Filmmakers and audiences alike have grown up with the uniquely cinematic anamorphic look and associate it with the emotional impact of big-screen movies.  The sheer width and clarity of the format, its shallow depth of field, the way it handles out of focus backgrounds and flares, all of these have been burned into the subconscious of cinema-goers for over half a century.

The D-21 is uniquely positioned to allow the use of anamorphic lenses through its 4:3 format sensor, which captures the whole image projected by anamorphic lenses.  Most other digital cameras with their 16:9 sensors are less than ideal for anamorphic lenses.

The D-21 delivers 33% more resolution with anamorphic lenses compared to digital cameras with 1.78 sensors.