Released in the early 1960s, the Bausch & Lomb Super Baltars are the successors to the original Baltars. With the introduction of reflex camera systems, the wider focal lengths in the original Baltars were not compatible with the newer reflex 35mm cameras. With the adoption of retrofocus optical designs for the wider lenses, the Super Baltars were engineered to be compatible with the spinning mirrors of reflex film cameras. Bausch & Lomb added the impressive 20mm T2.3 focal length, which covers Alexa Mini Open Gate! The Super Baltars are also slightly faster at f2 (T2.3) compared to the original Baltars maximum aperture of f2.3 (T2.5). Super Baltars went on to be one of the most popular cinema lens choices for decades.

The lenses have their iconic blue/purple coatings which result in images that are warm in tone and flares are a beautiful blue or purple depending on your white balance and light source. They are sharp on center, even wide open, have medium contrast, and have softer edges than modern lenses. Wide open, they have beautiful textured bokeh.

B & L Super Baltars were used to Shoot The Godfather parts 1 and 2. If you are looking for more modern examples of what they can do, they were the primary lenses used for Rush (2013) and The Witch (2015).

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