MINOLTA RF ROKKOR 250MM 1:5.6 IMAGES

<p>If the moderator permits here's some images taken with a 250mm mirror mounted on a A900. It wasn't the best of days being overcast and very windy but it wasn't too bad. feel free to critique or add your 250 or 500 (or any other mirror lenses you may have) photos. here goes</p><div></div>

<p>Here's another.... i had to sharpen this one rather excessively in neat image.....</p><div></div>

Are the out of focus faint duplicate images in background due to nature of the beast?

<p>One more if I may. A minimum focus of 2.5 metres is a bit of a pest for rosebuds and smallish flowers but if your subject is a couple of feet tall you don't have to make too huge a crop...grin</p>

<p>whoops...lost the picture, try again....</p><div></div>

<p>Wayne, I contemplated getting one of these many years ago for my Minolta XG-M system. Missed the chance. Not the sharpest tool in the lens box but great for some subjects. You seem to have had some success with it. Some post processing can enhance the results if you were looking for a different, more neutral appearance. If your A900 incorporates image stabilization in the body then that's a plus when using these older (& usually cheaper) manual focus lenses. I recall seeing a front cover done with this lens on an edition of the old Minolta Mirror magazine. (something to do with the Chinese Military) Fine results in any case. Best, LM.</p><div></div>

<p>Len, I think you might be wrong about mirror lenses not being the "sharpest lens in the tool box", as mirror lenses don't have chromatic aberration to worry about (or at least that's what I'm led to believe). Other than the weird bokeh, mirror lenses are very good lenses.</p>

<p>This and the fact that they are compact, is why most telescopes, from small home units, to big astronomic observatories, to the Hubble Space telescope, use a mirror design.</p>

<p>Oh, and Wayne, those are great shots.</p>

<p>Parv, i think the answer is yes, the bokeh of this lens is different and to some eyes, annoying. But if you can isolate your subject, avoid the donuts, the background seems to dissolve most satisfyingly (not too difficult with a lens set at F5.6)</p>

<p>Len, I think I had my sharpening tool's settings more appropriate to portraiture than flowers....grin. yeah, i did have the camera's image stabilisation turned on but yesterday was very windy and cloudy. the sort of weather that gets you into trouble with a fixed aperture lens. you either shoot at... (whatever speed is being metered)... at 5.6. You get no wriggle room. Yep, you're pp is a definite improvement, thankyou. Definitely not cheaper tho, the 250 seems to be highly desired as a collectible.</p>

<p>Thanks Robert, apart from the ghastly donuts, perhaps the bokeh is deemed to be weird because it is different maybe?....grin.</p>

<p>Nice pictures. Mirror lenses don't have chromatic aberration, at least not to a big degree. When different wave lengths of light pass through a lens, they bend differently, depending on wave length. Mirror reflects all the same way. However, there are lenses also in mirror optics, not only mirrors, and lenses can bring in some chromatic aberration. Sharpness tends to be a bit lower, there is a bit like grey haze over a mirror lens image, but that can easily be improved with sharpening. Fixed aperture and donut bokeh remain problems that affect some subjects more than others.</p>

<p>Most mirror lenses were meant as cheap alternatives for people who didn't want to spend the money on a regular tele lens - or lug around the weight. Back in the manual focus days Minolta was particularly well setup with Mirror lenses of 250mm, 500mm, 800mm and 1600mm focal length. All of those lenses had a reputation for being a notch above most of the competition in image quality. The 500mm design was the only one that made it into the AF era, and AFAIK might be the only mirror lens with functioning AF ever.<br>

The only one I have ever owned was a Minolta RF 250mm f/5.6. Here is a shot taken on a XD-7.<br>

<img src="http://gallery.photo.net/photo/3082421-lg.jpg" alt="" width="601" height="800" /></p>

<p>It's very rare. I wish I could find one. :-( It looks like a perfect match to my A33.</p>

<p>Happy shooting,<br>

Yakim.</p>