"weirdest" lens you ever adapted?

Fandyus · Joined: 12 Apr 2020 Posts: 108 Location: Czechia

Doesn't even have to be something that was intended for projection, it could be your uncle's reading glasses for all I care, just wondering what's the oddest thing you adapted and how it turned out.
I only recently got a mirrorless, but less than a year ago, I bought a wide angle (I think 35mm) Meopta made enlarger lens with a square aperture, so I can't wait to try that one out.

kypfer · Joined: 27 Sep 2017 Posts: 523 Location: Jersey C.I.

Weirdest adaption? â€¦ either a piece of pie case for use as a pinhole lens, or maybe cutting the front off a Brownie 127 and mounting the result on a T2 mount for that "Dakon" retro effect Wink

Fandyus · Joined: 12 Apr 2020 Posts: 108 Location: Czechia

RokkorDoctor · Expire: 2025-05-01

Well, not sure if it counts, but I once made a DIY diopter adjustment for the viewfinder of a Minolta XG1, using a broken pair of prescription glasses I had. Worked well.

D1N0 · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 2536

Not super weird: Agfa minilab lens

Minilab lens adapted by The lens profile, on Flickr

And a Yashica compact camera lens torn out of the compact into a K-mount lens inversion adapter.

Yashica 38mm 2.8 by The lens profile, on Flickr

Said Yashica:

Bokeyashica by The lens profile, on Flickr

I won't count slide projection lenses.

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9096 Location: Houston, Texas

Probably my weirdest adaptation was reverse-mounting a D-mount movie lens to a lens cap, then mounting the cap to a lens and shooting pix with it. It worked rather well. I documented it here way back in October, 2009:

http://forum.mflenses.com/wollensak-8mm-cine-lens-for-macro-t21588,highlight,%2Bwollensak.html

I still have it around here somewhere, but I'm pretty sure that's the only time I've ever used it.

Lightshow · Joined: 04 Nov 2011 Posts: 3666 Location: Calgary

That would be my RolleiStar 40/2.3

The 40/2.3 from a Rollei XF 35, transplanted into an early M39 Industar 50 SLR lens.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lightshow-photography/tags/rolleixf35/

visualopsins · Expire: 2025-04-11

Not really an adaptation per se, but really weird is Spiratone Bird's-eye Attachment lens https://www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/spiratone-birds-eye-attachment.html

image by PentaxForums member ProfHankD

DConvert · Joined: 12 Jun 2010 Posts: 921 Location: Essex UK

I don't consider projection lenses weird at all, having adapted a 50mm/1.2, 85mm/2.8 & a 40mm perspective control projection lens that all mounted via the same helicoid. The 100mm & 200mm projector lenses I tried weren't as good, and the very short focal length ones have terrible coverage, but might be useful now I have a pentax Q to play with.

I've also adapted telescope eyepieces/objectives, microscope objectives, microfiche lenses and several ancient lenses of unknown source. I've collected several pairs of old glasses to try, but not yet got round to it properly mainly because they all correct for astigmatism. Another one on the not yet attempted list is a 200mm f0.7 Fresnel lens which should make the basis for a hypercentric lens (see https://www.edmundoptics.co.uk/f/hypercentric-lenses/14571/ )

I think I'd class the c-mount microscope lens the weirdest I've done so far. As I mounted it in such a way that it could focus to infinity, as well as reaching 3x lifesize, depending on the zoom setting & the helicoid.

ultra macro lens set up by Mike Kanssen, on Flickr

jamaeolus · Expire: 2015-08-20

jamaeolus · Expire: 2015-08-20

I put together a "frankenlens" which I posted here.

http://forum.mflenses.com/soft-glow-of-a-frankenlens-t82675,highlight,%2Bfrankenlens.html

Ernst Dinkla · Joined: 30 Nov 2016 Posts: 410

philslizzy · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 4745 Location: Cheshire, England

The lens from this Lego minifigure

why dont I do it again and take a few pics...

Ernst Dinkla · Joined: 30 Nov 2016 Posts: 410

Wiederst first:

Removed three lenses of point and shoot cameras, made a symmetrical 6 element, approx. 23mm 11.0 lens of the two 35mm triplet ones, added that assembly together with a longer focal length lens into a 3D printed part in what I called an Instamatic Art lens. Front part turns on a filter ring that is attached to a reverse adapter for an FE mount. Blinds at the front divide the two images on the sensor, to roughly 24x24 and 24x12 mm parts. This is the second design stage, made several ones:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/64105449
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/65767179

Removed two lenses from a Umax Mirage II scanner. Adapted the 107mm lens into an M42 extension tube. Adapted the 77mm lens later into the barrel of an M42 Panagor 135mm 2.8 lens and gave that one a Canon EF mount + chip for the Sigma MC-11 adapter.
Followed later by the 40mm lens (Plasmat type) of an Epson Perfection 3200 Photo scanner.

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4476274

Focal lengths measured by a collimator made of a Makinon 135mm 2.8 lens. Way more adaptations since I have digital cameras. Several compact camera 45mm lenses to Sony EF mount for example.

Before digital; transplanted a Kodak Anastigmat Special 101mm 4.5 lens onto an Agfa Record 1 as that lens was better than the Apotar 105mm and by that normal 120 film could be used instead of the 620 in the Kodak Monitor 620. Similar changes to Polaroid Pathfinder 110 and 120 cameras.

Rehoused in digital times a 150mm G-Claron (Plasmat) cells in the Apotar shutter as that one has a 10 blade aperture instead of the 5 blade straight aperture of the G-Claron barrel. M42 mounted.

philslizzy · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 4745 Location: Cheshire, England