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.

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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

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Etymology

Origin of anamorphic lens

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

Beyond Steven Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “E.T.,” the shared influences of the sci-fi horror of “The Thing” and “Alien” influenced their choice of a virtual anamorphic lens for their cinematography and aping the visual noise and atmospheric mist in those films.

From Los Angeles Times

And like most things, we do that through the gauzy anamorphic lens of Hollywood.

From Los Angeles Times

“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

So that anamorphic lens choice — he really tried to approximate the same kind of filmmaking in terms of technique and equipment that would have been used from the ‘70s to capture the grittiness,” Docter says.

From Los Angeles Times

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