VHS-C camcorders : ebay.us/Bqct6I Digit now recorder : amzn.to/49bW7iM Blazar anamorphic adapter : kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qq6pZcd3qNuVj58.html 30% off on my LUT PACKS : www.mathieustern.com/luts

this is my kind of video, not sure if I’d ever need to use wide aspect ratio camcorder footage, but nice to know it’s possible

This is so trippy, I'm so used to people cropping old archival footage for dramatic effect that I've associated widescreen VHS footage as a post-production gimmick. Seeing it done all in-camera is a huge contrast knowing you can shove so much more into the sensor!

I'd love to see color graded footage in the next video. The washed out look of an old camcorder is a style on it's own, but I'm curious what slapping a suitable LUT on top would do!

I photographed a movie last year, and we used some scenes on an old camcorder. Beautiful experience! Most was shot on a Sony Alpha with Zeiss ZF lenses (still love them), but the director and I really wanted to have that sort of gradation of textures. There was a plain sequence we made with an IPhone, and a couple shots on an old 5d. I love analog, but I think digital has had a history of its own, and I'm very fond of it. I have VHS tapes of my childhood, my first dog, my parents together... I have some phone pictures of my second dog and my teen friends, and now I have a million pictures of my nephew with two different A7r. And just to keep this nostalgic voyage kicking on - your shots reminded me of my early days watching art movies. I got to see Jancso's 'the round up' on a wide-screen VHS circa 2005, among some other classics. This video made me remember the colors, the textures, the way 640 pixels interpreted 35mm film. Thank you!

The softness of video gives the images a very dream-like quality.

Idea, take an analog bellows camera and convert it into a video camera!

The footage from the 2x adapter is damn cool even though it was misaligned.

Idk why but this just fills me with unreasonable happiness

6:07 This framing is really cool. It gives me an idea for a short film... --- Jacquie: "Your father wanted you to have this." *Jacquie pulls out a rusty, metal contraption from deep within a chest. She brushes its sides a couple times before handing it to Thomas.* Thomas: "What is it?" Jacquie: "Well, it's... Think of a happy memory. Something you did or a place you wish you could revisit." *Thomas is reluctant but eventually closes his eyes.* Jacquie: "Now imagine what's around you. Where are you? Who's around you? What is the wind doing? The trees? *Beat* Jacquie: "Once you have that, place this up to your eyes and see for yourself." *Thomas opens his eyes and peers into a dark void. A faint image emerges and a montage of Thomas's childhood memories begins. The camera zooms in slowly to fill the frame. Life and its problems fade away as Thomas sees his father grow old once again.* *Montage ends* *The camera cuts to Thomas pulling the device down from his eyes. A tear rolls down his cheek.* Thomas: "Hey, dad."

Great Video! Very Creative!

Somehow, even brand new footage from a camera like this still makes me feel nostalgic.

I don't think it's a coincidence that in a video where my face pops up, there's also Doom footage lol. But dude these results are pretty sick. Love the idea!!

That is stunning. All hobby filmers of the 80h dreamed about filming in a cinematic aspect ratio. By desqueezing you loose horizontal resolution.The video aspect ratio is 4:3. If you want to youse for a remembering in your Projek,t it looks better. The blurry resolution makes the typical VHS style. ❤

Awesome -- and that simple baseband video digitizer works pretty well. Can't wait to see the full cinematic VHS productions!!!

Anamorphic is my favorite look on the planet, thanks!

Just a few days ago, I found practically the same camcorder (VX-27) in my garage. The battery was dead, but plugging it directly worked perfectly. I probably have tapes for it in some random shelf

Most, if not all, DV camcorders were capable of recording in Standard Definition in either 4:3 or 16:9 per your choosing in the settings. I know because I have one. I purposely record in 4:3 anyway because thats kind of the novelty with these old cameras. If your camera is old enough to record analog on VHS-C or Hi8 tapes, I’m almost positive this isn’t the case. Later and more advanced versions of DV also could record in 16:9 if you wanted. It’s all about which camera you have. And there are DV camcorders that have interchangeable lenses. I understand budget is a concern, but another thing to consider with DV is avoiding these clunky “hacks” to bypass recording to the tape. Then if you wanted to dive deeper, the capturing method and preserving the integrity of the original tape file is a conversation in and of itself.

I LOVE the way you structured this video, truly beautiful, and I haven't even gotten to the anamorphic part yet! Keep up the awesome work, you might have just earned a new subscriber! :-)

This feels like a dreamy dream you never want to wake up from. A beautiful vision from far far time where everything is just perfect.

Trop bien ! merci pour la vidéo Mathieu, très interessant pour mixer avec du 16:9 classique

This was fun. I wonder if people will be equally nostalgic for today’s tech in 2054.

Hi Mathieu, I wonder if there was people that have talked to you about your gear in the streets, parks, etc. Sometimes happen when a photographer with vintage equipment is taking shots, people start asking with curiosity, sometimes other photographers, old people, childs, etc.

its like a trip back to the 80's

Good one! This is why you stay so popular.... I already imagine film makers using such inserts.

I've wanted to get a 2x anamorphic adapter for awhile, but all my cameras only have 16:9 sensor modes. Then I just realized I have a MiniDV camera that does 4:3 natively, haha. Thanks!!

the vignette looks so sick

5:31 OK... This is just about the most awesome thing I've seen this year. No joke.

Gahh I miss the 90's

I see so many of these old cameras at the thrift stores for sometimes 5 dollars

What a wonderful and creative idea, the result is weirdly gorgeous and nostalgic! I love it

Sometimes I'm thinking you're a genius really 🔥🔥

very cool! pretty nice that the camera had threads on the lens aswell. and honestly with the longer 2x adapter it actually looks pretty neat when fully zoomed out, i could see some use cases for that

This would be PERFECT for creating Liminal media or psychological horror type content

So warm to my heart sound of awakening of a VHS camcorder...

Looks like the dream sequences from prince of darkness

The natural screen-tearing/encoding rips are actually kinda dope.

Very cool, but a good workaround might be to simply shoot at a wider FOV (on film or simply at a suitable resolution) and then crop to the desired aspect ratio. Definitely can't fake those flares and the characteristic cinematic compression, though. Great work and very creative. I love how you combine your knowledge of technology and visual art.

I have a couple of vintage camcorders as well. I haven't adapted anamorphic lenses to them yet, but what a great look. Thanks for experimenting!

Sweet stuff!! I really love seeing Versailles in the winter with that setup.

Wow, I just totally love it - we have this love for vintage gear in common. I have not one, but two camcorders (which are not working, BTW) and a Mini-DV camcorder too. I love that look and feel they offer, and I even bought a capture card just to have the pleasure of converting the videos to digital format. I strongly recommend you that you hook you camera up to a CRT TV and really appreciate the magic. It looks OK on modern screens, but watching it on CRT is just glorious.

Love experiments like this. Working camcorders are ridiculously easy to find in the US lol.

its wild how good anamorphic video can make a camera look

This is a good stuff to shoot, not putting a filter or LUT for Instagram.

The footage looks soo nostalgic. I'm getting emotional for no reason

You can achieve this look with much less hassle and expense by piping any DSLR footage to the input of an old VCR then piping the output to PC. Assuming you didn't want to just do it post with filters.

This camera is a time machine everything turnings back to 90s.

OMG BEEN WAITING FOR THIS VIDEO!!!

En vrai sa peut être cool quand on a pas de budget : )

Nice little zoom on that camcorder!

01:27 this is creative

The footage reminds me of my childhood! So cool! I would love to see a short film or music video shot with this setup 😁

The test footage - is this a digitized video off tape, or direct tapeless feed into a digital box?

Seeing the cinemascope footage literally blew my mind. I've been shooting tapeless on Hi8, VHSC, as well as mini dv forever and dealing with the 4:3 footage in modern times has been tricky. Your solution is incredibly elegant. I'd love to see it on a Hi8XR Sony or a 3CCD camera like the PD-150, something with more resolution would help retain some sharpness.

thanks to video, it brought back my memories. Yesterday I used my Sony CCD-TVR99E again; it still works after 25 years.

It's amazing how a simple camera sensor converts today into the past, it's a weird feeling to know that the images were generated in the current year, I wonder someday we will have a technology that converts VHS images into modern images, just to have a different perspective of the past, can you imagine if we could see footage from 1990 looking like it was recorded today.

It has a great aesthetic!

Wow, what a cool idea, I love the footage from this combo.

Sadly, you've only got half the frame (or field) rate going on; the high field rate with global shutter is a big part of the look. Also, £800?? Holy moly that's an expensive bit of glass. Nice experiment though. The 2X looks fantastic.

The adaptor barrel shot was cool.... fantastic and interesting video... thanks

Old school is the best school. I have 2 mini dv camcorders I love.

This is a really useful aspect ratio changer. It’s almost like a focal length reducer/speedbooster. However, imo it adds almost nothing to the image itself.

Cool video! I've been putting together a similar rig using an old Canon XL2 with anamorphic lens from SLR Magic and a digital recorder from Datavideo. This was my dream camera back in the day and I'm excited to finally test it soon. I'll look forward to your next video. Thanks!

I love the enthusiasm!

For once "n years ago" felt exactly where it's supposed to be in the timeline. Also the video in general was great.

perfect camera for shooting retro pono movies

trop cool! bravo, la prochaine c'est les camera nocturnes avec lentilles anamorphiques ;)

this so absurd but so amazing

This man would adapt a Zeiss Planar to a 2003 Sony Ericsson flip phone.

Next video idea: “Cinematic Photos with a 35mm Camera & Anamorphic Adapter” You’re welcome 😉

From Panasonic's professional news division I bought a new AG-456UP S-VHS camcorder in 1999; it still works and I bought a new lead-acid battery for it last year. However, I also have an older, simpler, Sony Handycam 8mm and what happened to it a few years ago is that the rubber used in the cassette door-opening mechanism failed - so it's stuck open. In the case of camcorders, I worry more about the mechanical aspects than I do about the electronics.

At 4:06 that's not an anamorphic flare, that's a classic CCD artifact, a vertical streak. That happens every time you have a very bright source of light in your footage (and it can happen with reflections as well). Anamorphic flares are usually horizontal. About your digitizing process (and apart from that device probably yielding pretty compressed files) you might want to double check whether or not you're getting all of the information, as many of these deinterlace the footage by stripping away one field. If processed correctly, you should end up with interlaced files, 60i for NTSC and 50i for PAL, that then easily translate to 60 and 50 fps footage respectively. Maybe you decided to edit these by lowering the frame rate, which is fair, but part of the appeal of this video format is the higher frame rate. 60/50 fps is closer to what these should look like on a progressive screen. I'd recommend getting a good scaler with genlock, like the Retrotink 5X, or one of Canopus capture solutions, for example (which might be tricky to use on modern PCs, though it can be done). Love the idea of shooting anamorphic VHS, by the way, really cool.

Looking forward to the update!

This is so cool 😁 well done man, I love stuff like this.

At midzoom that anamorphic adapter really pops

I’ve been wanting to put an anamorphic adapter on a film camera and take pictures on it forever

Not wanting to spend a lot of money for an old camcorder but spending a LOT of money for a anamorphic lens. 😋 ok...... But yea this is how you actually can squeeze the most out of the low res video sensors of these old cameras without having to crop and lose resolution. So this method is definitely the go-to option if you wanna preserve as much resolutiion as possible if you aim for a widescreen image.

This is such a cool idea. I don't think I would have ever thought of this. Well done. God bless!

You should definitely try to put it on a gimbal

C'est intéressant, depuis un mois j'expérimente de l'anamorphique en 4K sur un appareil moderne. Sirui fait de bons objectifs à des prix abordables. Et je me demandais justement s'il était possible d'adapter une telle chose sur des caméscopes anciens.

Amazing!

That’s amazing, im specialised in analog video and never thought to do that on my camcorder 😮

Oh I have several mini DVs, mini VHS and a hi 8 that work with batteries.

Ok new need unlocked 😂😂

Very cool.

AMAZING

I shot Movies in the 90’s that have never been edited. I have boxes of vhs-c and Super-8 tapes to get into DiVincci Resolve somehow.

Would like to see a close up head shot of a person while retaining a wide aspect, but no fish eye warping

This is so cool

I've got an old sony handi-cam, as far as I know it was still working the last time I used it, but I haven't used it in years and years, so I'd have to see if the batteries still charged.

Wow! This is so cool! I want to try it out! Haha

Maybe make a comparison: With Adapter and with just cropping to 16:9/21:9

Must feel weird to get nostalgic over the foto taken the same day ^^D

Loved the content, subscribing ❤

Yees, you get a sub

You should try test it out on the Sony PD-150! I've just ordered a TRV900 (not sure if it'll work on that but maybe the 150 will be better)

Can you turn a kids digital camera and make the camera use normal lenses ...or take the lens from the kids digital camera and mount it on a full frame cam ... either way we would love to see it....btw enjoyed ur videos

I still have a working Canon HV20 camcorder which can shoot SD on miniDV tapes. I always was fighting to get rid off that video looking feel. Glad that video camcorder era went by.

Nice! Interesting issue to find a working old tape camera as I suspect that repairing these old camcorders is a hard thing because of the electronic components. I have an old sony super 8 camera that uses an infolithium battery that last time I turned It on worked great and the battery even held a charge but I suspect that finding a compatible infolithium battery nowadays can be an issue! Keep up the good work!

I'd love to try this on my HV30.