Vertical short-form video has become a permanent part of content creation, but shooting vertical with a traditional anamorphic lens usually means giving up the signature horizontal squeeze, oval bokeh, and horizontal flare streaks that make anamorphic footage recognizable. The SIRUI Saturn V2 full-frame anamorphic lens series solves this with a built-in 90° rotating mechanism, letting creators switch between horizontal and vertical anamorphic shooting without removing the lens from the camera.
How the Saturn V2 Rotating Mechanism Works
On a standard anamorphic lens, the squeeze effect depends on a fixed internal optical layout — mount the lens vertically and the squeeze direction, oval bokeh shape, and flare orientation all rotate the wrong way with it. The Saturn V2 series (35mm/50mm/75mm, T2.9, 1.6x squeeze) solves this by rotating the internal optical structure independently of the lens barrel and mount. The result: horizontal squeeze, oval defocus, and horizontal flare streaks stay correctly oriented whether you're shooting 16:9 or 9:16.
Step-by-Step: Switching Between Horizontal and Vertical
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Flip the switch: Locate the switch on the lens barrel and flip it to release the optical group.
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Rotate: Rotate the lens 90 degrees in the labeled direction — this is the step that actually reorients the internal optics, not the lens mount.
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Lock it into position: Flip the switch back to lock the optical group in place — you'll hear a clear click confirming it's locked — then confirm through the viewfinder that the squeeze ratio looks correct before shooting.
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Common mistake to avoid: Never start shooting if the switch isn't fully locked back — a slightly misaligned optical group causes an uneven squeeze that's hard to spot on a small monitor. Check on an external monitor at higher zoom if possible.
Use Case 1: Vertical Vlogs and Short-Form Content
Most vlog and short-form footage is shot handheld and edited quickly, so the 35mm focal length is the practical choice: it's wide enough to keep a subject and their surroundings in frame without stepping back, which matters when filming in tight indoor spaces or crowded outdoor locations.
Because the rotating mechanism doesn't require removing the lens, creators can start a sit-down talking segment in horizontal, then rotate to vertical mid-session for a walk-and-talk cutaway, without breaking focus pull continuity or having to recalibrate a different lens. The oval bokeh also helps separate a subject from a busy background — useful for street-style vlogging where the backdrop can't be controlled — while the horizontal flare streaks add a filmic accent to golden-hour or neon-lit shots that a standard spherical lens wouldn't produce.
Use Case 2: Dual-Format Commercial Shoots
Commercial and social-ad production increasingly needs two deliverables from one shoot day: a horizontal TVC-style cut for YouTube pre-roll or connected TV, and a vertical cut for Instagram Reels or TikTok feed ads. Reshooting the vertical version separately doubles the lighting, crew, and location cost, and often leaves the two cuts looking slightly different.
The 50mm focal length is the practical middle ground for this use case — close enough for product or spokesperson shots, wide enough to still read the environment, in both orientations. On set, the workflow is straightforward: light and block the horizontal hero shots first, then rotate the lens to vertical for close-up cutaways and product inserts using the same lighting setup, since the rotation doesn't shift the lens's optical center enough to require re-metering. This keeps color, contrast, and bokeh character consistent across both deliverables, which matters when a client is comparing the two cuts side by side.
Use Case 3: Vertical Music Video Production
This scenario works a little differently from the first two, so it's worth explaining in more depth.
Music videos are typically released in both horizontal (YouTube, Bilibili) and vertical (TikTok, Reels, Douyin) formats, and an artist's visual identity — a specific bokeh shape or flare character — is often how fans recognize "whose video this is." If the horizontal and vertical cuts are shot on different lenses, the visual identity breaks between formats.
This is where the Saturn V2's rotating mechanism becomes genuinely useful on set: block and shoot the horizontal coverage first, since the squeeze ratio is easiest to judge in a horizontal frame; then, when a vertical shot is needed, rotate the optical structure on the same lens for close-ups or performance shots, with no relighting or separate color pass required — both cuts share the same visual language.
Music video shoots also lean heavily on gimbals. Because switching orientation on the Saturn V2 only rotates the internal optics rather than the whole lens body or mount, the camera's balance point barely shifts — unlike swapping lenses or re-mounting the camera sideways, which would normally require re-balancing the gimbal. That's a real time saver on a tight MV shoot day. The oval bokeh in vertical close-ups also tends to read especially well for performance-heavy videos that lean on facial expression and body line.
Final Thoughts
The Saturn V2 isn't just about being able to shoot vertical with an anamorphic lens — it's about keeping the horizontal and vertical versions looking like they came from the same shoot. For short-form creators, ad teams, and music video directors, one lens covering both formats means less relighting, less recoloring, and no need to rent a second lens set.
Saturn V2 Series T2.9 1.6x Full-Frame Anamorphic Cine Lens
- Full Frame | T2.9-T16 Aperture Range
- Rotates 90°, Horizontal/Vertical Switch
- 2.84:1 from 16:9, 2.4:1 from 3:2 Frame
- 2:4:1 & 2:8:1 De-Squeeze Aspect Ratios
- Neutral Streak Effects, Oval Bokeh
