Photographer rigs an IMAX projector lens to a Canon EOS R

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.

To use this IMAX lens with a Canon EOS R, it’s necessary to enable shooting without the lens in the camera menu. Jay P. didn’t attach the lens to the camera because there’s no adapter. In order to be able to focus, he created a wooden rig that allowed him to move the camera back and forth.

Jay. P’s approach reminded me of Mathieu Stern’s experiment with an f/0.75 Canon projector lens. But while the f/0.75 lens produces photos that are quite soft, the IMAX lens Jay P. used is a whole lot different. The subject in the center is pin-sharp, but the image gets much softer towards the edges, especially towards the bottom. This must be because the lens was slightly tilted in relation to the sensor but it produced a pretty epic effect, in my opinion. The angle of view is 180°, so portraits taken with it look truly unique.

I personally love how this lens performs on a mirrorless camera. Street portraits Jay P. took are epic, even though the whole setup most likely wouldn’t be ideal for candid street photography. Make sure to watch the video above, and let me know if you like the images too.

[Crazy Huge Imax Lens – Amazing Street Portraits | The Slanted Lens]