[Cine lens] Bell&Howell Super Comat 1inch F1.9 Review – Same lens as Taylor Hobson 1inch F1.9?

Hiron
Hello, my name is hiron. I am a vintage lens addict. (Twitter / Youtube)

This time I review Bell & Howell Super Comat 1inch F1.9.

This lens was purchased from a USA seller on ebay.

Unlike the cine-lens I bought in Japan before, it is in very good condition. You can imagine that there are many things in good condition in the country where they were manufactured.

Bell & Howell Super Comat 1inch F1.9 may be the same lens as Taylor Hobson 1inch F1.9.

Bell & Howell Super Comat 1inch F1.9 is a lens for 16mm film movie camera.

I bought this from USA through ebay because cine lenses are expensive in Japan. The shipping cost from USA to Japan is slightly higher, but it was cheaper than buying this lens in Japan.

I feel the advantage of the country of origin.

I have noticed after investigating Bell & Howell Super Comat 1inch F1.9. That may be the same lens as the Taylor Hobson 1inch F1.9 I reviewed earlier.

The Super Comat I purchased has only the notation Bell & Howell. However, Bell & Howell is a USA movie equipment manufacturer and probably does not make optical products.

The lens may still be made by Taylor Hobson, England.

In fact, I found Super Comat online with Taylor Hobson.

Bell & Howell Super Comat 1inch F1.9 and Taylor Hobson 1inch F1.9 may be the same lens or very similar lenses.

However, the appearance design is completely different.

Select mount adapter (to use C-mount cine lens with mirrorless camera)

This Bell&Howell Super Comat 1inch F1.9 is a lens with C mount.

A mount adapter is required to use a C-mount cine lens with a mirrorless camera camera.

For Olympus, Panasonic: C-M4/3 adapter
For Nikon1: C-Nikon1 adapter
For SONY: C-NEX adapter
For Fujifilm: C-FX adapter
For Canon: C-EOS M adapter

The C-mount is recommended for use with cameras with small sensors such as Micro Four Thirds mount and Nikon1 mount.

Use a mount adapter suitable for your digital camera.

Photo samples with Bell&Howell Super Comat 1inch F1.9 attached to Nikon1 J1

Here are some photo samples from Bell & Howell Super Comat 1inch F1.9. As the camera body, we used Nikon1, which can take photos without vignetting even with C-mount lens.

Photo features by Bell & Howell Super Comat 1inch F1.9

First, I took a photo shoot in the neighborhood to find out the characteristics of the photo.

The center of the photo has high resolution, but swirly bokeh was created outside.

If you take a pull photo, you will see that the outside of the photo is blurry.

in Shibuya, Tokyo

I went to Shibuya with Bell & Howell Super Comat 1inch F1.9.

Shibuya is the most famous place in Tokyo, Japan. Have you ever heard of “Shibuya Scramble Crossing“?

Shibuya Scramble Crossing location

 

For uncomplicated landscape photos, this lens will not notice any blurring outside the photo.

In close-up, the people in the background were strangely blurred. It’s like an oil painting.

This is the Shibuya Scramble Crossing. There are many tourists taking photos here.

Since swirly bokeh occurs outside the photo, it seems to have an effect of making the center person look. The photo looks very dramatic.

Cine lens Bell&Howell Super Comat 1inch F1.9 Review Summary

This time, I reviewed C mount cine lens Bell&Howell Super Comat 1inch F1.9.

This is the lens I bought from a seller in USA through ebay. The photo created swirly bokeh like an oil painting. I think that swirly bokeh with this lens has the effect of making the center stand out.

On the other hand, this lens may be the same lens as Taylor Hobson 1inch F1.9 reviewed previously. Although its appearance is quite different. Please note that point.

Thank you for reading to the end.

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