Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: ISCO Blue Star Anamorphic = Piss Poor Design!

This is topic ISCO Blue Star Anamorphic = Piss Poor Design! in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 12-08-2003, 07:27 PM:

While the optics of this lens is superb the overall mechanical construction is dreadful. Someone should see to it that the fine optics in this lens have mechanics to match! We installed 7 of these lenses locally at an 8 plex theatre with single lens mount machines...so the lenses get handled somewhat... but not excessively. Have had set screws work loose, had the metal wedges fall out on the sides of the front element. The astigmatism adjustment(focus)lock is an absolute joke and is absolutely worthless. Also, the front element is way too close to the front of the barrel, almost even with it, allowing an easy surface for fingers to touch weather accidentally or not. The 8th theatre at this location ended up with a Schneider Compact since the Blue Star vignetted slightly. Have not had a problem with the Schneider.

Be wary of purchasing these lenses till they are made a bit more solid!!

Mark @ CLACO

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 12-08-2003, 09:01 PM:

Gee Mark...you've never been at polar extremes...

I've installed a LOT of Blue star anamorphcis and have NONE...ZERO...NOTTA lens loosen up, wedges fall out or any of the other horrors you describe...this is not to say that you have not received a bad batch...but I have received zero that meet what you just described. 95% of them are on single-lens machines.

As to the locking mechanism...I am not fond of it either and have expressed my concerns to ISCO...it was customer driven, apparantly...for turret installations where people don't handle the lenses themselves.

For single-lens (and turreted ones too) I merely wrap a piece of electrical tape around the distance ring...never had one slip...a 2-cent solution that is fast, easy and removable.

As to the front element...that is the nature of the modern cinema...with shorter focal lengths, you need to keep the front of the anamorphic attachment as small as possible to avoid the flat lens vignetting on the anamorphic attachment when in a lens turret. You also need to get the picture out of the anamorphic lens...the lens design in that respect is correct for the times we are in.

As to vignetting...what prime lens are you using (model and focal length)...should there have been a close coupler? The Blue star will work down to 55mm without vignetting on an Ultra-Star Plus (red).

The Schneider is a good lens but it can't come anywhere near the ISCO Blue Star or even Ultra-Star anamorphics...the Schneider has notably worse resolution in the corners, more chromatic abberations and is not 2:1 for most focal lengths (normally you get a wider picture).

Steve

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 12-08-2003, 09:10 PM:

I love my pair of Blue Stars. My assistant is screening a certain year end major fantasy film with them as I type this. I do agree that the front element is uncomfortably close to the front and they could have come with a removable ring to offer a bit of protection. I put the lens caps back on before removing them from the projectors.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 12-08-2003, 09:21 PM:

As I mentioned I have no quams about the optics...first rate indeed, but the mechanical quality is dismal when compared to other scope adaptors including older ISCO's. In the real world, which is where this batch has been residing, they have simply proven themselves to fall apart mechanically. Sorry, they had no help from me, they simply fell apart from the normal handling they've gotten.

As for the front element...It is simply too close to the front of the barrell. So close that merely pressing in on the lens cap could damage the front element. There are other lenses that will allow the same use of short focal length back up lenses without having the glass right at the front edge of the barrell. but on the Blue Star the glass is simply way too close to the front edge. This lens would be fine for screening room usage where extra care is normally exercised... about equivlent to using a pair in a home screening room! But in real world booths they are not solid enough...I do agree they would probably be fine in a turret although I suspect the tiny set screws would still eventually work loose over time.

I am aware of the differences between the Schneider adaptors and ISCO Blue Star adaptors and this a very good location to do an A-B comparison of these adaptors. There are indeed differences in the areas that you mentioned plus a few others, but they are very minor differences.

The B.U. that vignetted was either a 50 or 45mm and I'd have to go back and check. It was close coupled so the compact Schneider adaptor was the only choice there. We tried the Blue Star anyway just to be sure that it wouldn't work since this was the largest screen in the complex.

Mark @ CLACO

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 12-09-2003, 12:31 AM:

Again...I've got the Blue-Stars out in the real world of Multiplexes with single-lens machines....zero complaints or problems...even with the front element. Nothing has loosened up. I say you have a bad batch on your hands.

As to the improvements as compared to other lenses...I would not classify them as minor...all of them are easily noticed by even the layperson when watching a movie.

The 50mm or 45 will not work with the blue-star though they do have three short focal length integrated blue-stars...the 50mm length is indeed left out though...the 50mm was supposed to work but it only did at certain distances...much the same as Schneider's ES anamorphic with a 45mm prime.

Note also how close the Schneider ES anamorphic front element is to the front of the lens...it is just tough to get these big pictures out of the lens so fast.

Steve

[ 12-09-2003, 10:12 PM: Message edited by: Steve Guttag ]