Mirror Lens

[nikonian bob]

Just a ray of hope to those who may be thinking of buying a mirror lens but have been put off buy the bad publicity. With practice, NAILED IT ! Mine is a coal fired old sigma 600mm f8 which at the local airshow last weekend turned out the best shots , better than the local pro.s "according to me " Major issue was getting used to manual focus , you have to be 100% spot on and quick for that , then I used a monopod. oiled up loose as. . The key thing ***, is light. I postioned on the sun side and made sure the sun was actually reflecting off the aircraft. I can almost read the refuel instructions on the fuel cap filler on a fast moving YAK aircraft. Wonderfull shots. Also I seem to have lost that flat contrast Mirrors tend to give. Wish I could upload a pic or two but thats beyond me at the moment. but if you want one give me an email address and I will flick it thru. Take Care.
Bob W

 

[Scarecrow]

That's one thing I haven't tried yet, a mirror lens on a FF digital. I've still got my Tamron 500mm still knocking around somewhere, so I'll have to give it a go.

 

[eccles]

If you've got Alpha mount the Sony/Minolta 500mm mirror is worth a punt as it will autofocus. Images from it are a bit flat and lacking in edge definition but the detail is there; you just have to use a bit of post processing to bring it out.
The big problem with all mirror lenses is the accursed donuts. When you get out of focus highlights, these resolve themselves as rather unpleasant donut type rings. Shoot with the sun over your shoulder and try to avoid close backgrounds as they'll be busy.
Avoid the cheap T-mount things on ebay. I wouldn't even use them to shave with.

 

[nikonian bob]

Thanks Mike, I like these things, Gallileo stuff, but so is Hubble. A 300mm/3.5 is avail I think . Imagine it at a concert at night. with the donut effect coloured and hanging in the air ! I have done some surfer shots , a bit flat and hard to retrieve but now I think the sun early morning will solve that.