mm Carbon Fiber Rod – 30cm 12 inch (2pcs) – 851 (o a*)
• SmallRig 90° Double Rod Clamp DCD2374 (o a*)

Horizontal Extention & Monitor Panning

• SmallRig 15mm Carbon Fiber Rod – 30cm 12 inch (2pcs) – 851 (o a*)
• SmallRig 15mm Carbon Fiber Rod 100mm 4 Inch – 1871 (o a*)
• SmallRig 90 Degree 15mm Rod Clamp Adapter DCD1104 (o a*) x 2 pcs
• Niceyrig Aluminum Alloy Rod 1.5 Inch Length – 026 (o aj*)

Matte Box

Not so recommended…

• JTZ DP30 Cine Carbon Fiber 4×5.65 Inch Swing-Away Matte Box (ac*)

Full Setup

*click image to see how this setup goes

Background

I need a 2.66 frame guide for location scouting with BMMCC but Blackmagic Video Assis 5″ has no 2.66 guides.
It’s needed for BMPCC 4K Anamorphic shooting.
So I made it.

3D model

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4551818

Use example

Without a frame guide. Only in my mind…

With a frame guide. Obvious.

My anamorphic setup with BMPCC 4k grows as a huge monster.
So I need some tiny setup for location scouting.
And I decided to use the BMMCC.
For tiny setup, I need to find a single zoom lens which covers all focal length range of BMPCC 4K Anamorphic 2.8K mode.

BMPCC 4K Anamorphic 2.8K mode focal length range

Taking lenses

My lens set of Leica R is the following.

• 35mm Elimarit F2.8
• 50mm Summicron F2
• 90mm Elmarit F2.8
• 135mm Elmarit F2.8

BMPCC 4K Anamorphic 2.8K mode crop factor

With Full 4K mode,  the sensor width is 18.96mm for 4096 pixels.
With Anamorphic 2.8K mode, the vertical resolution is 2880 pixels.
So the sensor width is: ( 18.96 / 4096 ) x 2880 = 13.33125 mm.

So the BMPCC 4K Anamorphic 2.8K mode crop factor is: 36mm / 13.33125mm = 2.700.

And I use Metabone speedbooster 0.71x.

The final crop factor is: 2.7 x 0.71 = 1.917.

The full-frame equivalent focal length range

Multiply 0.5 for 2x Anamorphic lens.

• 35mm Elimarit F2.8
  • 1.917 x 35 = 67.095mm (Taking lens only)
  • 1.917 x 35 x 0.5 = 33.55mm (with 2x Anamorphic)
• 50mm Summicron F2
  • 1.917 x 50 = 95.85mm (Taking lens only)
  • 1.917 x 50 x 0.5 = 47.925mm (with 2x Anamorphic)
• 90mm Elmarit F2.8
  • 1.917 x 90 =  172.53mm (Taking lens only)
  • 1.917 x 90 x 0.5 = 86.265mm (with 2x Anamorphic)
• 135mm Elmarit F2.8
  • 1.917 x 135 = 258.795mm (Taking lens only)
  • 1.917 x 135 x 0.5 = 129.397mm (with 2x Anamorphic)

BMMCC focal length range

BMMCC crop factor

BMMCC sensor width is 12.48mm.

The crop factor is: 36mm / 12.48mm = 2.8846.

And I use Metabones speedbooster 0.58x.

The final crop factor is: 2.8846 x 0.58 = 1.67.

The full-frame equivalent focal length range

• For 35mm Elimarit F2.8
  • 67.095mm / 1.67 =  40.18mm (Taking lens only)
  • 33.55mm / 1.67 = 20.09mm (with 2x Anamorphic)
• For 50mm Summicron F2
  • 95.85mm / 1.67 =  57.40mm (Taking lens only)
  • 47.925mm / 1.67 = 28.69mm (with 2x Anamorphic)
• For 90mm Elmarit F2.8
  • 172.53mm / 1.67 = 103.31mm (Taking lens only)
  • 86.265mm / 1.67 = 51.66mm (with 2x Anamorphic)
• For 135mm Elmarit F2.8
  • 258.795mm / 1.67 = 154.97mm (Taking lens only)
  • 129.397mm / 1.67 = 77.48mm (with 2x Anamorphic)

These are the focal length range to be covered by one single zoom lens.

EF mount zoom lens covers all focal length range

For location scouting, I don’t want to attach the anamorphic adapter.
So required range is from 20.09mm to 77.48mm.
After some research, I found the following lens.

Canon EF-S 15 – 85mm / F3.5 – 5.6 IS USM

This lens covers all the range perfectly.

But one minor problem is there

EF-S (not EF) lenses are designed for the APS-C sensor.
So all EF-S lenses have the plastic cap on the rear element.
This plastic cap is hitting the Metabones.

But there’s a solution!

Just remove the plastic cap by a plier.

Final setup image

Light enough for location scouting.

Next

Match the exact focal length between BMPCC and BMMCC and mark it on the zoom lens.

Background

Since Blackmagic Design released BMMCC, it’s been about five years. But it is still sold as a brand new nowadays.
For me, it’s the first cinema camera, and it’s working for the location scouting or a small project.
So, as the others so, I decided to develop the controller, and it finally becomes some kind of working prototype today.

Concepts

The main concepts are the following based on my requirements.

1. Tinyness.

The tinyness is the importance because of the tinyness of the camera. If the tinyness is not important, we should buy the bigger and more reliable one sold by CINEGEARPRO.
https://www.cinegearpro.co.uk/products/cgpro-bmmcc-bmmsc-focus-zoom-record-remote-controller

2. Minimum function.

Just control the camera properties (and a few for the lens).
If the focus or the zoom must be controlled, we should use the LANC controller.
If the other function is required, we should build another external device.

3. Modularized.

Must be fit on ‘PWM(S.Bus)+LANC+DC BMMCC Angle Expansion Box Module’.
https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?t=56186

4. Hardware Extendability.

The 5V, GND, and two digital pins can be used through the 3.5mm 4 poles TRRS jack.

5. Software Extendability.

The mainboard is Arduino Nano. The firmware will be on Github. You can fork and write your firmware for free.

Current Issues

The current issues about cost are the following.

1. Case

3D printed cases are cheap but cheesy. CNC Aluminum cases are sturdy but expensive.

2. Compliance

Mainly RoHS and CE are required to sell worldwide, but the parts are more expensive.

Price

I wish to sell around 100 – 200 USD.

Specifications

Prerequisites:

1. Breakout box for SBus x 1

Use ‘PWM(S.Bus)+LANC+DC BMMCC Angle Expansion Box Module’.
https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?t=56186

2. 3.5mm 3-pole TRS Cable x 1

3. Camera Remote settings.

Set Remote settings as follows. Simply set the channels from top to bottom.

• Rec Start/Stop: SBus 1
• Iris: SBus 2
• (Focus: SBus 3. Disabled. You can enable on your forked firmware)
• Auto Focus: SBus 4
• (Zoom: SBus 5. Disabled. You can enable on your forked firmware)
• ISO: SBus 6
• Shutter Angle: SBus 7
• White Balance: SBus 8
• Audio Level: SBus 9
• Frame Rate: SBus 10
• Codec: SBus 11

Hardware and Operation Manual:

1. 0.49″ 64×32 OLED Display.

2-1. Rotary Encoder with Push-Switch 1.

Rotation: for menu navigation.

• Rotate CW: Go to the next menu.
• Rotate CCW: Go to the previous menu.
• The menu order is: FPS(Frame Rate) > SA(Shutter Angle) > A(Iris) > ISO > WB(White Balance) > MIC(Audio Levels) > CODEC.

Pushing:

• 2-Click: REC Start/Stop
• 3-Click: Trigger AutoFocus
• 4-Click: Rotate Display CW
• 5-Click: Rotate Display CCW
• x-Click: Unassigned. (You can extend your forked firmware)
• x-Clicks and Long Press: Unassigned. (You can extend your forked firmware)
• NOTE: May vary in the final version.

You can use this in any direction by Display Rotation.

2-2. Rotary Encoder with Push-Switch 2.

Rotation: for value control.

• Rotate CW: Increment value.
• Rotate CCW: Decrement value.

Pushing:

• 3-Click and Long Press: Reset all values.
• Other: Unassigned. (You can extend your forked firmware)
• NOTE: May vary in the final version.

3. 3.5mm 3-pole TRS Jack

Connect to the camera.
Tip: 5V, Ring: SBus, Sleeve: GND.

4. 3.5mm 4-pole TRRS Jack

Connect to the external devices.
Tip: 5V, Ring: D4,D5, Sleeve: GND.

5. USB Port for firmware updates.

Product Images

Use cases

Background

General-purpose focus gears sold for photographic lenses are not so good, assuming that they will be used in the actual field, because the gears slip and the remaining parts are caught on the rig.

On the other hand, the fully customizable and already-built gears such as  https://followfocusgears.com/ are very expensive.

So, I tried to make it myself using https://github.com/jaymis/lens-gear-follow-focus, but this time the Leica R lens that I am going to use is made of a metal focus ring When I tried to fix it firmly, I had to make it quite tight, but while I made several prototypes, I felt like I was damaging the lens.

So I decided to design a customizable gear that could be tightened with screws.

Parameters

Because I wanted to be able to fully customize it, the number of parameters becomes relatively large. Therefore, it is not necessary to read the generated STL again with DesignSpark Mechanical, fine-tune it, and follow it.

In fact, it may be easier to see the figure.

NUMBER_OF_TEETH

The number of gear teeth for one lap. Note that the number of teeth is actually increased because a cut is made to tighten the screw.

GEAR_OUTER_THICKNESS

Outer gear thickness (axial length).

GEAR_INNER_THICKNESS

Inner gear thickness (axial length).

INNER_DIAMETER

The diameter of the inner hole. The outer diameter of the lens.

GEAR_RADIAL_THICKNESS

The radial thickness of the gear part. If it is thinned, the entire gear is easily bent when tightened with screws. When it is thick, it becomes difficult to bend.

SPRING_THICKNESS

The thickness of the spring mechanism on the inner plane. It should be a multiple of the nozzle diameter of the printer used.

SCREW_TIP_LENGTH

The length of the tab protruding for the screw hole.

SCREW_TIP_THICKNESS

The thickness of the tab that protrudes for the screw hole.

SCREW_HOLE_DIAMETER

Screw hole diameter.

SCREW_HOLE_OFFSET

Screw hole location. Distance from the outermost edge of the tab that popped out.

SCREW_TIP_GAP

The distance between the tab protruding from the screw hole and the gap between the tabs.

Thingiverse Customizer

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3926801

For the old lenses such as the anamorphic lenses, it’s hard to find the lens cap with exact size. But for now, with this customizer thing, the problem was solved.

Parameters

INNER_DIAMETER

The outer diameter of the lens. Consider the torelance of the 3d printer you use.

INNER_HEIGHT

Height to slip-on against the lens.

THICKNESS

Thickness of this cap. Same value for all part. This value becomes the radius for rounding the internal wings.

INNER_OFFSET

The length of the internal six wings. Must be larger than THICKNESS

Thingiverse Customizer

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3924676

Click ‘Open in Customizer’ on the right side, then enter the parameters.

Example

A real-world example is here:

• Rapido V3 Clamp Rear Cap

If the taking lens go wider, the vignette becomes serious issue. To solve this issue, we must place the anamorphic lens as close as possible to taking lens.

Parts list

Rapido V3 Clamp

• https://www.rapidotechnology.com/

Redstan Classic Original Custom Anamorphic Lens Clamp

EDIT: This is not the “Classic Original Anamorphic Lens Clamp”. Thanks to stan for pointing out on this blog. And thanks to Mikkel Bøje for pointing out on youtube.

I asked the original owner of this clamp about the exact name, and he said: “I sent him(Redstan) pictures of the Kowa and he simply said he had what I needed and referenced it as a ‘2 part adaptor in black'”. So if the others like me try to buy the same thing, it’s better to tell Redstan our requirements first before buying.
It should have

• The 52mm inner thread for Kowa 8z/16h.
• The 55mm outer thread.

But as commented below, Redstan makes different and better clamps these days. I just want to share the idea.

Stepdown ring: 67mm to 55mm

3d printed shim ring (detailed below)

Structure of the Rapido V3 Clamp

Confirm the structure of the Rapido V3 Clamp, the gap between Inner Ring and Rear 77mm Adapter is narrow enough. The paper cannot slip into the gap.

Combine the Rapido V3 Clamp and the Redstan

Combining the Rapido V3 Clamp and the Redstan’s inner part (M55 threaded) with a step-down ring, the anamorphic lens could not be tightened.

Tightened with 3d printed shim ring

To be tightened securely, I need to insert something like a shim ring between the Redstan’s inner part and the step-down ring.

The measured size is the following:

• thickness: 10.5ｍｍ
• Inner diameter: 55.5ｍｍ

There’s no size in the market, so I designed the 3d model and printed by 3d printer.

Rapido V3 Clamp Shim Ring

3d model on Thingiverse.

How to Assemble the Rapido V3 Clamp Shim Ring

Final Shape

Rapid Technology V3 Clamp could be found here:
https://www.rapidotechnology.com

Customizable Slip-On Lens Cap

Here is the Thingiverse customizer based on this model.
Fully Customizable Slip-On Lens Cap

Sharpness test for Leica Elimarit R 135mm f2.8 and Kowa 8-Z on BMPCC4k.

Conclusion

@2.8 (wide open) is usable (sharpness is acceptable) from 2.5 meters distance.
@4.0 (1 stop close) is usable from 2.0 meters.
@5.6 (2 stop close) is usable from 1.5 meters (nearest).

Actually it depends on the taste of the project. Refer the following test movies for the taste.

Test movie

@2.8

@4.0

@5.6

side by side

Full resolution screengrabs

Technical data

Object distance

1.6, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0m

Lenses

Metabones Speedbooster XL 0.64x
Leica Elmarit R 135mm f2.8 @2.8, @4.0, @5.6
Kowa 8-z 2x anamorphic
(No Variable-Diopter)

Camera

BMPCC4k
fps: 24
Shutter: 45, 90, 180
ISO: 100
BRAW 4K DCI (4096 x 2160) 3:1
Crop factor: 1.22x ( = 1.9 x 0.64 )

Edit

Colored with Davinci Resolve 16 (contrast only)
No crop.

Deliver setting

Youtube 2160p
Resolution: 4096 x 1716 DCI Scope 2.39
Format: QuickTime
Video Codec: H.264
Audio: Main 1 (Stereo)
Audio Codec: Linear PCM