Sometimes retro lo-fi lenses are just too fun to leave on the antique store shelf. A couple years ago I picked up this amazing little C-mount Baush and Lomb 26mm f/1.9 lens (pictured above), and since then I’ve used it on multiple projects with my Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera, which has a super16 sized sensor that is very similar in size to the 16mm film the lens was originally meant to shoot on. You can read more about my experiences with the camera here, but this past summer I started experimenting with mounting the lens on a Sony A7R II, a camera that has a much larger full frame sensor. Shooting on a sensor size that this little lens was never meant for adds a lot of distortion and vignette, but I kind pf like the effect, especially after a couple of tweeks in post.
Here’s a video I shot with this lens/camera combo:
I also shot a lot of photos this summer with this setup. Check out some of my favorite images below.
And finally, here’s a video I made for Fotodiox explaining some of the technical hurdles I encountered shooting with this setup, as well as some of the solutions I discovered in the process.