Som Berthiot Cinor 10MM f1.9 C-mount

[RogerG]

Hi,

Do any of you have experience using the Som Berthiot Cinor 10mm f1.9 c-mount prime on a Bolex H16 RX? Wondering how you feel about the quality, especially compared to Kern Switars or other RX mount lenses.

Thanks,
Roger

[bolextech]

I don't have any direct experience with this lens but I know that some Berthiot lenses were specially made for the Bolex H16 Reflex and are marked as such with H16RX. If it is marked, then it should give acceptable results. If it is not marked, it is likely to yield soft images at the widest opening (f/1.9), improving progressively as you stop down. At f/4 and smaller, it should be of acceptable sharpness.

Cheers,
Jean-Louis

[Lunar07]

As Jean-Louis mentioned, Som Berthiot made this lens in an RX version. It is better to get the RX version.
Both, this and the Switar, are good. Howeveer, the Som Berthiot shows very slight spherical abberations at the edges in addition to flare. The Switar does not. Reason is that Kern's achromatic elements that are added to the RX versions are much better (Zeiss glass). If you do not mind that, the Som Berthiot is a good choice.
Another excellent choice that is on par with the Switar is the Schneider Kreuznach 10mm RX version (the black model with the two push buttons). Hard to find. But my issue with them is that the aperture ring with the push buttons tend to come loose after a while.
I am not aware of any other RX 10mm lens made by other companies.
Maybe Wollensak made them also? I do not know.

[RogerG]

Thank you for your replies. This is exactly the type of information I'm looking for. I'm only interested in RX lenses. I shoot mostly 100D, which results in some pretty small f-stops. Is this a positive or a negative for the Som Berthiot?

[Lunar07]

With 100D and small apertures (f/4 and smaller) that would be quite fine.