BLAZAR Nero - Burning down the competition? - 1.5X Anamorphic Adapter 

In a world of all these new anamorphic products, this might be the only one I've been excited for and will likely purchase.

funny and interesting presentation! I was blazed away by it far more than from the smallish anamorphic gadget... actually fitting mostly (or only) on small full frame lenses.. but I am not convinced by the optical performance, particularly the edges are rather soft etc... it was a GREAT JOY to attend you little video, thx a lot

I liked the name Great Joy, because their lenses gave me great joy! I love the 35mm x1.8 T2.9 lens!

Great rundown! Appreciate the honesty 👏

Interesting new option! Appreciate the honesty as always Tito, great review 😃

I'm glad that you make the distinction between quirks and issues... I've heard lens producers try to handwave problems away by calling them "character". This is a great idea, but realistically the focal lengths you can pair it with seem pretty limited. Which I could live with if it were half the price. This feels like premium pricing for a setup that's still experimental. Blessings to them for taming the flares and for offering something other than 1.3x, but that's still not enough to get me to buy. I wouldn't be surprised to see a new version in 6-9 months that corrects some of our complaints. These smaller lens companies seem content to use their customer base as unpaid beta testers which has taught me to wait until the 3rd or 4th iteration of a new line. Looking forward to what's next.

OMG can't wait till tomorrow ! This Blazar Nero 1.5X adapter is really promising...

The rebrand is super welcome. It was hard to even have a serious conversation about "Great Joy." For me, I'll be getting this adapter.

I used to watch RickVanMan chanell quite a bit back in the day 😀 Anyway, awesome review as always. Same as you I just don't really get excited about adapters anymore, which is why I passed on an opportunity to review one, but glad you did, I always enjoy your anamorphic reviews

You could reverse the lens support direction to help with your focus motor position problem and still support the adapter, just saying! 😅

This looks very cool! However, I would rather save the 899 (or 1000) USD and go instead for the Sirui Carbon fiber anamorphic (Saturn, I think), with the 35 mm for now and 50 mm whenever they come out with it. My reasoning is simply that I am likely to travel with a small and light lens that works straight out of the box, rather than do all the fiddly adapter-stuff. The need to attach support to this adapter to get smooth focus is particularly a deal-breaker for me. Alternately, I do really like the Great Joy anamorphic lenses too. Would perhaps look at investing in their 50 mm, 35 mm and 85 mm if those go on a massive sale at some point

Hmm... i usually want to steer clear of anamorphic adapters.. but i like the idea of being able to make use of my vintage lenses

Hard for me to justify it over a few of the "native" Anamorphics. Cheaper, yes, but I don't love any of my primes enough to justify putting up with the quarks. Thanks for looking at it, and I always enjoy your "mini" films you use to test/demo with. I also think the name change is from bad to worse, especially since no one knows how to pronounce it. I am also glad they did not do a kick start on it.

my left ear really enjoyed that sound design

Who on earth did Great Joy consult with to rebrand as Blazar??? Great review Tito. It’s an interesting looking product. With the right taking lens it has a nice charm to it and pleasing flares; but I don’t feel it has the je ne sais quoi of anamorphic lenses. It looks best suited for S35 sensors, with a limited ability to work on full frame as an added bonus, but seems to be an decent offering for the price. I feel a good strategy would be to next manufacture a compelling anamorphic adapter specifically for the Sigma 18-35 f1.8 lens. I wonder if you could reverse the support foot to help with rigging the focus motor? I also wonder if there’s any merit in using magnetic filter adapters between the taking lenses and the Nero (in combination with using the Nero lens support) to save screwing the adapter off and on when changing focal lengths?

Looks pretty incredible to me- Edit: customer service is horrible. I bought the adapter, have used it for maybe 30 minutes, decided to return it. Their website says to start a return you email them. I did. THEY DON’T ACCEPT ANY USED ITEMS AS RETURNS (unless there’s a factory quality issue) So if anyone wants to buy one you’d better be 100% sure you’re keeping it forever. Or let me know and you can buy mine

I really hope they make a compact 1.33x with variable diopter, their existing model is huge. I would love a blazar 1.33 single focus adapter on my nanomorph

Your Video is on their Website 😍 Can you test this with different focal lengths? :D

Great review. Looks like the name was chosen by an IA, like Baltars + Bladerunner thing. Still a nice product for a set of vintage spherical primes as you said. Would love to see how it perfoms in a Pentax Limited 43mm f1.9 . Actually i would love to see all the Pentax Limited (31/43/77) adapted to anamorphic in any way 😂.

Honestly for the price and size this is super intriguing, especially for those that own a vintage set. I think s35 users with a helios 44m and mir 37b will like there results(although the lack of sharpness wide open is an issue). Maybe the newer lenses from 7artisans that start off a bit more clinical and sharp is the better answer for attempting wide open shots.. butIdk man until a company makes a set of affordable lenses with older adapter like separation and true anamorphic quality like a Kowa for example, this might be the best answer poor guys like me have at this time to achieve that look that's somewhere in the middle..

I am still trying to decide between this, the moment, and the sirui... because I would like to use it at 35mm and wide open, I would guess the sirui is probably still my best bet for sharpness and coverage at 35mm on full frame? Because this one is 1.5x, I feel like I could use it at 35mm and crop to 2.35:1 and get rid of most of the vignette, but I don't know!

This is unrelated to the adapter; I have the Jupiter 85mm but it does not focus past a couple of inches on all cameras I've tested. Any idea how to fix this? My friend also has Canon FD lenses and some of them do not focus to infinity - only up to 30 feet or so. Something tells me you know a solution to this problem.

Some pretty pictures :) To shoot a sequence it would seem that one could get acceptable with 1.5*28, 50 and 85 on S35, 1.5*28 is quite wide. You race through a bit, if you have 52 front FD 28,50 85 or nikkor 28, 50, 85 do you think you will get a cuttable sequence with no horrific vignettes?

A single focus adapter would be super appealing, but… it’d need it to work with wider angle taking lenses, a larger diameter entrance and have less distortion. I suspect every part of those translate to “more expensive.” I hope this is a success so they bring out more versions, and one might work for me.

Great video, Tito! I think I'm going to skip this though. Considering I already have a 50mm anamorphic, this is of no use. Can't go wider than 45 (to avoid vignetting) or above 80 (if it did at least one of those, I'd have gotten it). But I have to admit, I love the look of the Blazar. So, I'll have to wait for a better adapter, I guess. But with that said, if I was primarily filming on s35, I'd immediately get it, no doubt.

Hey man I hope you are well. I have question if you would be so kind to ask. If you were going to buy one anamorphic lens price ranging from $1000-$3000 to film a feature film, what lens would you buy?

I'm using the Great Joy 1.33x on a short right now and it's a pain due to the weight and not seeming to work when the taking lenses are set to infinity. In the future I want to shoot true anamorphics.

Very nice review as always Tito. I am kinda tempted... looks pretty cool on Helios and I would like to test it on my set of vintage lenses, especially on my helios 44.2 and on the canon 28mm. Dunno... I must say I am not 100% confident about adapters, I never got one. I would prefer to invest in a new Great Joy anamorphic 1x8 to pair with my 85 mm (I would love a 42 or a 24 mm focal lens). Oops... No more Great Joy, sorry Blazar or B-Laser or Bwhatever... no comment about logo, not really sexy.

Great video!! Would be so cool to know which wide angle adapter you used 😅🙏

Spoiler alert: Tito does NOT like any adapters for very good reason

Seems to only work on vintage glass. Would be great to know if it works with the Dzo Vespid 50mm on full frame.

Great video! Great explanation of the pros and cons. I was wondering if you will review the new blazar remus set that blazar just released?

could you please do a comparison between the aivascope and the blazar. that would be very interesting.

The vigetting and distortion showed at around 4:30 and 5:10 looks really interesting. This id what I want more of. But it sounds like that look is exclusive to full frame? Or could it be achieved with an even wider lens when on smaller sensors?

Which is better between this "Blazar nero" or the "Moment anamorphic adaptor"?

I wonder why adapters don't ship with a 5 cent 2x oval insert for the back of the adapter? I like the support foot on the this design. The Sirui has no support foot and I've dropped it twice as a result.

Blazar... didn't he play for the Globo Gym Purple Corbras?

Having this adapter in hand, it isn't perfect by any means but damn this is a good product. Wonder what anamorphics will be like in 5-10 years

Do you have a review on the Blazar Remus? Great Video!

I wonder how this will compare to the Aivascope 1.5x 🤔

If the main lens do give some soft corner focus.. will it then make it worst with the adapter ?

so i didn't get that with what lens it could be used on S35 and 6.2k open gate to avoid hard vignete

PLEASE make a blazar Remus vid

I'm curious how this adapter works with larger lenses that have threads above 52 mm. According to the product description: "The Nero’s 52mm thread can easily be adapted to other lens sizes using a step up/step down ring. It works with lenses with a front filter thread size up to 82mm." I've only ever used step up rings, not step down rings, so if you used this on a larger lens, would the step down ring end up obscuring some of the field of view?? Seems like a really weird concept.

"I don't know if this would be counted as character or an issue." 5:14 😂

Can you mount this adapter vertically onto your lens?

The only lense that makes sense for me so far.... Beside me making a mistake for not snapping up a Panasonic 1.33 while I could....

Are they going to have lens series called: Blade and Lazar? and I hope they have a lens consligiere named Me’Shell.

Huh. Thanks for this. I’m underwhelmed; the limited range of 50mm to 85mm taking lens really limits the use. What’s the range of that Moment anamorphic adapter?

Do you know when this will ship out if ordered now?

I have recently purchased the Laowa 6mm T2.1 Lens for use on my Panasonic GH5. An amazing Lens when shooting Anamorphic with this Lens, so if you have an opportunity to aquire this Lens I would be interested in your comments. Roy Trew

Will you review the Blazar Remus set? 🥺 Please?

I liked it when you played with the pronunciation of "Blazar"... In Spanish it is pronounced as an acute word that you didn't like "Blah-Zar" hahaha... Is this adapter lens for Nikon D810? I would greatly appreciate the answer. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Tito, when you say that the look is more controlled on super 35 sensors, are you talking about distortion or CA or sharpness on the edges? Can you explain?

Aside from price, would you prefer this or the moment 1.33?

As a huge Blade Runner fan, I actually dig the logo. haha

I would love to know what it looks like at f1.8

Ummm I don't get it. what do you do with this? do you attach this to whatever lens you currently have?

You mention a non-rotating front, but it looks like it rotates to me, while the element telescopes. Can you clarify for us? Thanks

I feel like this is a step forward, and also backwards for great joy. I have the 1.35x adapter. 67mm taking threads was just about as small as I was willing to go, however this now has a tiny 55mm which makes so many taking lenses I love, poor candidates. I know a 67mm taking lens sized adapter at 1.5x would be more heavy, and more expensive, but I firmly believe that’s where the brand should have gone. I would absolutely buy a 1.5x 67mm adapter for $1,200 over an aivascope or this 55mm adapter

I'm going to purchase either this or the Sirui, and I'd like to make the decision before the early bird pricing for this ends. I just can't decide. I think I'd prefer this one overall, but I am buying the Sirui Saturn.. I guess having a wider than 2x squeeze using the nero w it would be fine, I'd be getting heavy vignetting anyway, I'll believe I'll be punching in a bit using clear image zoom to get around it... Wish there was a comparison around. Tito, you're the best, I haven't seen you respond to many comments on here, but do you have any advice? appreciate you...

kowa or bolex adapters can be fully sharp at f 1.4. i was looking forward to blazar but sharpness starting at f4 makes us lose light and depth

What is your favorite anamorphic adapter and anamophic lens?

Can you rotate the lens 90 degrees for vertical anamorphic? Thanks

What was the wide angle adapter you used towards the end of the video?? At around 6:55? I recently received my own Nero and I'm eager to test it out! Very cool.....

I JUST got the new moment 1.33x adapter today... If I don't love it I was thinking about trading it in for this Blazar. Which do you prefer? What would you recommend? Thank you.

How would you rack focus between the taking lens (say Leica R 35/50mm cron) and the Blazar? The lens extends slightly, and it would either cause a gap, if taken to account, or it would push the adapter forward once going to close focus? I had some issues understanding that. Or would you be able to do the whole focusing on the adapter itself?

Considering its an hour and half past the "launch" time and the website still isn't allowing purchases, I'm a little worried.

I have a set of ED modded Canon FD lenses. The 50mm/1.4 has a front filter diam. 55. Do you think this would cover it with a step down ring?

Blazar or Moment 1.33x?

Does this adapter work with autofocus lenses?

Did you try stacking two of these adapters ? 😜

Why do all adapters have tiny rear sizes? I was looking for some ~77mm but everyone seems to make them only for small lenses.

Also you dont show attaching it,.. doing it up. Can you slide it back downt the rods onto the taking lens and then rotate it to tighten it onto the thread ? how does this work ? why didnt you show it?

Thanks for the review. Do you think it could work on smaller sensor (like MFT) cameras? Thinking about the BMPCC OG and 4K. Assuming I'm using lenses that are equivalent to a 40mm FOV full frame. Thanks!

Can you rotate this lens 90 degrees? I want a square image.

does it work with contax zeiss ?

Wish they'd make one with a 77mm rear thread so I can use it with my rokinon set and make it wider. I don't want to buy/have a smaller taking lens set, at least not at this point.

What lens support did you use ?

0:45 I love how stealthy he appears in the reflection 4:06 I find this a bit unfair, because the Jupiter is debatable at f/2 on its own. On a different 85mm (couldn't you use a 90mm Summicron from Matt?) I bet it would look different. All in all, it's the first modern anamorphic that I would seriously consider. The Moment missed the last punch (and I really don't like Moment as a company (and at this point I must say I'm tired of arguing fanboys in comments, so go ahead but I won't bite)). I like the flairs, and while Bokeh isn't terrific it's very usable. Wideness is definitely there. But I also dislike the placement of the foot; I understand it has no real other options than the current position, but this interferes with more comfortable rigging. Oh well, good thing I'm out of lens fomo :)

Not so enthusiastic…the mounting is quite small for still a kind of pricy adapter. I’m using the Sirui adapter(yes it’s only 1.25x) but it has the more common 82mm mount, less pricey and great to extent the usable focal lengths of the Sirui anamorphic line up. I prefer shooting anamorphic with anamorphic lenses and for spherical..yes spherical 😉

for 1.5x one could wish to go wider just for simple reason of selling more units. i feel like size could be bigger and not cange that much for 97% users. single focus is amazing tho. but not enough for me. c35 stays.

Were they vibing the ex UFO scientist/ Area 51 guy Bob Lazar with the re-brand?

So the rebranding is not impressive. Great Joy actually grew on me as well but Blazar kind of gets lost with all the companies who are making anamorphics lenses now. Logo definitely needs a facelift. With the "Great Joy" anamorphics living around the $1800 price point I think this adapter should live under $800 as an entry level product to their line and amamorphic qualities. That's just my opinion. Thanks for the review!

I don't wanna "toss it in the garbage", but I don't wanna buy it either.

I feel like the moment smokes this one

Anyone feel Moment's 1.33x looks nicer than this?

A lack luster offering.

Is it a single focus adapter?

So I’m assuming this won’t work with DZO Vespid lenses?

Just Bring back the GreatJoy Brand! It is much better. oh @Blazar just fix the GJ 50mm Anamorphic stretch factor, i will get one to complete my set! with the same GJ logo pls hehe

So soft makes my 4k looks like 720p...

Summary of the video: weird rebranding, can't spell new name, old logo better, to much distortions, can't cover wider lens, to soft with wider aperture... but go and buy it.

It is more expensive than the previous Great Joy 1.3X adapter even being lighter and smaller (less materials for production). For that 1K price I better get some Sirui lens or wait for another more affordable adapter.

Pass

still think that GJ is the best

FYI Blazar is actually an English word used in astrology to incidate some “drastic morph“, and its pronouced [bleiza:r]😂

RIP headphone users

It’s too expensive… for such limited usage

The product is an interesting one even though I'm not interested but that name change just sounds and I'm sorry to say, really dumb.