*Invest in a cheap 3D printer and a spool of black filament and you will never go back to cardboard tubes!* You can easily print any shape of spacer, bushing, tube, lens hood you can dream of. Reversal rings and clamping collets to mount enlarger lenses were the among the first things I fabricated with my printer and even though I do own a good lathe, the FDM printer is my tool of choice for these adaptions!

You can add apertures very easily. Just add a Cokin filter holder to the front of the lens then use Cokin threaded lens adapter rings as removable apertures. Mount the filter holder in the "reverse" of what it would normally be so the lens adapter rings can attach to what is now the front. This works because Cokin adapter rings are all one size on one side in order to attach to the filter holder but, the other side is various sizes of openings in order to attach to lenses. For example, an adapter ring for a 52mm lens will have a much smaller hole than a 77mm ring. And, of course, a smaller hole (aperture) will allow less light through making your photo somewhat sharper. I have found Cokin "A" and "P" filter holders and adapter rings in odds 'n ends bins of camera stores or new from typical photography equipment suppliers. Easy peasy. Terry Thomas... the photographer Atlanta, Georgia USA

Here in the US, there is a chain of stores that stock supplies that can be used for lens adapting. Hobby Lobby has sheets of black flock paper that is normally used to line telescope tubes to stop internal light reflections. They also have sheets of "Fun Foam" in black and other colors and in several thicknesses. You can use the black Fun Foam to both adapt lenses to other mentioned devices and stop light leaks at the same time. Also useful are rolls of dense foam roll up exercise mats. If you look around, you can find them in several different thicknesses. Finally, an old bicycle or motorbike inner tube can be cleaned and then cut up for many different projects. The black rubber blocks light, is flexible, does not shed flecks of paper and adds a lot of friction. I use small pieces between the bottoms of my cameras and the tops of my tripods to add friction to prevent any movement which means the tripod screw does not have to be extremely tightened which can damage the camera. Terry Thomas... the photographer Atlanta, Georgia USA

For some reason, this video reminds me of David Thorpe, and that makes me sad. 😥 Thank you for always sharing what you know. Take care, everyone.

Fabulous rundown and great insights. Thank you for your time to put this all together!

i randomly got this video recommended and thought it would be a nice watch, needless to say, i got really impressed with the quality of these lenses in macro. suddenly i remembered i do have a couple of projector lenses that my dad got from some old broken projectors. Turns out one of them is the Leitz Colorplan 90/2.5. I'll be 100% trying some of these techniques.

Good presentation of the actual lenses used and what they’ll do. Good starting points for all the mounts. 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

I keep wanting to try this and now that summer is coming soon... I think I will! Thanks for the inspiration!

Nice video. I have two Russian projector lenses adapted for infinity focus with helicoids and fitted with deep lens hoods. One is a Petzval, the other a Cooke triplet, both have beautiful renderings. I combine them with wide angle or tele converters or a focal reducer for use on an Fuji X APSC, mainly for B&W and infrared landscape photography. They work particularly well at dusk for very subtle tonal graduations. A good investment.

Simon, I always enjoy your excellent videos! Based on this video, I bought an inexpensive Leitz Hektor 8.5cm f2.5 projector lens, which arrived today. The external barrel has an M39 thread and, using a $10 L39 adapter, it focuses from about 75 cm to past infinity, with 180 degrees of rotation: no bellows, no toilet paper tubes, no machining, and no danger of falling out. The only work I had to perform was to lightly clean the "helicoid" and apply a small amount of grease to damp the rotation. On an APS-C body, there is no apparent vignetting or loss of sharpness in the corners (what little there is). The lack of coatings is quite apparent, with a general loss of contrast, but I haven't had time for much experimentation. It will never replace a Jupiter 9 (with its exquisite rendering of flowers), or a Cyclop 85mm f/1.5 (with much more center sharpness and with its interesting swirly bokeh), but its gentle softness may work for some subjects.

Hello everyone! Thanks for this nice video ! I also got the Gear Acquisition Syndrome when I first tried my Leica slide projector lens. Since then I alway buy the complete projector as soon as I found a cheap one in flea market. My favorite are pentacon 80 2.8 and Meyer 100 2.8 for soap bubbles and Angenieux 100mm mounted on ROB projectors. I have rag camera collets 43mm and 52.5mm to mount on 58mm hélicoïd Also since I did not want to spend all my spare time in front on 3D print, I buy aluminum step down ring, grind the inner dia to almost fit the lens, then I heat-up the ring, it expands and slide on the lens. Cooled down it is tight and perfect. Wear leather gloves and know exactly how far you want to slide the ring. It works perfect on aluminum lens, on plastic do not over heat as you may melt the plastic. Coming back to the colorplan, any experience with the black German version as far as sharpness ? Cheers

Very informative Simon, thank you for putting this together.

My favorite adapted lens is a Rodenstock 135 f/5.6 enlarger lens. It will focus to infinity on my Nikon PB-4 bellows and has a built in aperture of 5.6 to 32. As you pointed out, mounted on bellows limits portability so I use it mostly for macro work. It is VERY sharp and is fun to use with the tilt and shift allowed on the bellows.

My Portuguese Colorplan 90mm focusses to infinity. It's attached to a 36-90 helicoid via a clamp from rafcamera, and to my Canon R5 with a flat M42-RF mount adaptor.

excellent video Simon

You can have infinity focus with Leitz Colorplan 90/2.5 on any DSLR. For that you need cut the end of metal tube closer to sensor and use wide enough adapter to fit lens inside.

I just ordered a Panavision Projector Lens. I can’t wait to use the lens to take videos.

I've adapted a Leitz Wetzlar Elmaron 85mm f2.8 projector lens to my Sony a7R II via a bellows unit. I purchased an expensive non-branded Sony bellows and I found that the lens was able to be positioned close enough to the sensor that I was able to take a half-length portrait. Focus was a challenge, though the results were quite good. You have now encouraged me to try again, this time some close-ups with bright lights in the background. Thanks again for you informative style.

Amazing work!

Great Video. If I ever get tired of my collection of camera lenses I might try projector lenses. I will certainly keep an eye out for them now. I was looking at one from Russia later last year, but that is not happening now. Good Job!

Astro Kino Color IV 75mm 1.6, a marvel ! (it's a 16mm cinema projector lens, perfect for aps-c mirorless) Mounted on a stainless steel tube (48mm diameter, cut to 62mm long), padded inside with adhesive felt, and encased in a 52-49mm step down ring, and finishing with a 52mm inversion ring for the mount. The result is a gem and manipulation is so smooth !

Thank you, this is a really informative video!

Perhaps a bit beyond my clumsy hands, but fascinating none the less. I love some of these images, and others made with projector lenses I've seen too.

Wonderful video Simon and I will definitely give this a try with the lens off of my old slide projector and my macro bellows. One small point - It is "helly-koyd" with a hard c.

I also bought a few cheap projector (not sure about all of them though) lenses to fill in the gap from about 50 to 100mm in my proper lens collection. Held them in front of a Minolta SLR body alongside a ruler to find the flange distance for infinity focus, turned out most of them were over 20mm (on top of Minolta MD's 43.5mm) and needed about 10mm travel to go from infinity to about 0.5m, so the 17-31mm helicoid was a good compromise for them, along with extension tubes for filling the gap where needed (it was only one that I had to saw off a little and glue an adapter to in order to meet the others). The fun ones I found are a Steinheil-V-Cassarit 75mm/4.5 with adjustable triangular aperture (huge 128mm flange distance), a Derksen Licht-Technik 85mm/3.3 with fixed aperture but swirly bokeh (58mm FD), and a PZO Janpol Color 80mm/5.6 with integrated cyan magenta and yellow filters for color correction (68mm FD). I only say "fun" because image quality is expectedly rather poor. Anyway, I enjoyed the video, best regards.

7:10 I don't recommend using cardboard for securing the lens like this. After the long enough time of using, from such a wrapping small pieces of shredded paper separated and got inside my camera. Also, I had a problem with adhesive tape used - it peeled off partially and started to block some light, but it was less of a problem. My system is, looking from the camera end: -adaptor to M42 -one short macro ring -piece of pvc tubing 'squeezed onto' the former and inside this, kept in place only by friction: -an actual projector lens wrapped currently in some plastic from an old bottle -set of interchangeable washers/diaphragms from bicycle inner tube and some black tape. (The spares are recommended, as they may get lost.) The result is ultra inexpensive and ultralight solution for my long backpack trips, giving me additional benefits: -the long 85mm focal length, which I like very much (equiv. to 128mm on film camera?) -built-in macro capability -built-in lens hood (it just so happened in case of this lens) Apart from hiking, I'd use normal lenses. The one described produces strange flares from time to time.

Excellent overview Simon. I’ve adapted a lot of them too but my fave is hands down, the Soviet 35KP f1.8/100mm. It is an absolutely magnificent portrait lens.

Really interesting and informative video

Simon, thank you for your effort and I always appreciate your work. For my experience on using a projector lens converted to digital, it's a nightmare and no return. I own a 130mm that suits only for close-ups but it's too soft and no contrast at all, needing a heavy post processing work. Then after I discovered your channel by watching your video "Best 50 to 60 M42" and then, all of your work were a "Bible" for me. Just wants to say thanks.

Very interesting video. Some of these projector lenses can produce beautiful images. But: Don't throw away good, working projectors. Try shooting some color slide film as well. Kodak E100 and Fujichrome 50 or 100 can give really excellent results. It's a challenge too, because there is no post processing, and an all analog product.

The C in Helicoid is a hard C, not a soft C. It's Heli"koi"d.

colorplan lens, You are going to hate me for it. I chopped of the back end of the lens. And Now I am able to infinity focus the lens. Make sure you file of the back end well and clean it well, so you won't get small metal shavings in your camera after having filed and rounded of the back end. Hope that heelps some of you guys. I took the lens completely apart and used a small coping saw/metal saw to take off the back end near the last lens. Then cleaned it reassembled it. And presto infinity focus...

I adapted my Colorplan by mounting it to an m52 to m42 helicoid with a bike tube, and then a 3d printed thin m42-FX adapter that gets Infinity focus. Very proud of the results. There's just some magic in the lens I cannot describe. I have failed to take a single bad photo on it... somehow. Edit: On that note, if anyone wants the stl for the thin m42-FX adapter, I'd be happy to share.

I modified my own Colorplan and followed your directions. It was a resounding success, thank you. It was more than worth the effort.

Nice video. Colorplan is indeed an excellent lens. Leitz Elmaron 100mm f2.8 is another excellent choice. It compares quite favourably to "real" 100mm lenses. My favourite projection lens is 15$ (at the time) Kodak FF 100mm f2.8. Easy to adopt. Could be found NOS (new old stock). It gives beautiful portraits and bokeh is almost indistinguishable from the Trioplan 100mm. Close second is so-called Helios 2/92 or F-92. Probably nothing to do with Helios. It is a big heavy, all glass and metal, beast that gives beautiful soft and creamy images.

I found you from a post from flikr about the Colorplan 90mm. Very good video, I may give you another option that you can adapt a projector lens even with diafragm. I use for the base helicoid from a helios 44-2 in m42 mount. So if you go a little deeper in it you can actually salvage the entire block that contains the diafragm and screw it back in place without the optics. I found a Colorplan for 50$ here in Romania, you think is a `good deal`?

I have a collection of mostly Russian and British lens, KP35 50mm f1.2, ko-120m, bell and Howell F1.2 & F1.4 that are easy to adapter and cheap. Such fun to use but wide open the DOF is razor thin and takes some practice.

Very nice! I believe you depicted every mounting option. I had very good fortune with the Meyer-Optik Gorlitz Diaplan 80mm 2.8 ,not an easy task on a Nikon F mount - much easier on mirrorless with short flanges.. I get very close ( perhaps 7-8 inches) to infinity . I used a combination of short extension tubes and a 52mm helicoid with M42 at the back with a M42-Nikon F adapter. Very pleased with the bokeh and sharpness . It's important to determine what length range helicoid will work near and far . My second attempt was a Kodak Ektar 102 mm ,cut down; I've seen them on Nikons before but although it focuses close to infinity it is too soft. I didn't spend much on the Kodak, and I enjoy using the Diaplan very much. I am curious to know just which lens body you show with the aperture blades, Simon :-)

Use the lense to do long exposure photography. 3d print lense adapter to a DSLR camera and capture the night sky.

A great introduction. I would welcome more videos like this. You might like the LZK Edar. Perhaps also explore anamorphic set ups, even so they used mainly for video.

Very informative, thanks! I recently pulled a Bell and Howell 16mm 2’’ F1.6 Incre-Lite lens from a FilmoSound 179 projector. I’ve dismantled and cleaned the lens but have not yet decided on how to adapt it. Do you have any experience with this lens? Any thoughts on adapting…..? Thanks again!

Very interesting. 3 D printing might be useful as well.

I have adapted a cheap enlarger lens, 50 mm focal length, for close-up photography. Similar to your projector lens’, I find it works very well for macro work on a bellows.

It's interesting how long it takes the industry to catch up with the DIYers. Are there too few projector lens enthusiasts out there for them to pay attention?

i have no clue what this guy is talking about but i watched to whole thing

Have you noticed a difference between your all metal Colorplan and the plastic fronted one marked Portugal? The Portuguese model in the video here is a "CF" version, which, to my understanding means Curved Field.

Best option with Cardboard simple tube adapter is , Tilt Shift , ive used it just holding it in my hand and offering it to the camera mount , just holding it like that , and you can shift the focus , tilt it and achieve such an image that is impossible to make even if you have 2000$ modern lenses with tilt shift .Because its creamy soft , and real sharp , about 20mpix sharp , at least my lenses . one of my best Portrait pictures ever taken is of a baby , they are small so they fit the short focusing range , and give creamy , hazy , dreamy look to it , perfect for portraits of a baby for example . I fell in love with stupid projector lens i took out from a garbage bin , literally. Since those are simple optics the way you can get the Aperture control on them is with simple Step down rings or other rings in front of the lens . Kind of , i guess it wont work as good as real blades but will do the job . So dont think you even need a Cardboard and adapter , you need nothing , just take the lens and offer it to the cameras mount . I take some cloth to wrap around to stop light leaks . And there you go . Tilt shift , macro , whatever you want . Its only that they are not very good at infinity , not for that .

Man, your videos are just theraphy

I have bunch of projectorlenses and the best (or least bad) is the Colorplan 90/2,5 so far. I cut off a part of the metal tube in the back of the lens so now it can focus to infinity with my helicoid. I see you have the Colorplan CF (curved field), I also have that one but haven’t tried that variant yet.

well done

There are some supreme ISCO Gottingen and Leitz projection lenses that were made for 70mm film projection and they easily cover a 6x6cm and sometimes a 6x7cm frame with not much work in adapting them. They are scarce and sometimes are extremely expensive, but if you look long enough, there still are some cheap ones that (except not having an aperture) are as good as top of the line first party lenses from back in the day.

The non CF version of that colorplan Is better to adapt. I believe the CF means it is made for curvature (curved field) and not flat field negatives, like the non CF. I got the CF version of that lens years ago and did research after I found it was hard to adapt.

Can we adapt modern projection lenses like from 1990-2022 to our cameras as well?

I just tried hand-holding the Prestinox 2.8/85 from my old projector and found that, when reversed, the lens could focus beyond infinity. Unfortunately the quality of the results have not persuaded me to take it any further.

I have about 50 projector lens mostly old soviet stuff,for me my Meopta are most pleasing but they can be pricey ..

I wanted to fit a microscope lens to may smartphone but then I realized that smartphone camera already have combined lens so it cannot be used but I ask you for you may have a solution to this.

Thank you for this informative video. Another excellent teaching effort. How about just buying a projector lens with a "C" mount. You can then purchase a "C" mount adapter for your camera.

Can we use these lenses on video cameras?

you can find cheap 3d print service where you could print a custom mount

Very broady review help to achieve best pics. But there is no link to buy. can you arrange if anybody need lensed?

I have a 150mm projector lens lying around, do you think it could work or is the focal length too long for feasible adapting?

🤔 interesting!

helicoid come in different diameters and lengths. looks like you are using a 52mm with a 25 to 55mm movement. try using a 17/31(or somewhere there about) as for mounting them checkout rafcamera he makes awesome adapters in a lot of sizes. I use a 42mm adapter with a 42.5mm clamp front to mount the projector lens in. Nice and secure but still allows you to change when needed.

What lenses have swirly bokeh besides Helios?

Could probably 3D print a tube yourself or pay someone to print one for you. Colleges in my area do it for little cost you just need to know how to use the software to model what you want to print.

First thing that has to be said is that almost all of these lenses would work on miniature formats. Don't expect MF or larger, maybe you will have luck with Leica format.

why elissoid?

I have personally found that the Portuguese Colorplan isn't nearly as sharp as the German one. I believe this is because the prior is designed with a curved field in mind.

Appertures need to be thin. Recommending rubber washers is pretty dumb.

12:18 Funny how you call it cardboar to avoid telling that is the tube of a roll of toilet paper.

I guess you will get a lot of dust on the sensor with this lenses

Try them lenses again puting'em opposit like they ment to work. ;)

Next thing is CCTV lens.