GoPro’s Anamorphic lens makes it straightforward to get fashionable cinematic motion pictures

GoPro’s Anamorphic lens mod is lastly that can be purchased, finishing the set of lenses the corporate teased when it introduced its Hero 13 action cam. On the time, essentially the most important change to the most recent version of its best-selling digital camera was the power to connect a number of lenses and ND filters. Of all of them, I used to be most intrigued by the Anamorphic Lens Mod ($130), pitched as a lens for “professional-level inventive filmmaking.”

Similar to the remainder of GoPro’s HB-Collection lenses, it’s straightforward to take away the Hero 13’s base lens and exchange it with the a lot thicker Anamorphic lens. (It additionally comes with entrance and rear caps to retailer it safely when not connected to the digital camera.)

Given its measurement, it’s value noting that this might imply a few of your third-party circumstances and equipment won’t fairly wrap across the physique of the Hero 13 as soon as the lens is connected. Nonetheless, it didn’t significantly have an effect on the load distribution after I mounted it on my tripod, however I used to be nonetheless cautious about how uncovered the entrance glass aspect is.

As soon as locked in, the Hero 13 switches to the suitable digital camera mode, maximizing settings and calibrating exactly to the lens. You continue to have latitude in video settings, although: You may seize video in 5.3K as much as 60fps and 4K as much as 120fps for slow-motion cinematic scenes. If you wish to go to city, it’s also possible to file GP-Log in 10-bit and if you happen to’re shopping for a $130 accent, you are in all probability eager to eke out every thing the Hero 13 is able to.

Happily, that is GoPro, and the corporate made it quite simple for even newbies to seize and share usable footage with its most uncommon lens. The Hero 13 Black de-squeezes the footage whereas being captured, making for simpler enhancing. (De-squeezing is correcting the oval-shaped distortion of your video footage attributable to anamorphic lenses.)

Not solely does this streamline enhancing post-production — it’s able to share after you’ve completed recording — it additionally means the video preview on the Hero 13 exhibits it unfurled, making framing simpler, too. The lens can be suitable with GoPro’s digital picture stabilizing tech, HyperSmooth, though the corporate recommends combining it with a gimbal for even smoother footage. If you’d like full management, it’s also possible to shoot in normal lens mode and manually de-squeeze footage in post-production.

And because it’s a real anamorphic lens (and never only a very, very large lens), it may possibly seize lens flares, too, with that anamorphic streak that’s develop into JJ Abrams’ trademark. It helps make my footage appear to be it got here from a cinematic video digital camera, not an motion cam.

The drawbacks are minor. As I discussed earlier, I fear about damaging the lens, though it does have a hydrophobic, anti-reflective coating. Additionally, I discovered essentially the most enticing alternatives for exhibiting off these horizontal lens flares are often capturing footage at night time, or sundown. Sadly, the Hero 13 isn’t essentially the most succesful low-light digital camera, that means my efforts to seize cool cityscape site visitors produced outcomes that had been a bit too shadowy. For the very best footage, broadly, I’d max out ISO at 800 and shoot in 10-bit mode to attempt to salvage as a lot element as potential.

The HB-series Anamorphic lens mod is out there now for $130, whereas a $350 HB-Series Lens Collection bundle accommodates all three lenses and an ND Filter 4-Pack.