Help with boot sale mirror lens fitting

Barrysprout

Barrysprout

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Colin
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Not long back from the boot sale with my bag of goodies.
Got myself a Praktica BMS Electronic
carl zeiss jena 28mm 2.8 for above
Prakticar 50mm 1.8 for above
and a Prakticar 2x teleconverter

Also got a Zenit EM black with Pentacon 1.8/50mm

Even picked up a pair of bashed up Tohyoh bino's

And lastly I picked up a Ohnar 300mm mirror lens

the fitting seems to be a M42 screw but it seems to protrude quite far back after that. I tried fitting on the Zenit and the screw is the same size but doesn't go all the way.
So really what i want to know is, what fitting is it and can I adapt it in some way to use on a Canon 50D as it would be a great toy for on my holiday.

I may even purchase a roll or two of film. Which camera should I play with? Only film cameras I ever used were automatic.

Here is the Ohnar:
IMG_4852.jpg


Now I had best get all this packed up and in a cupboard before my wife finishes work :nono:
 
Unscrew the rear lens, it's got a thumb edge if you look.

Use the lens to read small print, it will tell you DO NOT try and put the lens on a 50D you would more than likely smash the mirror in your camera.

It will also tell you to take it back to the boot sale next week and see if you can sell it.

Sorry to tell you it this way fella but it would be a good paperweight and nothing else :(
 
It looks like a screw on filter on the back of the lens - probably a neutral density filter, which is the only way to have some exposure control with these lenses as they are a fixed aperture. It was common for these lenses to come with a ND filter for this reason.

Whether it's possible to fit it to your 50D with a converter, I don't know - but proceed with caution! In all honesty even the best makes of mirror lenses leave a lot to be desired for image quality, and this make is pretty obsure.

Sorry!
 
CT said:
It looks like a screw on filter on the back of the lens - probably a neutral density filter, which is the only way to have some exposure control with these lenses as they are a fixed aperture. It was common for these lenses to come with a ND filter for this reason.
Click to expand...
Have you looked at the photo? if you do you will see it has different Fstop marked on the scale.. may be this is true of the 500mm ones that was common place years a go. Must say never see a 300mm one before.
 
Chaz Photos said:
Have you looked at the photo? if you do you will see it has different Fstop marked on the scale.. may be this is true of the 500mm ones that was common place years a go. Must say never see a 300mm one before.
Click to expand...

Damn - so it does! Nope ...I've never seen a 300mm mirror lens either.
 
Thanks guys.
It's not upsetting news as all items were bought as ornaments and not equipment to use. Just figured that if there was some way to use it on the 50D it could be fun to have a 300mm lens in a small package.:D
But also when I got back to the house I had a look over the stuff and it all looks good enough to use so any film advice for having a play with the praktica and 28mm for landscapes would be appreciated.
 
CT said:
Damn - so it does! Nope ...I've never seen a 300mm mirror lens either.
Click to expand...

From what I discovered earlier it is a rarity and possibly worth more than the price I paid. However the settings apparently make little to no difference in use.
 
Well a bit of research reveals that it does indeed have a diaphragm! :shrug:

http://mirrorlens.blogspot.com/2007/09/ohnar-300mm-f56-mirror.html

An image of the front element clearly showing the disphragm...

ohnar06.jpg


That makes it a pretty unusual lens, and being able to alter the aperture makes this lens a lot more usable than most mirror lenses. What the image quality is like I've no idea.
 
It looks as if it has a 'T' mount, after fitting the 'T' adapter you will probably find the filter will be clear of the rear of the mount


Dave..
 
dizidav said:
It looks as if it has a 'T' mount, after fitting the 'T' adapter you will probably find the filter will be clear of the rear of the mount


Dave..
Click to expand...

Thanks Dave, so this adapter from Ebay should do the job? If that's the case it's got to be worth a play. IQ won't be an issue at under £10.

Edit: Just looked some more and found a finished auction on ebay for what appears to be the same lens. That can't be right can it?
 
IIRC, the T mount thread has a different pitch to the M42 lens mount as used by Pentax et al before they switched to bayonets, so an adaptor needs to be fitted. Again, IIRC, the filter on the rear of the lens is a part of the optical path (not sure what it does) and is necessary for optimum IQ. As said above, beware of a mirror/lens interaction - costly.
 
I will be very careful and may try on the 300d first. Is the adapter from ebay what I need? There are others with AF confirm for more £'s but I don't think there would be any point spending more.
Had another look at the lens which sold on ebay and it appears to be the 5.6 fixed aperture.
 
Barrysprout said:
Edit: Just looked some more and found a finished auction on ebay for what appears to be the same lens. That can't be right can it?
Click to expand...

Iy's obviously a fairly rare lens, so in good nick I don't think that price would be unreasonable at all. What really matter though is how well it performs.
 
That may be OK, check on the depth of the adaptor, I had a 500mm mirror that looked very similar, I used a 'T' to M42 then a M42 to EOS, basically because it came with a M42 adaptor fitted.
 
Adapter ordered, probably be a couple of weeks from china. will post results when it arrives.
 
***carl zeiss jena 28mm 2.8 for above***

Is this lens made in Japan or Germany?......I have the German one and it give good results, but I have seen the lens made in Japan on a Zenith for £5, and I read somewhere the sub contracted Japanese one is inferior.
 
excalibur2 said:
***carl zeiss jena 28mm 2.8 for above***

Is this lens made in Japan or Germany?......I have the German one and it give good results, but I have seen the lens made in Japan on a Zenith for £5, and I read somewhere the sub contracted Japanese one is inferior.
Click to expand...

Made in GDR.
I paid a total of £12 for everything listed. As I said before they were purchased as ornaments at the time. However the mirror lens however bad it is may be handy for a couple of wildlife shots while I am on holiday on the Isle of Lewis. And the Praktika with the wide angle lens may be worth the investment of a battery and a couple of rolls of film.
 
Well I picked up the BC1 and it's an OK camera in that it get the exposure right even in a darkened room (so dark I couldn't focus properly).
 
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