By site editor Dan Chung:
Letus have rung in the New Year with a product that took me by total surprise. The AnamorphX-GP is an anamorphic lens adapter for GoPro Hero3+. The adapter squeezes the image 1.33x, converting the Hero 3+ 1080 mode’s 16:9 aspect ratio image to a 2.39:1 widescreen one. The resulting image must be de-squeezed in post to achieve the correct appearance.
Perhaps more interestingly the anamorphic lens can also be used in the 4:3 aspect Super-view mode of the GoPro. This unique mode on the GoPro takes a 4:3 image with the full height of the sensor and dynamically stretches it to fit a 16×9 image. Similar to the way some televisions take 4:3 broadcasts and expand them to fill a 16:9 image stretching the side more and the the central part very little. When the AnamorphX-GP is used the extra 1.33x squeeze effective compensates for the stretch. As a result, the GoPro in super-view mode with the adapter yields a true 16:9 image where you can expand the edges to have a more normal aspect. The end result is a corrected image with a much wider field of view than the 1080 mode.
The adapter itself is in a custom CNC aluminum housing that installs onto the Hero 3+ housing while retaining the waterproof properties. The original housing glass is removed and the AnamorphX-GP is installed in a simple procedure that just requires a Torx 5 screwdriver. Sadly it does not work on the original Hero 3 housing so owners of the older model will need to get the newer Hero 3+ case.
What qualities the resulting image will have is currently unknown. A lot of users will be looking for lens flares and streaks similar to the ones seen in big screen feature films like Star Trek. This adapter does certainly open up lots of interesting possibilities for GoPro shooters – I can see using it to get anamorphic shots underwater or from quadcopters.
Anamorphic lenses and adapters are usually quite expensive but this one is planned to be $199 US. Letus told me the tentative shipping date is in about 3 weeks time. There is currently no info about the adapter on the Letus website but hopefully that will change soon. (Edit – The adapter is now on the Letus website)
