Photographer makes a working lens from toilet paper

Mathieu Stern has found or even made some pretty weird lenses. And it looks like he hasn’t been bored in isolation. He made a lens out of the most precious commodity during the coronavirus crisis – toilet paper. And yes, he even took some shots with it!

“There is no concrete reason why we need more toilet paper than usual during this pandemic but maybe one good reason is that everyone wants to make camera lenses,” Mathieu writes in the description. Indeed, I have no idea while people are making toilet paper stocks, out of all things. Who knows, maybe they really want to make some insane experiments with it. After all, it seems pretty simple to make a lens.

Mathieu inserted a lens inside a cardboard tube of the roll and used another tube to create a focusing barrel. Onto this second tube, he attached a flat M42 to E-mount adapter and an M42 iris diaphragm. By moving the toilet paper roll back and forth, it’s possible to adjust focus.

Of course, he tested his lens a bit, here are a few screenshots:

Of course, the results are pretty crappy, as Mathieu admits himself. “But it’s pretty normal for a toilet paper lens,” he adds. That was my first thought, too. Still, a great thing about this lens is that it’s “two-in-one.” You can take photos with it, but you can still use it for… well, you know, other purposes. All in all, this video has really made my day and I hope that it has given you some ideas what to do if you’re bored in isolation.

[I Made a CAMERA LENS out of Toilet Paper | Mathieu Stern]