Mirror lenses

Whilst browsing another the AP forum I came across the following link
http://www.stevesforums.com/forums/view_forum.php?id=24

This in turn brought me to some examples taken using a 500mm mirror lens (plus extenders!) which gave surprisngly good results - always assuming the data was genuine and there is no reason to believe otherwise.

As it happens, I contemplated getting a 500mm mirror lens some time back but was put off because somewhere I had read that the results were poor, but the above examples contradict that.

Has anyone experience of using these lenses? How do they perform?

Also what is a T mount adapter and how does it work?

Graham
PS if you also browse the AP forum you will see this post there, so forgive me for casting my net wide.

I have used them bu IMHO they are good but not as good as a 500 prime.

One main issue is that out of fucus objects (in particular bright ones)become doughnut shaped - not very nice

Mine's quite old now but only has one F stop at F8, new ones may be better though.

I can't see the mirror lens post you refer to on Steves, but over on Phototakers.com forums there is a guy called KimR who gets some pretty impressive results with a 500mm Oly OM mirror lens on a 2x converter and E series DSLR (so in 35mm terms a 2000mm equiv field of view).

On the other hand, cheap mirror lenses are dire. I had a Centon 500mm until recently when I managed to sell it on Ebay after I proved to myself that my *istDL2 produced better pictures by mounting the DA 50-200 and ressing up a central crop than by using the 500mm mirror.

If you can find a genuine Pentax mirror lens I have heard they are pretty special, but they are also rare and expencive. The Tamron SP one is supposed to be ok, but stay away from the cheap T mount ones, they aren't worth the bother.

To answer your other question, T mount is like M42 but with a slightly different thread (don't ever confuse them 'cause you can strip the threads by trying to mount one onto the other, they almost fit). It was developed by Tamron before they went to the Adaptall system and is still widely used in telescope eyepiece camera adaptors.

I would not argue with that, but they are also a fraction of the price. Where can I get a 500 prime for under £100

There is an Opteka one on Ebay for around £70 - cheap and cheerful, but could be a waste of money

My Tamron 18-200mm + a 1.4X converter would be nearly the same focul length, but converters do not get a good press either. Edit - No it wouldn't - I forgot the 1.5 multiplier

I have tried the resizing route using a 28-300mm Tamron but I am not happy with the results. Perhaps my technique is lacking.

It is actually part of the Point-and-Shoot - Pentax page. Choose the second post (it says it has been moved but click on it anyway)

cheers
Graham

Hi Graham,

I don't think the lens this guy was using was a mirror lens, can't see that it says so - he just calls it an "Mint/Used Manual Focus 500mm/1000mm Prime Lense (Came with 2x Doubler)". The moon pic, and the clock ones look quite good on screen, but obviously we're looking at much reduced resolutions, and things always look sharper when they've been downsized.

The American Robin doesn't look so good in my opinion (the glowing, multicoloured background is a little off-putting for me, and there's colour fringing round the top of the birds head - thought it might have been taken at 800ISO too, but just checked the EXIF and it's 100). However, for $56 incl delivery, I guess it's not bad!

I would say that it's a good way to find out whether you want to invest in a better lens - if you take lots of pictures that you wish looked better, then upgrade, if not, you haven't wasted your money on a good lens.

Dan

I agree Prime 500mm can be a very expensive option especially if you are not doing lots of that type of photos.

A good halfway point may be the Sigma 170-500mm f/5-6.3 DG ASPHERICAL RF at about £350 on ebay

[quote="old timer"]those are cosmetically identical to the Centon I had, that doesn't mean they necessarily ARE the same lens of course but it sure looks like it. I didn't take a single keeper with that Centon, tripod mounted or hand held. It was hard to focus, lacked contrast and sharpness. It's only advantages were size and weight and the 50-200 is both lighter and smaller with at least equal image quality at the same field of view (a significant crop on the 200mm).

The Tamron Adaptall SP, the Sigma 600mm and the Pentax SMC offerings are the only mirror lenses I would consider worthy of bag space.

Also if you get an old one, check the mirrors for corrosion. I have a Sigma 600 which I now use with a filter for solar photography, because its mirror is corroded so as to make it unuseable for anything else.

Thanks Guys
They say that good advice is that that you agree with

I just needed someone to get my brain back where I knew it should be

Before I spend anything I need to get my technique improved - and that come for nothing more than a bit of practice.

Then I might invest in the Sigma - I think they do a zoom upto 400mm as well which might be a bit better with a 1.4 converter

Do Tamron do one? My other lenses are Tamrom.

But that is for next week/month/year

Should I go for the K10, or a new lens Problems, problems, problems!

I like the istD and get some good shots with it, but I think my wife wants it - at least that is what I keep telling her

Graham

I've been looking at both Sigma and Tamron
http://www.bristolcameras.co.uk/page192.htm
for good pricing

Only problem is everybody seems to stock Canon and Nikon but need to place an order for the Pentax ones.

I love the K10D but sometimes it's better to stick with what you've got and then move up when you're ready.

I would recommend the Tamron SP500mm mirror lens because it's a good performer and you should be able to pick up a nice one (hopefully in it's case c/w filter set) for £50-£70 on eBay.
It's a manual focus adaptall2 lens, so all you need is a PK/PKA adaptall mount for it - don't be put off if it's advertised as Nikon or Canon etc!
Expect to pay £20 ish for a seperate mount.....but you might be lucky and pick one up for a fiver and it's even worth buying another lens with the mount you need!

To add even more pulling power, you could look for the SP 2x Flat-field converter. They're excellent and fit directly onto the lens so you only need to fit the adapter between the camera body and the converter.

Hello Graham I have a tamron 500mm mirror lens with adapter for my DS. I no longer need this and would be willing to sell it.

If you are interested send me a pm


Dave

Years ago I bought a Russian 500mm Mirror lens from a company called 'Brocks Cameras' in London for £60. I still have it. It has a Leica 39mm screw mount for the original Zenith but it came with the adapter to 42mm Pentax screw. I used it on a Pentax Club trip to Kenya and I have used it for taking cricket for the local newspaper. It is a bit dark to see through with the fixed f8 aperture but the results are sharp enough. I can use it on my K mount with the S-K adapter (so there is another adapter!) but on the wonderful ME Super bright screen it focusses well.It also came with a selection of filters, yellows ,red, ND and they fit my 400mm A-Series Pentax lens and I can hold them over my Hasselblad lenses too.

if anyone fancies it theres an SMC 400-600 F8-12 zoom reflex zoom on Ebay at the moment. Too rich for my blood but I bet its a nice lens.

Just been checking Bristol Cameras with Sigma site and Warehouse Express. I think they have some of their prices mixed up. I wonder if they would honour the web price

Last time I tried that (with a laptop on another site) I was politely refused

So, never got the laptop. I suspect it would be the same with Bristol Cameras

Graham