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Breathing new life into an old vintage slide projector lens with 3D printing

Browsing through an antiques shop, I stumbled upon a Kodak slide projector with a very peculiar attachment: a large lens. This particular lens caught my eye as it was an absolute behemoth. It was heavy and had “ISCO GERMANY” engraved into it.

After seeing the price of only $10, I had no choice but to bring it home with me. My intentions were realized but not well thought out; remove the lens and convert it to fit on my DSLR. After poking and prodding the projector, I assumed the lens was removable and went at it with a screwdriver. Thankfully this assumption was right, and it was removed easily.

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Shooting a giant crazy wide angle f/2 projector lens on the Fuji GFX100

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Weird lenses are always fun, and they seem to be popping up quite regularly. But there isn’t much out there that’s weirder than this. This is a super wide-angle Iwerks f/2.0 lens, designed to project 70mm film. Here, though, Jay P Morgan is using it the other way around to get an ultra-wide view on the world shooting portraits in a local market.

Jay P’s shooting the somewhat ridiculous looking lens on the Fuji GFX 100 medium format camera – which still doesn’t cover the entire projection circle of this insane lens. Originally designed to project images inside a domed cinema, it actually works pretty well for shooting some interesting looking indoor portraits, thanks to that wide f/2.0 aperture.

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Photographer rigs an IMAX projector lens to a Canon EOS R

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When shooting street photography, you’ll most likely choose a small and discreet lens. But sometimes it’s worth experimenting with bulky ones, and Jay P. Morgan sure took it to a new level. He rigged a huge IMAX projector lens onto a Canon EOS R camera. He used a very DIY approach to make it work, but it was worth the effort because the photos are truly something else.

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This $20 projector lens has the most amazing swirly bokeh

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If you like swirly bokeh as much as I do, here’s a real treat. Kipronar 105mm f/1.9 is a cheap projector lens that will give you the most amazing bokeh for photos and videos. Mathieu Stern found one for only €20 (around $23) and in this video, he shows you what it can do.

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You REALLY like swirly bokeh? Then check out this rare projector lens

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Photographer Mathieu Stern has built an admirable collection of rare, weird, super-cheap and DIY lenses so far. With his latest finding, he kinda brought all of this together. He laid his hands on a Cinestar 75mm f/1.9, a cinema projector lens. After making his own adapter, he used it on a Sony a7 III and tested it in a video. If you are a swirly bokeh fan, you’re gonna love it.

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How to use a $6 slide projector lens for stunning portraits

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Photographer Mathieu Stern is passionate about finding and even making unusual lenses. This time, he hit a flea market and found a $6 treasure: Rollei 90mm f/2.4 MC. It’s a slide projector lens, but Mathieu adapted it to his Sony mirrorless camera and found out that it’s also great for portraits.

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This 70 year old projector lens creates “insane swirly bokeh” that rivals a $7K Leica

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Weird and crazy lenses is what Mathieu Stern has become known for. He seems to find some of the most unusual lenses that ever existed, and then makes them fit onto his Sony mirrorless camera. Fortunately for us, he posts images and video captured by those lenses he finds to YouTube.

And this particular lens is a beauty. A Carl Zeiss Kipronar 120mm f/1.9 projector lens which cost him only $70. It’s fixed wide open at f/1.9 and was never meant to be used for shooting photos. But Mathieu was able to adapt it. He says the closest he could find to a modern equivalent of this lens is the $7,000 Leica APO-Macro_Summarit-S F2.5/120mm.

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NEX-7 With a 140mm f1.8 Projector Lens Makes The Most Beautiful Photos

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With lenses getting more and more expensive, here is a nice trick for getting wonderful photos with an f/1.8 140mm lens for less than 100$.

Austria based photographer Attila Fricz of mflenses hacked together an old KO 140mm f1.8 projector lens to a Sony NEX-7 and the results are a delight.

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How pro cinema lens techs test their camera lenses with a projector

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When most of us are testing out new lenses, it’s often a very subjective thing. And our testing exercises are rarely very scientific. In fact, we may not even notice some issues until we’ve had a lens for a few months. Then, one day, the problem pops up, clear as day. For cinematographers that rely on a certain level of technical excellence in the equipment, though, it’s a big deal.

They want to know that a lens can stand up to the task. That multiple lenses used to shoot a scene from multiple angles are consistent. Rental houses also want to be sure that equipment comes back to them in the same condition as when it left. So, they take things a little more seriously. This video from Cinematography Database shows off some of the process, and what they’re looking for when testing.

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How I used this crazy vintage 140mm f/1.0 lens with an ultra-large format camera

In short words “this lens is something else”. It’s extremely fast, huge and has a strange focus distance. It was used in Sony CRT Projectors from 1997. I bought it some years ago from a very interesting guy. He had so many more great stuff in his shop and I regret that I did not buy more. It took me some time to find the right opportunity to use that lens. But I think it was worth the waiting. I am glad my friend and former workshop participant Alois Stingl came over with his wonderful ultra-large format camera.

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