anamorphic lens

American  

noun

Movies, Optics.

1. a compound lens or system of lenses that compresses the camera image in the horizontal direction during filming, so that a wide-screen image can fit on the width of conventional 35-millimeter film.

2. a similar system used in projection that horizontally expands the compressed image back to its original wide-screen aspect ratio.

---

anamorphic lens British  

noun

1. a component in the optical system of a film projector for converting standard 35mm film images into wide-screen format

---

Etymology

Origin of anamorphic lens

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

“It gives you the quality of an older anamorphic lens that bends and focus-breathes a certain way, with the benefit of these large formats,” Montpellier notes.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 4, 2023

This starter kit comes with a a mounting case and your choice of lens, including a tele 58mm lens, a wide 18mm lens, and an anamorphic lens, among others.

From The Verge • Nov. 9, 2020

Her husband, Patrick Loungway, a cinematographer, suggested that she use an anamorphic lens to replicate the look of a CinemaScope film.

From New York Times • Oct. 26, 2020

We only shot with, at the most, two at a time, using an anamorphic lens adapter that allowed us to shoot true CinemaScope.

From Washington Post • Jul. 17, 2015

The movie’s awareness of its own movieness is underlined by lots of shallow focus and anamorphic lens flares, and one extended shootout at a neon-lit nightclub—the movie’s high point—seems straight out of Collateral.

From Slate • Oct. 24, 2014