* FOR SALE *

Zero Optik Bausch & Lomb Baltars in a 6-Lens Set

18.5mm | T2.4 | Angenieux Type R2

25mm | T2.5 | B&L Baltar

50mm | T2.5 | B&L Baltar

75mm | T2.5 | B&L Baltar

100mm | T2.5 | B&L Baltar

152mm | T2.5 | B&L Baltar

(Contact: umuima@gmail.com)

The Original Baltars were introduced in the 1930s and used until the 60s when the Super Baltars were introduced. There’s a mix of TV and film lenses in the set - some from Rocherster, NY but all of the specific dates are across the board - more produced in late 30s/ early 40s.

"Bausch and Lomb’s original Baltar lenses were designed in the late 1930s 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."

One of the most prominent films to recently shoot on original Baltars was El Conde (2023) Ed Lachman used a set of zero optik baltars specifically designed to cover the Alexa 65 on the wider 25 lens as well. The Lighthouse (2019), shot by Jarin Blaschke on a Panavision Millennium XL2 on Kodak Double-X black and white 5222 film stock. Magnificent Ambersons (1942), Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960). And of course, Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil (1958), was shot almost entirely on the Angenieux 18.5mm T2.4. 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. 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.