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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

NEO Super Baltars

Hello,

Yes Instagram is not the greatest representation of photographic integrity, indeed.

Shadows / highlights / contrast / etc. are all effected by the compression, but we try our best to actually compensate and created a LUT to offset that, then we post and import to Instagram, so we get "pretty" close, but still there is some integrity missing from the original Camera "Negative".

That said, if any potential clients need Full uncompressed samples, we are happy to provide them by email.

Please contact us: Tim@cinoflex.com
 
Aaron Lochert said:
I hope Instagram isn't the only place we'll be able to view these samples. Instagram is not very forgiving when it comes to resolution and compression.
Click to expand...

Hello,

Yes Instagram is not the greatest representation of photographic integrity, indeed.

Shadows / highlights / contrast / etc. are all effected by the compression, but we try our best to actually compensate and created a LUT to offset that, then we post and import to Instagram, so we get "pretty" close, but still there is some integrity missing from the original Camera "Negative".

That said, if any potential clients need Full uncompressed samples, we are happy to provide them by email.

Please contact us: Tim@cinoflex.com
 
tim ara said:
Thank you Rand,

You have a great / objective eye for these lenses (heck for optics in general)

appreciate all your contributions and educated details on Reduser over the years!!!

Keep it up!!
Click to expand...


Thanks Tim, I really appreciate it!
 
rand thompson said:
Bjorn,


So you've used a perfect example of the Bausch & Lomb Super Baltars? Not your copy that I believe you sold, not the super Baltars that have been recoated, not the Super Baltars with various levels of coating deterioration over time . The sample videos I've provided are from Super Baltars that have been retreated , at different levels of maintenance and at different levels of deterioration.

I don't know what differences the lack of those radioactive elements and other advancements in lens design will make . But you seem to believe you know what the "Actual" look, as intended by Bausch & Lomb for Super Baltars, was based on the copies you've owned and or used . No, the best representational videos I could have posted would be of the Neo Super Baltars, which Brian stated are made based from the original Bausch & Lomb Super Baltars lens designs, and a Bausch& Lomb Super Baltar still "brand new" unopened in it's original box with its lens coatings unaffected by time.
Click to expand...


I doubt anyone including the maker of neo baltars has a time machine to go back and test the originals, new out of the box to do a comparision.

Not sure what you mean with “copies that I owned”. In the past I had a set of originals super baltars with the original housings and coatings that was all pretty well preserved. So yes I think I got a pretty good idea what those looks like.

What Im saying is the relevant links would be side by side tests.
 
No time machine required, just really a Super Baltar lens that was rarely used, which needed to be cleaned rarely , exquisitely maintained , never rehoused or recoated and which haven't succumb to the "Yellowing" or "Browning" of the Thorium Oxide present in the glass, which was used to control Chromatic Aberration in the lens. Basically, a Super Baltar lens which never " went out of spec." To compare the Neo Super Baltar lenses to , which are also designed on those same specifications.

When I first started this thread I wrongly assumed that yellow hue I saw in some of the video example was part of the intended look of the original Bausch&Lomb Super Baltar design. It's a byproduct of the aging radioactive Thorium Oxide formulated inside of some of the Super Baltar lenses not so much the lens coating which is why it's more pronounced in some Some Super Baltar lenses than in others.

You stated that you

"had a set of originals super baltars with the original housings and coatings that was all pretty well preserved. So yes I think I got a pretty good idea what those looks like."

Did you mean "Well perserved" as in adhering to the original Super Baltar lens performance tolerances or as in relation to other 50+ year old Super Baltars lenses in their current state currently on the market?
 
Voxivo Cloud Phone System Launch Spot


By Inventor Films Ltd

https://vimeo.com/232510987

DUE TO PRIVACY SETTINGS THIS VIDEO WILL HAVE TO BE SEEN ON VIMEO

Info about camera and lens used can be found at the link below.

https://insta-stalker.com/post/Bsi8WCmHyn0/

Arri Alexa/ Super Baltar


Director & Producer Rafael Cortes |
Lighting Cameraman Gerard Botha |
Music by Alexis Smith, Joe Henson and Dot Allison
 
rand thompson said:
No time machine required, just really a Super Baltar lens that was rarely used, which needed to be cleaned rarely , exquisitely maintained , never rehoused or recoated and which haven't succumb to the "Yellowing" or "Browning" of the Thorium Oxide present in the glass, which was used to control Chromatic Aberration in the lens. Basically, a Super Baltar lens which never " went out of spec." To compare the Neo Super Baltar lenses to , which are also designed on those same specifications.

When I first started this thread I wrongly assumed that yellow hue I saw in some of the video example was part of the intended look of the original Bausch&Lomb Super Baltar design. It's a byproduct of the aging radioactive Thorium Oxide formulated inside of some of the Super Baltar lenses not so much the lens coating which is why it's more pronounced in some Some Super Baltar lenses than in others.

You stated that you

"had a set of originals super baltars with the original housings and coatings that was all pretty well preserved. So yes I think I got a pretty good idea what those looks like."

Did you mean "Well perserved" as in adhering to the original Super Baltar lens performance tolerances or as in relation to other 50+ year old Super Baltars lenses in their current state currently on the market?
Click to expand...

Mine where well maintained, had little faults and not much of a yellow tint or such which they normally get from being on the shelf for long period of times. I sold my set to a DP in Norway for about 10 times as much as I bought them for... like 12 years back... and Im sure if he sells them today he will get 10 times more than he paid me. So yes, I would say it was a pretty well preserved set of lenses. Its not like they where built with poor tolerances and such 50 years back, they knew quite well what they where doing back then, but the original builds where quite fragile and the housings usually gets worn out over time especially if using bad motors and such. But the actual elements sits in a cell and is easily removable from the housings and usually stays together quite well so baltars are in that sense quite easy to service and maintain.


That Thorium Oxide look is difficult to mimic. Or any lens where you don´t have the exact same minerals with the exact same index in the elements and the exact same coatings etc it will simply not look the same. Would be interesting to see how close these are, a side by side test with flares etc would show I have not seen such test though.
 
I say let's see the tests of a well maintained and cared for Bausch & Super Baltar lens with its radioactive lens elements used to control chromatic aberration and its 50+ year old lens design and processing techniques against a Neo Super Baltar with present day lens design advancements and whatever "rare earth" minerals and modern lens coating refinements Brian felt he needed to accurately approximate the Bausch & Lomb Super Baltar lens performance and both tangible and intangible lens characteristics . Let's not base our decision on the viability of the Neo Super Baltars on hypotheticals or other none important factors.
 
Watched Nic demo these lenses at Cinegear today. After seeing them mounted on a Sony Venice with a subject framed up, I have to say, these were among the most interesting lenses at the event today. I really liked what they were doing.
 
Bill,



That's great to hear! Maybe more test of the Neo Super Baltars will become available soon
 
On a side note, what are the type of prices original Super Baltars go for now?

I purchased a small set a while back (still in BNCR) from an animation studio (so very little use in the field) - 25mm, 35mm, 50mm & 75mm - alongside a Colcine 2 X adaptor (original Mitchell bayonet) and didn't get around to converting them.
 
Andy White said:
On a side note, what are the type of prices original Super Baltars go for now?

I purchased a small set a while back (still in BNCR) from an animation studio (so very little use in the field) - 25mm, 35mm, 50mm & 75mm - alongside a Colcine 2 X adaptor (original Mitchell bayonet) and didn't get around to converting them.
Click to expand...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-Balt...204158?hash=item2acd40d37e:g:8B4AAOSw-79c8ex-

atleast this is what he is asking

Screenshot-583.png
 
You're welcome Andy. Yeah , let's see if they sell for that price. I tried to find a completed auction for a set of Super Baltars but Ebay didn't show any.
 
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Thanks for posting this Uday! I've been blocked from Instagram for both the super/neo Super baltars and Atlas Anamorphic posts. I guess from using them so much to find new video posts so I haven't been able to check for new info lately.
 
Just checked, I seem to be unblocked from the Super Baltar Posts on Instagram, I'm back bitches!! Atleast for now. Unfortunately this is still a "Super Baltar" example. I can't seem to find any "Neo Super Baltar" examples yet.

THE MOSS MAN - Official Trailer (2019)


By Vickey Song


Info about lens and camera used can be found at the link below

https://www.instagram.com/p/ByqQ6kVnI5X/

Arri Alexa/ Super Baltars
 
I am surprised to see the Price being $8000 USD per lens from TLS. Compared to WhitePoint Optics version ($13500) listed at B&H.
Double checked with Duclos and they mentioned its for the Lens, not just for rehousing.

May be this is the most affordable Vintage Characteristics lens in the market for Full frame ( During NAB, it was mentioned that 25mm above covers both Sony Venice and Alexa LF).
 
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