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A Mastery in Form-Factor of Anamorphic Glass
- Author: Sam Jorgensen
Vantage Hawk and Cine Visuals Present: The Hawk V-Lites
Cinematic Heritage
Starting in the mid-1950s, a revolution in film began to compete with television. Born out of a desire to create spectacle, anamorphic glass was adapted to cinema from old World War 1 tank designs. Without any crop to the film plane, the capture and projection of an image could now be doubled in width, creating a vast image without forfeiting resolution of the film.
By the 1990s, anamorphic glass began to fall out of favor for a variety of reasons. Early VFX and compositing was vastly more difficult with the artifacts, flares, and aberrations created by anamorphic glass. The generally heavier weights and poor close focus made them all the more difficult to work with. Though considered beautiful by many, technical difficulties of anamorphic glass gave way to more convenient work flows. Super 35mm paired with cleaner and sharper spherical lenses became more desirable in many ways, lowering the demand and usage of anamorphic glass.
In 1993, Peter Märtin and Wolfgang Bäumler founded Vantage. Inspired by the films of the 1970s and the blockbusters of the 1980s, they sought to bring the grandeur of anamorphic glass to a streamlined product. They wanted to bring the character and feeling of the ‘70s and ‘80s into the designs and needs of the modern era. By the 2000’s the Hawk V-Series iconic and streamlined look became a staple of the industry. But Vantage Hawk knew they could go farther, simpler, lighter, smaller without any compromise to performance. Fast forward to 2007 – introduce the Hawk V-Lites.
Image Fidelity & Focus
Märtin and Bäumler’s dream has become embedded in the ethic of Vantage Hawk. After the success of the Hawk C and V Series, Hawk was not satisfied with their designs. Their love of the anamorphic look of the ‘70s and ‘80s coupled with their endless need to tweak and improve brought about yet another innovation. Committed to their goal of bringing the beauty of anamorphic glass into a contained format, they reworked the Hawk V-Series from the ground up. With all new housing and design in a yet familiar setting, the image retains its classic look. Many anamorphic glass suffer from a strong focus falloff rendering the edges of frame as overly soft, especially wider open. However, the Hawk V-Lites find the balance with overall image sharpness that maintains quality from edge-to-edge while also delicately handling the desired gentle focus falloff from the center of the image. The Hawk V-Lites rides the line between a clean image and an organic anamorphic look in a pleasing, well-balanced manner.
Handling & Adaptability
In an effort to make the legendary look of the V-Series more accessible to steadicam, handheld, and the increasing usage of drone and gimbal work they developed the Hawk V-Lites. With most focal lengths being nearly half the weight of their V-Series counterparts and about a third shorter in barrel length without compromising the iconic V-series look. Hawk Vantage were able to maintain the fast T-stop of T2.2 for every focal length 80mm and under keeping a consistent aperture for flexible shooting on set. With the majority of the focal lengths having a front diameter of 104mm and a few with a 120mm, this allows for easy and convenient lens swaps that saves time and smooths on-set workflows.
Image Circle
Every focal length covers a Super 35mm spread whether that be 4-Perf 35mm film or the ARRI Alexa35 sensor amongst other 35mm sensors. The Hawk V-Lites seek to bring the maximum potential out of the resolution and image of Super 35mm cinematography. With options of 2x or 1.3x desqueeze, the Hawk V-Lites are perfect for a 4:3 sensor or 4-Perf area with a traditional 2x desqueeze or a 16×9 sensor or 3-Perf area with a 1.3x desqueeze that brings the charm of anamorphic glass in a more subtle way to match modern digital workflows.
Flare & Bokeh
One of the most well-known aspects of anamorphic glass are their oval bokeh. Hawk V-Lites live up to this expectation and create organized, yet organic bokeh that blends the boundary between messy and curated. Wide open, the bokeh is at its strongest in long painterly ovals. As an added stroke, the Hawk V-Lites create beautiful flares without overwhelming the image. Long horizontal streaks emblematic of anamorphic flaring stretch from end to end. And yet, the Hawk V-Lites have their gentle rainbow oval flaring that adds an overall refinement to the image. Balance in both bokeh and flaring are some of the key features of the Hawk V-Lites.
These lenses are available for rent at Cine Visuals. For inquiries or testing appointments email info@cinevisuals.com or call (323) 244-2552.