500 mm mirror lens example
- Thread starter stmv
- Start date
Don Kuykendall_RIP
RIP :(
looks pretty good. I have a t adapter coming in next week for my 500 mirror. For the price it is worth seeing how it looks. Will be fun to play with anyway.
Don Kuykendall_RIP
RIP :(
Got mine in today and tried it out. This was daytime shot of the moon full frame. Will try it after dark to see how it does.
Photowyzard
Senior Member
stmv,
I have a fair amount of experience with the Nikon 500mm Mirror Reflex. These are not the best lenses for sharp images but for the money, they give a fairly good picture.
If someone is interested in trying one of these, I would purchase the cheapest lens you can find. Optika typically sells them at a fairly low price. You can source them (in the past, anyway) on Overstock.com. In the USA, the prices are good. Forget it in Canada, don't even bother looking at Overstock.com. They should be called, "OverPRICED.com".
Sample images attached for your viewing:
I have a fair amount of experience with the Nikon 500mm Mirror Reflex. These are not the best lenses for sharp images but for the money, they give a fairly good picture.
If someone is interested in trying one of these, I would purchase the cheapest lens you can find. Optika typically sells them at a fairly low price. You can source them (in the past, anyway) on Overstock.com. In the USA, the prices are good. Forget it in Canada, don't even bother looking at Overstock.com. They should be called, "OverPRICED.com".
Sample images attached for your viewing:
Photowyzard
Senior Member
Moon shots? This is about the best shot I have taken. Mirror up, timer on, tripod was weighted down to prevent motion.
Note, the best moons to shoot with a 500mm reflex lens are NOT full moons. Half moon and quarter moon work best.
I believe, I used a 2x TC on this. 1000mm shot!
By the way, here is a link for a $95 500mm f8 Optika mirror lens on Amazon.com. Shipped by 47th Street Photo.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HCNFD0...lephoto/12824-500-mm-mirror-lens-example.html
Again, these are not PRIME LENS quality lens, but for $100, you have very, very little to lose if you don't have the dough for a big lens. For $20 more you can get a 2x Teleconverter. I would recommend this for nothing more than the extra fun.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001GKLMH8...lephoto/12824-500-mm-mirror-lens-example.html
These lenses do NOT produce a high quality image, buy you should get a decent 4x6 or even 5x7 out of them. FORGET SPORTS or ACTION shots, too slow to focus. All manual. Best used on a sunny day.
Note, the best moons to shoot with a 500mm reflex lens are NOT full moons. Half moon and quarter moon work best.
I believe, I used a 2x TC on this. 1000mm shot!
By the way, here is a link for a $95 500mm f8 Optika mirror lens on Amazon.com. Shipped by 47th Street Photo.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HCNFD0...lephoto/12824-500-mm-mirror-lens-example.html
Again, these are not PRIME LENS quality lens, but for $100, you have very, very little to lose if you don't have the dough for a big lens. For $20 more you can get a 2x Teleconverter. I would recommend this for nothing more than the extra fun.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001GKLMH8...lephoto/12824-500-mm-mirror-lens-example.html
These lenses do NOT produce a high quality image, buy you should get a decent 4x6 or even 5x7 out of them. FORGET SPORTS or ACTION shots, too slow to focus. All manual. Best used on a sunny day.
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Don Kuykendall_RIP
RIP :(
trying my 500mm mirror in the sun today. This was a shot of my little dog shot at about 15 feet. She is black so seeing detail is not easy. Also the depth of field is very small as you can imagine.
Photowyzard
Senior Member
Yes, the depth of field on this lens is small and fixed.
The 3 big issues with the lens you have to learn to deal with are:
1) hard to focus and to get as sharp as possible. Doable, but not easy.
2) shallow depth of field
3) funky donut shaped bokeh on reflective objects
I think, if you are on a budget, this lens (Mirror Reflex in general) is a pretty good deal. When I bought mine a few years ago, budget dictated the purchase. I wanted more reach. I got what I wanted. It is not my favourite lens and I seldom use it any more. Mostly pull it out for fun now.
I picked up the Nikon version. You do NOT need to spend the money, get a cheap one, it will perform just as good if not better. I wouldn't drop more than $100 on this lens and this is strictly for fun. Don't expect NatGeo quality images.
These lenses are light and easy to carry and use. YES, you can hand hold them. Hi ISO and hi shutter speeds on a sunny day, no issues. 3 of the 4 images I posted above are hand held. The moon shot is on a tripod, almost impossible to hand hold that, especially with a TC on it.
TC greatly degrades the image quality. However, for a moon shot, it is worth throwing it on and experimenting. Took a lot of pics of the mood with it.
The 3 big issues with the lens you have to learn to deal with are:
1) hard to focus and to get as sharp as possible. Doable, but not easy.
2) shallow depth of field
3) funky donut shaped bokeh on reflective objects
I think, if you are on a budget, this lens (Mirror Reflex in general) is a pretty good deal. When I bought mine a few years ago, budget dictated the purchase. I wanted more reach. I got what I wanted. It is not my favourite lens and I seldom use it any more. Mostly pull it out for fun now.
I picked up the Nikon version. You do NOT need to spend the money, get a cheap one, it will perform just as good if not better. I wouldn't drop more than $100 on this lens and this is strictly for fun. Don't expect NatGeo quality images.
These lenses are light and easy to carry and use. YES, you can hand hold them. Hi ISO and hi shutter speeds on a sunny day, no issues. 3 of the 4 images I posted above are hand held. The moon shot is on a tripod, almost impossible to hand hold that, especially with a TC on it.
TC greatly degrades the image quality. However, for a moon shot, it is worth throwing it on and experimenting. Took a lot of pics of the mood with it.
Photowyzard
Senior Member
Don,
I am curious, which brand did you buy? Also, day time moon shots are the worst for focusing due to atmospheric conditions. Shot the moon at night on a nice, crisp evening with no clouds.
Forget full moons, they are the hardest to shoot and always look flat.
I am curious, which brand did you buy? Also, day time moon shots are the worst for focusing due to atmospheric conditions. Shot the moon at night on a nice, crisp evening with no clouds.
Forget full moons, they are the hardest to shoot and always look flat.
Photowyzard
Senior Member
The reason you want to shoot at night is to get the most contrast in the image.
As for overpowering the sensor .... that is why you have ISO and shutter speed settings!
Very low ISO and the fastest shutter you can muster! No lens shake, killer image.
Going to try an 800mm (400mm f3.5 + 2x TC 301) shot when there is an opening in the night sky to do it.
Will post it when I get it nice and crisp.
PS: Sorry for the double post, no idea.... Nikonites and my Mac are not always friends......
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Photowyzard
Senior Member
The reason you want to shoot at night is to get the most contrast in the image.
As for overpowering the sensor .... that is why you have ISO and shutter speed settings!
Very low ISO and the fastest shutter you can muster! No lens shake, killer image.
Going to try an 800mm (400mm f3.5 + 2x TC 301) shot when there is an opening in the night sky to do it.
Will post it when I get it nice and crisp.
Don Kuykendall_RIP
RIP :(
I bought mine 30 years ago. I just bought a $9 t-mount so I could put it on my Nikon. This is strictly for fun, I have no thought that it might be good. It has made me think about getting a TC though.
I just received my N-Version! I love it!
I'm definitely in the market for a (real) tripod now, and I love my ML-L3, even more, now!
Here is one my cats from about 12 feet away. He was in the shadows, so I had to lighten it up a little in my 2.0 version of PS, and my talents in there are nil.
I scored a very nice copy. Manual, case, all 5 filters - still in their original case!
I'm definitely in the market for a (real) tripod now, and I love my ML-L3, even more, now!
Here is one my cats from about 12 feet away. He was in the shadows, so I had to lighten it up a little in my 2.0 version of PS, and my talents in there are nil.
I scored a very nice copy. Manual, case, all 5 filters - still in their original case!
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