The 220 degree super wide fisheye lens Entaniya Fisheye HAL 220 PL was tested on the ARRI ALEXA LF and ALEXA MINI LF.
ARRI ALEXA LF / ALEXA MINI LF
High-end cinema camera ARRI ALEXA LF
The ARRI ALEXA LF and ALEXA MINI LF are the high-end cinema cameras with large format sensors.
These are cameras that people in the film and video industry would love to use someday.
When Entanya started developing fisheye lenses, we didn’t envision Entanya fisheye lenses being used in ARRI cameras.
But if we were going to develop a lens, we wanted to develop the best lens we could on the high-end cameras, so naturally, we wanted to one day put the Entaniya Fisheye on the ARRI cameras.
However, the Entaniya fisheye lenses were not compatible with the PL mount, which is the mount of the ARRI cameras, so we thought it was still a dream.
PL mount super wide fisheye lens HAL 220 PL
We started developing PL mount lenses after receiving requests from film creators all over the world to develop PL mount lenses.
This is the Entaniya Fisheye HAL 220 PL.
As the name suggests, the Entaniya Fisheye HAL 220 PL lens has a 220-degree field of view and is compatible with PL mounts.
The image circle size of the Entaniya Fisheye HAL 220 PL is larger than any other lens Entaniya has developed and covers the Super 35 sensor.
Until now, Entaniya lense has been used in various situations as a lens for VR and super wide video.
The lens was unveiled at CineGear Expo 2019 at the Paramount Studio in Hollywood, where it was able to win a technical award in the optical category, which is given to innovative products.
Tested with the ARRI ALEXA LFtALEXA MINI LF
To Munich, Germany
We had the opportunity to test the Entaniya Fisheye HAL 220 PL on the ARRI ALEXA LF / ALEXA MINI LF.
With the help of ARRI Rental, they were able to arrange an ARRI ALEXA LF / ALEXA MINI LF for us.
I took the Entaniya Fisheye HAL 220 PL with me to Munich, Germany where ARRI is located.
Preparing for a shoot at ARRI Rental
Evaluation in sharpening
I brought the Entaniya Fisheye HAL 220 PL to ARRI Rental and immediately prepared to install it on the ALEXA LF.
The first step is sharpening.
Sharpening is all about getting the best focus for the lens and camera.
This is done using a special machine. Sharpening also allows you to evaluate the performance of the lens, since the contrast and resolution of the lens are all quantified.
I was very nervous until the evaluation of the lens came out.
The engineer complimented me on the lens, saying that it has a high contrast and is a very good lens.
I was very happy to be rated as a good lens by an engineer who would have checked out many lenses from top-notch manufacturers before.
Cleared up the bump problem at the back of the lens.
The Entaniya Fisheye HAL 220 PL has a short flange back to fit the next generation of lenses, such as mirrorless cameras.
That’s why the design has a bump at the back of the lens in order to make it a PL mount.
The lens is inserted into the camera, and if the camera has a filter in front of the sensor inside the camera, the rear of the lens may interfere with the inside of the camera and prevent it from being installed.
For example, many people use Entaniya’s fisheye HAL 250 EF mount lens to mount the RED DSMC2 cinema camera.
However, the OLPF inside the camera interferes with the rear of the lens.
Fortunately, the RED DSMC2 is able to remove the OLPF to avoid interference problems, but some cameras may not be able to install it.
I was worried about whether it would be possible to install the lens or not, but I was able to install the Entaniya Fisheye HAL 220 PL lens on the ARRI ALEXA LF and ARRI ALEXA MINI LF.
The image circles
The figure above shows the sensor size and image circle of the LF Open Gate of the ALEXA LF.
The focal length of 8.03mm maximizes the image circle and fits 185 degrees in the vertical.
For example, in order to shoot 360VR, the top and bottom margins for stitching the material taken in front and back are a bit small at 185 degrees, so if you change the focal length to 7.7mm and adjust it so that it is 195 degrees in the vertical, you can get enough margins and get the best size.
Use as a circuler fisheye
For this test, the focal length was changed to 6.63mm because a full circlurer image was required.
The above image was taken after changing the focal length to 6.63mm. The image of the circumference fit neatly into the sensor as calculated.
By the way, Entaniya Fisheye HAL 220 PL can be used in RED MONSTRO and RED HELIUM if the PL mount is supported.
However, when using a focal length of 7mm or less, the rear of the lens is closer to the sensor and may interfere with the filter inside the camera.
When using a focal length of 7mm or less, the OLPF should be removed. (It can be replaced with the dedicated OLPF made by Entaniya.
The image circle using ARRI ALEXA LF can be found in the pdf below.
Download
With all the preparations completed, it was time for the outdoor shooting test.
The shooting test
ALEXA MINI LF
ALEXA LF
The shooting test was done with the ALEXA LF and ALEXA MINI LF.
The ALEXA LF has the advantage of being used in applications that require a high frame rate, but in our tests, we felt the ALEXA MINI LF was more flexible and easier to handle because of its compact size and built-in ND.
Although ARRI cameras can’t capture high-resolution images such as the 8K that is so popular these days, they are known for their ability to capture beautiful images with less noise, even in the dark, due to the large pixels of the sensor that affect image quality.
The shooting tests were conducted under difficult shooting conditions, such as in places with large differences in brightness, strong backlighting, and low-light, but we were surprised to find that the camera was able to demonstrate its performance and capture high-quality images in all environments.
I felt a lot of pressure because it was a test to see if the lens could match the image quality of the super high end cinema camera.
The results
These are sample of the video that was shot and converted to the Equirectangular format.
It was a test under very difficult conditions, but I think we got very good results.
The fact that there is almost no whiteout, blackout, or noise in the harsh environment is quite remarkable.
I was impressed by the atmospheric images brought by the large sensor.
We were able to demonstrate that the Entaniya lens can maintain sharpness all the way to the periphery, that there is little flare or ghosting in backlighting, and that there is almost no aberration.
The resolutions（Equirectangular）
● Focal length 8.03mm （H:220 V:185） The resolution 6000 x 3000
● Focal length 7.70mm（H:220 V:195） The resolution 5800 x 2900
● Focal length 6.33mm（H:220 V:220） The resolution 4700 x 2350
The resolution in Equirectangular depends on the focal length and settings.
The above values are the approximate resolution obtained by shooting with LF Open Gate.
Acknowledgment
Thanks to ARRI Rental for their generous cooperation in this test and（https://www.arrirental.com/）and Christian Felder（http://christianfelder.com/）for giving us a chance to test it and cinematographer Simon Preissinger（https://www.simonpreissinger.com/）.