STURMGLAZ-58
The SturmGlaz 58 is a unique, one of its kind Anamorphic Cinema Lens created by Echo Five Film using parts sourced from German Projection blocks and Soviet-era glass.
The name 'SturmGlaz' is a portmanteau of words from two nations; 'STURM' - German for 'storm', and 'GLAZ' - Russian for 'eye'. Just like the eye of the storm, the image this lens produces is chaotic yet tranquil, sharp and detailed in the central horizon.
The lens is composed of primary anamorphic block and a spherical secondary block, with additional elements to aid in achieving sharp focus. The primary anamorphic block is an anamorphic projection lens, used in cinemas to desqueeze anamorphic footages onto the silver screen. As such, the Schneider Cinelux 2x Anamorphic projection lens was never meant to be used to take images, rather used to project images produced from a 35mm film projector. Due to this nature, the Schneider Cinelux's heavy modern coatings produce significantly little to no flaring and minimal distortions. To compensate, Echo Five Film has carefully removed coatings from select internal elements to greatly increase flaring. Additional elements, one of which is a deliberately scratched piece of internal glass, were also introduced to create more internal reflections, producing more vibrant and unique flares that react to different light sources. The spherical lens block is the Soviet Russian made 58mm Helios 44M-4, which has a good resolution but not too sharp, helping the overall lens achieve a more vintage-inspired look. Additionally, Helios lenses have a neutral coating, which allows the coatings on the Schneider Cinelux to stand out, creating striking teal, orange and magenta flares.