SOM Berthiot Paris Cinor 50mm

The SOM Berthiot Paris Cinor 50mm f/3.5, D Mount is a compact vintage French cine prime from one of the better-known names in mid-century motion-picture optics.

At 50mm, it's a telephoto focal length in the small-format cine systems these Cinor lenses were designed around, making it useful when you want a tighter field of view than the standard lenses commonly fitted to vintage movie cameras.

It's a fully manual prime with a maximum aperture of f/3.5, designed around the simple, compact approach of vintage cine photography.

SOM Berthiot produced a broad range of cine optics in France, including lenses for both 8mm and 16mm systems. The company also had a close relationship with Paillard, which distributed Berthiot lenses alongside Bolex equipment during the period. 

Best for

• Vintage cine cameras
• Telephoto cine shooting
• Tighter framing
• Portrait-style compositions
• Manual-focus filmmaking
• Experimental filmmaking
• Vintage lens adaptation
• SOM Berthiot collectors
• Vintage French lens collections

What to expect

A 50mm lens is relatively long in traditional 8mm and 16mm cine formats, so this isn't the general-purpose perspective you'd associate with a 50mm lens on a modern full-frame stills camera.

Instead, expect a considerably tighter field of view, useful for isolating subjects or working at a greater distance.