This Cheap Projector Lens Creates the Most Intense Swirly Bokeh

Photographer, YouTuber, and weird lens connoisseur Mathieu Stern recently made one of his coolest finds yet. It’s the Carl Zeiss 105mm f/1.9 Kipronar T, a cinema projector lens he describes as “one of the most amazing swirly bokeh lenses I ever tested”… and yet it only cost him $25.

Projector lenses like this are not for the faint of heart. There is no focusing mechanism and there are no aperture blades, so even after you mount it to a helicoid ring adapter you have to use (and focus) this 105mm f/1.9 lens wide open at all times. But if you can manage it, the lens rewards you with incredible subject separation and “insane” swirly bokeh.

That’s saying something coming from Mathieu, who has pretty much tested every swirly bokeh option in existence.

Check out the video up top to see the lens in action for yourself. And if you want to learn more about the various weird lenses that Mathieu has added to his collection over the years, visit his website, subscribe to his YouTube channel, or give him a follow on Instagram.