4" x 8 1/4", double-sided, three panel fold-out (6 panels) Switzerland: Paillard S.A. (1958).

Jim Exley, a Bolex collector from the UK, has kindly sent us some scans of his French language Anamorphot brochure. It's from 1958 and is stamped for "Photo-Plage", a photographic shop and Bolex dealer in Nieuport, Belgium at the time.

The Bolex Anamorphot attachment was used to create widescreen movies by compressing a wider image onto the normal 4:3 aspect ratio of a film frame.

Above: A comparative illustration showing a scene photographed with the Bolex Anamorphot. The white markings indicate the standard aspect ratio of 8mm/16mm film without the Anamorphot.

After the film was processed, it could be projected as a widescreen image by placing the Anamorphot attachment in front of the projector lens (with a special bracket.) The above picture, from the brochure, shows how a scene would appear when filmed and later projected with the Anamorphot. I created the image below to show how the Anamorphot "squeezes" the wide image onto the standard 4:3 frame.

Above: This image shows the scene as it would be exposed onto the normal aspect ratio of 16mm film. The frame appears compressed when projected, unless the Anamophot is attached to the projector.

Here are some more scans from the brochure of the Anamorphot and its mounting brackets for different cameras.:

The back of the brochure shows the same attachment used on a B8, H16 Reflex and M8 projector.

...and a list of Bolex product codes for the 8mm and 16mm Anamorphot with mounting brackets for cameras and projectors:

Above: Bolex product code list for the Anamorphot, its viewfinder attachments and lens brackets.

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