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Forum: Lens Clubs
04-06-2024, 12:25 PM
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According to this post on mflenses this was sold as a number of brands: Hanimex/Lentar/Prinz/Samigon/Telesar (with tripod mount) 500mm F8-16 M42 1970s
and on lens-db.com : Lentar 500mm f8...
aka Camron 500mm F/8 Mirror
aka Chinon 500mm F/8 Mirror
aka Hanimex 500mm F/8 Mirror
aka Kalimar 500mm F/8 Mirror
aka Listar 500mm F/8 Mirror
aka Prinz Miroflex 500mm F/8
aka Quantaray 500mm F/8 Mirror
aka Rexatar 500mm F/8 Mirror
aka Samigon 500mm F/8 Mirror
aka Soligor 500mm F/8 Mirror
aka Telesar 500mm F/8 Mirror
aka Vemar 500mm F/8 Mirror
The original manufacturer was probably Meibo (see the Lentar 250/5.6 Mirror).
And on m42.com it's described as a 500mm f8 mirror with built in neutral density filter.
The general experience is that these early mirrors aren't up to much...but we would be interested to see what you can do with it its certainly a handsome beast.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
06-12-2022, 08:40 AM
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I have never noticed any discernable difference in iq with/without filter on eg tamrons. As mentioned the most noticeable effect can be a shift in the focus, and with tamron 300mm f2.8's leaving out the internal filter can leave you short of infinity focus. But again I have not noticed that with mirrors.
If you think your centon isn't doing great, that's probably because it isn't great. Mirrors are so pernickety to use, especially in respect of seeing and hitting focus, it is very difficult to pin down other things.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
10-24-2021, 02:28 PM
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Some pics with newly acquired MTO 500A 550mm f8.5. K3-ii. #1 came out much better than I expected. #3 the great Orme is a mile away.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
09-26-2021, 11:49 AM
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I have acquired a minty example of the charmingly petite 300mm f5.6 mirror, found as numerous marques. Mine is an optomax.
I made a hood out of a gravy granules pot and a 67mm filter, deglassed.
This mirror is a very decent performer.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
05-31-2021, 04:47 AM
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Got yourself a surprisingly orange chaffinch, and a pipit (I'll let the experts debate what kind of pipit..), and a really surprisingly good mirror lens there, much better than I would expect from a generic name one. Do you have a pic of the lens?
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Forum: Lens Clubs
05-02-2021, 02:21 PM
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Don, my advice would be a good bridge (superzoom) camera. Mirror lenses are light, but they are very ticklish to use.
Check out Ken Rockwell's discussion of the Sony RX10, for example, as an illustration of how this technology has really moved on from the days of garish postcardy images spat out of a camera with a particularly horrid evf.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
12-25-2020, 08:54 AM
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if you're going to try a mount swap, this is the lens to do it with - no complications. Get a junk pk mount lens from somewhere as a source of a pk mount. preferable to using an optical adapter IMO.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
08-14-2020, 02:21 PM
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Very nice moon shot Michael.
I now have a new toy to marry with these lenses for moon and other shots - a Q7! will post in due course...
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Forum: Lens Clubs
08-13-2020, 04:37 AM
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That looks like a good mirror.
Bean bag, LV focus and remote shutter is my MO.
How about some distance samples, moon etc
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Forum: Lens Clubs
07-08-2020, 09:42 AM
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...missed again !
This quote relates to a tamron 400mm f7.5 being used on a K100 (no live view) but is applicable...
"Getting a sharp picture with a slow manual lens like this ...is difficult. The process requires bracketing focus - taking many pictures, checking the monitor, small adjustments to focus between each shot until accurate focus is achieved. Behind each reasonably focused picture there are 20-30 taken and discarded." |
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Forum: Lens Clubs
05-31-2020, 03:19 PM
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Forum: Lens Clubs
01-31-2020, 12:51 PM
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This mirror is rather scarce, I think sigma only made it for a relatively short period. The sigma history pages indicates two separate introductions, the first in 1983 and then again in 1985. There's no link to a specs page to either listing so I don't know precisely what the difference is, but trawling online listings I note a white version with a tripod mount and a black version without (mine).
I splashed out a bit on this one to satisfy my curiosity and to include it in my mega 400mm supertest (pending, but don't hold your breathe). PKM mount, a really nice minty one well worth the price in fact.
The light on the estuary on Monday was really exceptional, bright, clear, almost translucent. Mirrors especially like that (more accurately they don't like the converse, consider leaving at home if the light is poor), and this sort of subject.
My usual test pics of the castle showed that resolution tends to unexceptional, pretty good but struggling really to keep up with the best contemporary 400mm f5.6 refractive lenses IMO.
At the RSPB this was the best of a sequence of pics of a robin.
You know, I am still seeking the ultimate combo of lens, light, opportunity that will deliver a pic of the castle that makes me go yeah, 3D pop wow! Hasn't happened yet... these shots from the bird reserve across the estuary always seem to be a bit... I dunno, muddy? Lots of tinkering with contrast, blacks etc while processing this.
I'll take it out again with the tamron SP 350mm next (when the sun shines, might be a while)...
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Forum: Lens Clubs
12-24-2019, 05:55 AM
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That's an interesting lens - look forward to seeing pics from it.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
12-23-2019, 09:58 AM
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You'r welcome.
Add: you might be able to pick a sigma 600mm up real cheap with eg MD mount. Diy mount swap is easy - no aperture connections. Just need a PK mount off an old lens or use a cheap PK-M42 adapter. Drill it and screw it on in place of the old mount.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
12-21-2019, 04:11 PM
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The sigma 600mm is ok - IF you get a good one. They are prone to silvering deterioration and they seem to have quite wide sample variation. Depends on price and condition but personally I wouldn't get a sigma ahead of a tamron SP. I've had a look at 3 now, only one was in the same ballpark as a tamron for results.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
12-07-2019, 06:59 AM
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Great moon shot Michael. Your exposure almost exactly corresponds to the lunar-11 rule if you factor in the actual T-stop (transmission) rather than f stop. The lunar 11 rule also only applies exactly to a full moon, partial or occluded/eclipsed moons are not as bright.
Last resort to get your focus at the moment Jack: repeated shoot- review enlarged pic on the lcd - adjust. Laborious, but you can get there in the end. Have you tried spot metering? Also try Av mode and bump the exposure compensation right down, see if that stops the view of the moon in LV washing out.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
12-06-2019, 11:10 AM
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I've never been able to see any difference with the 500mm mirrors with or without the flter.
The 300mm f2.8's are also designed to be used with a filter. The main effect is to shift focus slightly - you may not be able to focus to infinity without the filter.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
12-06-2019, 10:56 AM
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mmm thinking about it I think I did run into this problem too when I had my K5, I tended to use my samsung NX20 for moon shots at that time.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
12-06-2019, 09:14 AM
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Try switching to spot metering, make sure the moon is centre frame. Or manual mode, set the exposure using lunar 11 rule.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
12-05-2019, 12:09 PM
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Magnified live view is the way (depending on camera). IME focusing the tamron 500mm by eye at f8 (~ T10) with standard focus screen is inherently imprecise, even with the tenpa 1.35x OVF magnifier I use, even in best conditions (and forget it if its dull light). By eye use focus bracket techniques, eg shooting a short burst while slightly moving position (deiberate sway), or a quick sequence while touching the focus through the focus confirm signal point.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
11-01-2019, 11:39 AM
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AYe looks OoF. Try focus bracketing.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
10-05-2019, 06:24 AM
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Thanks for that, very informative, pretty similar to how I set about things when I try moon shots. I generally use a remote cable too.
I had a couple of lessons when I tried to shoot the lunar elipse back in the spring with just acquired at the time 150-450mm. Moon when well into the eclipse was too dim to focus on accurately! And I realised belatedly I had astro capability with my K3-ii but hadn't got it figured out...
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Forum: Lens Clubs
10-04-2019, 03:02 PM
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Another good one there rmcnelly. Do you have any particular techniques or tricks for these shots?
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Forum: Lens Clubs
10-01-2019, 08:29 AM
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I agree entirely - particularly with poor iq mirrors, magnify the LV and you are looking at magnified mushiness...
It is certainly true that trying to discriminate focus by eye at f8 has an inherent imprecision. What you see as best focus/what the focus cues tell you is best focus can still prove to be slightly off when viewed on screen. Focus bracketing can help.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
10-01-2019, 06:06 AM
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Sell the spiratone, get a tamron,
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