MORE INFO

We could not sum these lenses up any better than the folks at Zero Optik: “Bausch and Lomb’s original Baltar lenses were designed in the late 1930’s and represent the first cohesive set of cinema primes to be manufactured in the United States. Nearly the entire range is based on the same optical design, making them much more consistent in performance when compared to their successors, the Super Baltars.

The combination of field curvature, single-layer coatings, and primitive glass polishing techniques create images unlike anything modern glass is capable of without sacrificing clarity or resolution.”

* We are fortunate to also have the Angenieux Type R2 18.5mm T2.4 (also rehoused by Zero Optik) to round out the set on the wide end. This lens was released in 1951, and its optical design, and single layer coatings make it the perfect match for the Baltars.

In additional to rendering gorgeous images, the 18.5mm through 75mm are all under 2 pounds! They are perfect for when you need a compact build.

One of the most prominent films to recently shoot on original Baltars was The Lighthouse (2019), shot by Jarin Blaschke on a Panavision Millennium XL2 on Kodak Double-X black and white 5222 film stock. And of course, Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil (1958) was shot almost entirely on the Angenieux 18.5mm T2.4.