Kern-Paillard Yvar 16mm

The Kern-Paillard Yvar 16mm f/2.8 is a compact Swiss-made cine prime designed for 16mm filmmaking and Bolex H16 cameras.

Its 16mm focal length gives a moderately wide field of view on standard 16mm film, making it a useful lens for everyday filmmaking, interiors, landscapes and wider environmental shots. The f/2.8 aperture keeps the lens small and straightforward, while manual focus and aperture give you direct control over the image.

It uses the standard C-Mount, making it compatible with appropriate Bolex and other 16mm C-Mount cameras. Vintage C-Mount lenses like this can also be adapted to some modern digital cameras, although sensor coverage needs to be considered.

This Yvar is a normal C-Mount lens. That's an important distinction when choosing glass for different Bolex H16 bodies. 

Best for

• 16mm filmmaking
• Bolex H16 cameras
• Wider environmental shots
• Interiors
• Landscapes
• Documentary filmmaking
• Experimental filmmaking
• Vintage cine setups
• C-Mount digital adaptation
• Bolex and Kern collectors

What to expect

On standard 16mm film, the 16mm focal length provides a moderately wide perspective, rather than the much wider view of something like the 10mm Switar or the more natural perspective of a 25mm lens. Bolex's historical lens information specifically describes the 16mm Yvar as moderately wide angle.

The lens is fully manual, with manual focus and aperture adjustment. Contemporary examples identify a minimum focusing distance of approximately 0.3m, while historical specifications put it at roughly 1 foot, effectively the same distance.

It also uses Kern's Visifocus depth-of-field scale, designed to give the operator a quick visual indication of the usable depth of field at different focus distances and apertures.