Bausch & Lomb Super Baltar 50mm T2.3

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Reported by rental houses to cover full frame; listed conservatively as Super 35. Introduced in the early 1960s as the successor to the original Baltars and the standard American studio prime of its day — famously used on The Godfather and its sequel. Warm, fairly sharp in the centre wide open and quite sharp by T2.8, with softer edges than modern glass. Specs are for the TLS rehousing.

Key specs

Focal length

50 mm

Max aperture

T2.3

Mount

Mitchell BNCR, PL

Image circle

Super 35

Close focus

0.36 m

Front diameter

110 mm

Weight

1.29 kg

Field of view by sensor

Full frame

39.6° horizontal · frames like 50 mm on full frame

Super 35

28° horizontal · frames like 72.3 mm on full frame

Micro Four Thirds

19.6° horizontal · frames like 104 mm on full frame

What it goes on

Rented almost exclusively as rehousings — TLS (110mm front, cam focus) is the most common, with P+S Technik and Zero Optik alternatives. Originals were in Mitchell BNC/BNCR mounts with deep rear elements, so they suit PL cameras after rehousing; rear protrusion rules out mirror-shutter film cameras on some focal lengths.

• PL camerasNativeALEXA 265, ALEXA 35, PYXIS 12K, PYXIS 6K +15 more
• Sony E camerasWith adapterRonin 4D-6K, Ronin 4D-8K, Alpha 1 II, Alpha 7 IV +13 more

  Wooden Camera E to PL · Vocas PL to E · Metabones PL-E. Solid and common. Support the lens — the E-mount is not built to carry a heavy cine zoom on its own.

• Canon RF camerasWith adapterEOS C400, EOS C50, EOS C70, EOS C80 +10 more

  Wooden Camera RF to PL · Canon PL-RF (C400 / C80) · Kipon PL-RF. Common; use lens support with heavy glass.

• L-Mount camerasWith adapterCinema Camera 6K, PYXIS 12K, PYXIS 6K, Ronin 4D-6K +6 more

  Leitz L-PL · Wooden Camera L to PL · Sigma MC-31. Common; use lens support with heavy glass.

• Micro Four Thirds camerasWith adapterMicro Studio Camera 4K G2, Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, Lumix BGH1, Lumix GH6 +1 more

  Wooden Camera MFT to PL · MTF PL to MFT. Works, with a 2x crop on Super 35 glass relative to full frame.

• LPL camerasWith adapterALEXA 265, ALEXA 35, ALEXA Mini LF, URSA Cine 17K 65

  ARRI PL-to-LPL Adapter. ARRI's own adapter, passes LDS / Cooke /i lens data.

• Nikon Z camerasWith adapterKOMODO-X 6K S35, V-RAPTOR [X] 8K VV, V-RAPTOR XE

  Wooden Camera Z to PL · Kipon PL-NIK Z. Common; use lens support with heavy glass.

• Canon EF camerasWith adapter· by flange mathsALEXA 265, ALEXA 35, ALEXA Mini LF, Pocket Cinema Camera 6K G2 +14 more

  17.5 mm of room for a plain ring. Check rear-element and mirror clearance before buying.

• Leica M camerasWith adapter· by flange mathsALEXA 265, ALEXA 35, ALEXA Mini LF, Ronin 4D-6K +1 more

  33.7 mm of room for a plain ring. Check rear-element and mirror clearance before buying.

• B4 (2/3") camerasWith adapter· by flange mathsURSA Broadcast G2, URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2, AJ-CX4000

  13.5 mm of room for a plain ring. Check rear-element and mirror clearance before buying.

• Nikon F camerasWith adapter· by flange mathsURSA Mini Pro 12K, URSA Mini Pro 12K OLPF, URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2

  15 mm of room for a plain ring. Check rear-element and mirror clearance before buying.

See every camera this lens fits →

Sources: oldfastglass.com, truelens.co.uk