The Century zoom through adapter is a bit of a mystery. Nobody seems to have ever seen one, and B&H has listed it on back order ever since the thing was announced a year or so ago. I’m not convinced Century has ever shipped any. Been meaning to call and ask them about that.

I’m also curious to know how well the Panasonic anamorphic performs with cameras that have 58 mm threads, like the GL2 and VX2000. Anybody tried it?

Interesting comment about the “tele adapter” from Century. Are you referring to the 1.6x tele-converter? Have you tried it? How do you mount it? Would love to see some screen shots.

No, I didn't have any tele converter but.... look at this:

http://www.adamwilt.com/24p/filmstylePD150.html and the link to Century : http://www.centuryoptics.com/products/prodv/65-75/16x_tele-converter/index.htm

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=142095&is=REG

I guess the adapter is from the DVpro list.

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How do you add a link here?

Pretty neat. I've always wanted to try piggy backing a wide angle adapter. I wonder if that's the Century zoom through? It looks like it could be the regular Century anamorphic.

Yes , it is a regular 16:9 and a WA on the picture. But if it works than it has to work with the tele converter. More tele -> more shallow focus.

I am planning on buying a Optex 16:9 adaptor, and a Century Optics Mattebox. Does the matte box have enough room on the bars to mount a 16:9 adaptor lens between it and camera lens?

Yes, I guess. But take a look at this:

http://www.cavision.com/Mattbox/4x4ClampOn.htm

it is better and cheaper as I know.

Anamorphic adapter fully zoom through?
 

Is there such a thing as a fully zoom through anamorphic adapter for the PD170? From the posts I searched, the Century Optics adapter does not seem work well at extreme tele and wide.

Are there any other manufacturers that produce quality anamorphic adapters for the Sony PD170 that work at any focal lengths in auto focus? Also, is it possible to screw on wide angle or telephoto adapters? Or am I just dreaming?

Century's new anamorphic is fully zoom through, but hard to get. You can buy one from them, but at retail. Nobody else seems to be able to keep it in stock. DV Mag recommends the Panasonic, which is between the price of the top end and lower end Century adapters. At this stage, I'd probably stick with the original Century. You can get good used deals.

I just purchased mine from B&H in NY. They didn't have it in stock, but if you sign up for the Notify Me When In Stock, you will get a pretty quick reply.

Hope that helps

Cheers

Really? I think you are officially the first person on these boards to have reported even seeing one. How do you like it?

No, it's not possible to use supplimentary wide-angle and /or telephoto converters when you use an anamorphic. You could use a close-up lens though.

tom.

Several years ago I asked Century about adding a wide angle adapter to the anamorphic and was told by one of their techs that some people used a clamp-on adapter ring to mount one of their professional wide angles. She didn't seem to think it was a very good a idea, but people were definitely doing it. I agree about the close-up lens. I've tried both a drop in lens and Series 9 dual element achromatic and they both work surprisingly well, but only at a very precise distance. It significantly extends the zoom range too, but after doing a few tests, it doesn't appear to extend the range quite as much as I had once thought.

Me am like the anamorphic adapter alot... ALOT... ALOT I SAY!!!

I put my name on the notify list at B&H and within two days got an email saying it was available for purchase. It arrived a few days later. I've had it for about two weeks now.

I spent an afternoon shooting with it, the wide angle adapter, normal mode, and the fake 16:9 the camera does to compare. Wide angle adapter and anamorphic are no comparison, but the anamorphic compared to the fake 16:9 is a blessing. It looks so much more clear when viewed on my Sony Pro Monitor in the edit bay.

The only bad thing is making sure you get the lens lined up correctly. There were a few shots where the rotating lens was not perfectly perpendicular. The shots look okay, but you can tell there is a slight wonkyness to them.

Other than that... ALOT I SAY!!!

Cheers

I found it's a lot easier to get the lens aligned after putting on the sunshade -- the bottom edge gives you a nice long line that you can align with the bottom of the camera. Of course, that's assuming you got it on the adapter right. I'm dying to come up with a reason to rotate the lens while shooting. A drug sequence maybe? You can get pretty funky effects.

DS-WS13-SB 1.33 Anamorphic Converter
 

Hi,

Thinking of getting one of these:

http://www.centuryoptics.com/pdf/CpPD170.pdf

anyone had any experience of using one?

bryan