[opinion] Blazar Apex 50mm anamorphic

If you're into video making, and you have no clue how to get that cinematic look, even using that Angenieux lens which cost a kidney, an arm and your marriage, it still feels like you're watching "America's funniest". You began to wonder if getting the latest 8K camera from Panasonic would get the result you're desperately seeking, but then you remember the time when you'd upgraded from 1080 to 4K. Something is still missing, and you can't pin point exactly what it is. 

Maybe colour grading is the way to go. But let's be honest,  we don't have too much clue with the post processing, and we don't want to sit hours and hours in front of a screen when we can be out filming our next blockbuster. 

If there's one thing, only one,  an amateur could get that would allow you to fake it till you make it, it would be the anamorphic lens. The image renders by an anamorphic lens could arguably be the easiest, the most straight forward single piece of equipment that instantly turns from home made vacation video to, for lack of a better word, home made vacation cinematic wannabe. And I say this with utter sincerity. 

A traditional anamorphic lens would set you back roughly about the same as a leather seated family sedan, and frankly, no amateur cinematograhers who are in the stage of exploratory should ever consider buying one. But the tide has turned when Sirui launched their first anamorphic lens back in the early 2020, for a whopping USD500 give or take. 

Consumer grade anamorphic lens is an untapped opportunity. We are familiar with its rendering format from the shows we've seen, yet the lens itself is shrouded in mystery and away from our reach. Now, the veil has finally been lifted. There are more and more lens manufacturers getting into the "home made video" ecosystem. 

This is the new Blazar Apex 50mm f1.8 APSC anamorphic lens.  Available only in Sony E mount, for the time being according to the Blazar team. Its main feature is the autofocusing wizardry. An anamorphic lens with autofocusing ? It's almost unheard of, just how cool is that ?

I have the Sirui 50mm , and for the money,I think it's a steal. I'm content with the 1.33x factor, it's more than enough for my home made blockbusters. But when Blazar announced the AF lens, my curiosity spiked and I had to get one. So here it is. 

I'm still familiarizing myself with this Blazar Apex. From what I've seen so far, the rendering is fantastic, I like its rendering more than the Sirui's, but that's not to say this is better than that, just my personal bias. One thing I'm not too crazy about is its autofocusing ......but it's way too early to draw any meaningful conclusions. 

I will continue to update once I know more about this lens: maybe I could change the setting inside the Sony FX30 ?  maybe the housing is not as durable ? maybe the orange aperture ring attracts too much unwanted attention ? maybe there are other issues ? Whatever those maybes maybe, for the price the Blazar is asking, it's a Buy.