bjmarkowitz Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 I have heard from most of you that you hate the results of the 500mm mirror. Does anyone have any examples of the results? I am curious what the out-of-focus donuts look like. I am curious how bad the depth of field is. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swenson Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 Heres one taken from sidewalk of the <P> <A HREF="http://home.earthlink.net/~swensonstudio1/1-527-34.htm"> Crysler Building </A> <P> in New York. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swenson Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 It's the only 500mm mirror that I've saved. So it's the only example that I have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swenson Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 I remeber trying to take pictures of the full moon and they were terrible. Thoses are the types of examples that you are probably looking for, ones with a bright light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbing Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 If you are lucky, you can avoid the funny donut shapes altogether by having no background at all!</p> <a href="http://www3.sympatico.ca/marbing/Pictures/Harvard5.jpg" >Flight of WWII Harvard trainers</a></p> This is with a Yashica 500mm/f8 WITH a Yashica 2x TC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phule Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 You can find a number of examples if you plug "500mm mirror" (without the quotes) into the Google Image search. You get a lot of images /of/ the various lenses, but you can also find examples taken with the lens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_hector Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 Used properly, the 500mm F8 Reflex-Nikkor does the job well: <a href="http://www.jaypix.com/pix/villb01.jpg"> Example 1 </a> , <a href="http://www.jaypix.com/pix/stomm.jpg"> Example 2 </a> . No AD ever complained about donuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berk_sirman2 Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 Go to photosig.com There you can search pictures by equipment used. I am sure there will be examples from 500mm mirror lenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berk_sirman2 Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 <a href="http://www.photosig.com/go/photos/view?id=84193&forward=browse">Here</a> is an example of horrible donuts. You need to be a member to view the picture in large size Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kin_lau Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 You want donuts... you get donuts. I've left the file at the larger size so that you can experience the donuts :) <img src="http://www.dslrexchange.com/dslrxphotopost/data/505/4280broadwing2-med.jpg" /> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FilmPhotography-DuaneHorne Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 Query I have a question. I own a Sigma 600mm f8 mirror lense. It does pretty well if you know how to use it; bright clear day, tripod and lens hood. Since contrast is one of the complaints levied against CATS, would pushing slide firm a stop or two improve contrast? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pvp Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 <img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/433523-lg.jpg"> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron c sunshine coast,qld,a Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 I don't find the donuts objectionable most times,but nearly allways so when there are thin bright lines out of focus (as in alan's example) <BR>I would recommend you get a good brand-this was taken with a brand new vivitar cheapie! <BR>http://www.heidgerken.org/gfx/500mm/IMG_3033.JPG <p>I must say that i think this particular lens is faulty but still-the good examples (of cheap mirror lenses as i've used) are not much better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyinca Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 Here is a sample from a Vivitar Series 1 Solid CAT 800mm f11. I think the donuts actually adds to the picture in this case. http://www.photo.net/photo/3120159 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rokkor fan Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 Have a look here at my review of the Minolta 500mm f/8 Rokkor-RF, a very nice mirror lens which actually delivers (in terms of light transmission) the f8 it promises. This is unlike some cheaper mirror lenses that are a theoretical f8, but with falloff or simply less light transmission are actually more like f11. <a href="http://www.rokkorfiles.com/500mm.htm">The Rokkor Files - 500mm</a><p>Regards, Antony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 <P>This is off topic but re Antony's post, I have the RF Rokkor 250mm f5.6 mirror and this is also a very nice lens. Its close focus point is only 8 feet which makes it handy in some situations. The donut effect is inescapable but you have to choose your compositions so it doesn't intrude - or make a feature of it!</P><P>Certainly the resolution and contrast of this lens is on a par with a refractive lens of the same focal length and aperture - and the depth of field is exactly the same. </P> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjmarkowitz Posted February 15, 2005 Author Share Posted February 15, 2005 How much of the donut backgrounds can be corrected (softened?) with Photoshop Elements? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kin_lau Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 "How much of the donut backgrounds can be corrected (softened?) with Photoshop Elements?" You can completely make the donuts go away with a gaussian blur applied selectively, but it's not a "one-click" process. Save my pic above and give it a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denisbergeron Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 You can find samples of the Rubinar 1000mm f10 on my portfolio, I have presentations by lens of my specials lenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neild Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 A nest with an Olympus Zuiko 500mm f/8 mirror lens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neild Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 I'll try that again. <p> <img src="http://www.pbase.com/lightsculpter/image/22402520.jpg"> <p> <img src="http://www.pbase.com/lightsculpter/image/29912594.jpg"> <p> Both were taken with an Olympus Zuiko 500mm f/8 mirror lens. The nest shows funny bokeh (in background), the transit of Venus is fine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pvp Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Here's another shot taken at the same time as the one I posted previously, also with the mirror lens. This one has had the background selectively softened using Gaussian blur. Note that in the foreground, and in the middle distance, there are some grass stalks that appear doubled; one of the more endearing aspects of mirror lenses, is that straight lines that are out of focus can be doubled due to reinforcement of the blurry donuts. <P> <img src="http://home.comcast.net/~w7apd/public/greatblueheron.jpg"> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjmarkowitz Posted February 18, 2005 Author Share Posted February 18, 2005 Alan, the heron example looks great with the blur...how long did it take you to do that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 <P>I've posted a shot made with my 250/5.6 mirror <a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/3128939">here</a>. The intent here was to get nice big donuts.</P> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pvp Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 Brian: Thanks! It's been a while since I made that image, but not too difficult. The slowest part was selecting the BG around the heron's head and neck. After selecting, the heron was moved to another layer (and deleted from the first layer.) Then apply Gaussian blur to the BG layer until I could live with it. BTW, it was edited in PaintShop Pro. I may have also applied a slight amount of blur to the near background but don't recall. Poor record keeping; my bad. This image and some others similar to it, were the final nail in the coffin of my mirror lens. I was so disheartened by the on-film results in this type of situation, that I saved for 300mm f/2.8. I'll admit, there are times that I miss the light weight and small size of the mirror lens, and in most cases the background isn't that bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now