Sony mirrorless and projector lens: what a bokeh effect!

Source: HW Upgrade added 27th Oct 2020

by Mattia Speroni, published on

?? Combining a Carl Zeiss lens designed for projectors with one of Sony’s latest mirrorless camera bodies: this combination led Mathieu Stern to experience a very special bokeh effect . At a modest price .??

There are many experiments “crazy” in the photographic field ! Fitting older lenses to new cameras such as Sony mirrorless cameras can lead to results details, especially when the lens used is that of a projector! To try was Mathieu Stern , already known for his “museum of strange objectives” .

A Sony mirrorless camera and a particular Zeiss lens

Stern has used a lens Carl Zeiss Jena Kipronar 105 mm f / 1.9 T used in cinema projectors by combining it with its Sony A7 III mirrorless , which is an interesting camera body for these experiments. A helical ring adapter M was then used to allow manual focusing 65 to M 65 and then an M adapter 65 to Sony E to connect it to the camera body. There are also two rings to block the entire optical system and make it more solid.

What you get is visible both on the video made by the photographer and on his website! There is a defined and definable bokeh effect “swirling” where the subject is well separated from the background which results in a nuanced and particular structure.

Click on the image to enlarge

This both in the videos and in the photographs captured with the Sony mirrorless . As pointed out by many, obviously we are far from what can be achieved with modern optics but the desire to “revive” objectives “old” and combine them with the modern technology of the latest bodies machine is not a new temptation and above all more and more widespread. After all Carl Zeiss Jena Kipronar 105 mm f / 1.9 T can be found at dai 20 euro up to 80 euro (and then it will take other 100 euro for the various adapters). An expense that for some curious photographers could also be faced.