Understanding Anamorphic vs Spherical Field of View

Anamorphic lenses capture a wider horizontal field of view than equivalent spherical lenses. They do this by optically squeezing the image along the horizontal axis; for example, shooting with a 2× anamorphic lens “squeezes the image horizontally by 2:1” onto the sensor. After shooting, the image is “unsqueezed” in post so the final image appears with a widescreen aspect ratio. This squeeze factor is what gives anamorphic footage its unique look (wider frame, oval bokeh, horizontal flares) and lets filmmakers capture more of the scene horizontally without moving the camera back. (By contrast, a normal spherical lens projects an unsqueezed circular image that uses the full frame but does not expand the horizontal view beyond the sensor’s native aspect ratio.)

Many anamorphic lenses (like Blazar’s Remus series) share a fixed squeeze ratio, here 1.5×. Because the glass squeezes only horizontally, the effective horizontal focal length is shorter. For example, a 50 mm 1.5× anamorphic lens yields an effective horizontal focal length of 50/1.5 ≈ 33 mm.

How Horizontal FOV Changes with Anamorphic Squeeze

In practice, an anamorphic lens’s horizontal field of view (FOV) is computed by dividing its focal length by the squeeze factor. The vertical FOV remains governed by the lens’s focal length and sensor size, but horizontally the image is stretched by the inverse of the squeeze. For example, a 50 mm spherical lens has some horizontal FOV; a 50 mm 2× anamorphic lens has the same focal length “vertically” but horizontally it captures as if it were a 25 mm lens (50 mm ÷ 2). In other words:

• Effective horizontal focal length = (Lens focal length) ÷ (Squeeze factor).

This means anamorphic lenses cover more horizontal ground: a 2× anamorphic lens doubles the width captured by the film/sensor, and a 1.5× lens adds 50% more. In practical terms, a filmmaker using anamorphic can stay closer to the subject yet still include a wide scene horizontally. (This is why anamorphic is popular for dramatic widescreen shots.)

Calculating Anamorphic Focal Equivalents

Putting numbers to this: if a Blazar Remus 1.5× anamorphic lens is marked as 45 mm, its horizontal FOV is that of a 45 mm ÷ 1.5 = 30 mm spherical lens. Similarly, a Cato 2× lens of 85 mm corresponds to an 85 mm ÷ 2 = 42.5 mm spherical lens horizontally. The formula is simple, so you can quickly compare:

• A 33 mm Remus 1.5× effectively behaves like 22 mm horizontally (33 ÷ 1.5).
• A 50 mm Remus 1.5× ⇒ ~33 mm horiz (50 ÷ 1.5).
• An 85 mm Remus 1.5× ⇒ ~57 mm horiz (85 ÷ 1.5).
• A 125 mm Remus 1.5× ⇒ ~83 mm horiz (125 ÷ 1.5).
• A 40 mm Cato 2× ⇒ 20 mm horiz (40 ÷ 2).
• A 55 mm Cato 2× ⇒ 27.5 mm horiz (55 ÷ 2).
• An 85 mm Cato 2× ⇒ 42.5 mm horiz (85 ÷ 2).
• A 125 mm Cato 2× ⇒ 62.5 mm horiz (125 ÷ 2).

These examples show that a longer-focal anamorphic still packs a much wider horizontal view than a spherical of the same focal. (For instance, the Blazar Cato 85 mm 2× has the horizontal reach of a 42.5 mm spherical lens, but with a much shallower vertical FOV.)

Blazar Remus 1.5× Series (Full-Frame)

The Blazar Remus 33 mm T1.8 1.5× anamorphic lens (shown) is one of five focal lengths in the full-frame Remus 1.5× series. Each Remus lens has a constant 1.5× squeeze. For example, the 33 mm Remus has an effective horizontal focal length of about 22 mm (33 ÷ 1.5). In general the Remus series (33, 50, 65, 85, 125 mm) yields effective horizontal equivalents of ~22, 33, 43, 57, and 83 mm, respectively.

Blazar’s Remus 1.5× anamorphic lenses each maintain a 1.5× squeeze ratio. The full-frame Remus set includes five primes (33, 50, 65, 85, 125 mm). Because of the 1.5× squeeze, the horizontal FOV of each is as if using a shorter spherical lens. In concrete terms: the 50 mm Remus behaves like a 33 mm lens horizontally, and the 125 mm Remus like an ~83 mm lens. These numeric examples make it easy to match anamorphic lenses to a desired framing: if you need a horizontal reach similar to a 30 mm spherical, you would use the 45–50 mm Remus; for a 45 mm equivalent horizontal reach, use around the 65–70 mm Remus lens.

Blazar Cato 2× Series (Full-Frame)

The Blazar Cato series uses a 2× squeeze factor. The available Cato primes are 40, 55, 85, and 125 mm. Their effective horizontal focal lengths are thus exactly half their marked focal lengths. For example, a 40 mm Cato 2× provides the same horizontal view as a 20 mm spherical lens (40 ÷ 2). A 125 mm Cato 2× corresponds to a 62.5 mm lens horizontally. In list form:

• 40 mm Cato 2× → 20 mm equivalent horiz.
• 55 mm Cato 2× → 27.5 mm equivalent.
• 85 mm Cato 2× → 42.5 mm equivalent.
• 125 mm Cato 2× → 62.5 mm equivalent.

These numbers help visualize how the Cato lenses compare to spherical optics. For instance, shooting with the 40 mm Cato is like shooting with a 20 mm spherical for horizontal coverage, making it very wide. The 85 mm Cato, by contrast, has a mid-telephoto horizontal reach (about 42.5 mm), even though it’s an 85 mm optic. Note that in all cases, the vertical FOV remains that of the full focal length (40 mm vertical for the 40 mm lens, etc.), since anamorphic compression only affects width.

Summary

In summary, anamorphic lenses expand horizontal coverage by their squeeze factor. The effective horizontal focal length is calculated as (nominal focal length) ÷ (squeeze factor). Thus, Blazar’s Remus 1.5× lenses deliver horizontal FOVs 33% wider than their focal lengths, and the Cato 2× lenses deliver twice as wide (equivalently halving the focal length for horizontal framing). For example, the Remus 50 mm 1.5× acts like a 33 mm lens horizontally, and the Cato 85 mm 2× acts like a 42.5 mm lens horizontally. These conversions make it easy to compare anamorphic lenses to familiar spherical ones.

The Blazar Remus and Cato anamorphic series (with 1.5× and 2× squeeze, respectively) are available through authorized dealers – for instance, Better-Focus.com is a verified Blazar dealer. By understanding and using the divide-by-squeeze calculation, filmmakers can quickly predict the field of view of any anamorphic lens and choose the right focal length for their widescreen composition.

Key Takeaways

Anamorphic lenses squeeze the image horizontally, giving a wider horizontal FOV. The effective horizontal focal length equals the lens’s focal length divided by the squeeze factor. In practice, a 50 mm 1.5× anamorphic lens is like a 33 mm spherical horizontally, and an 85 mm 2× anamorphic is like 42.5 mm. (All Blazar Remus 1.5× lenses use 1.5× squeeze; all Blazar Cato 2× lenses use 2×.) These lenses (sold via Better-Focus) thus let you capture very wide widescreen images on full-frame cameras without changing vertical framing.