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300mm Mirror Lenses
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I have got the Elicar (no idea who made this) hen my Rokkor 250mm got stolen/lost.
Not nearly as good (flare most obvious weakness).


PostPosted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 2:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Antoine wrote:
hen my Rokkor 250mm got stolen/lost.


Arghhh, so sorry to hear that. Big loss. Better to compare your Elicar to others than to compare to the best. It seems the Rokkor stands alone.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 2:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The unbranded Makinon that I have has been very challenging, but when I hit the focus well, it gives very pleasing results. Even if not as sharp as a normal lens, the overall rendering can be very pleasing. I have been frustrated by so many failed attempts but am now thinking it may be more about my technique. Specifically, focusing at a point, then composing. That little camera angle movement can be the difference between sharp and out of focus, and the closer the subject, the more so. I am able to get away with it when using the big 3M-6A because the distance to the subject is so great.

To the credit of the Makinon, it has provided good contrast and vibrant colors. Here are a few examples of where I have been happy with the results...













But of course, if you are not careful when considering the background, this can happen...


PostPosted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 10:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
If you want to see extremely bad bokeh, look at the Canon CL 250mm mirror, it's attrocious. However, it's a very sharp and well corrected lens, so you can't have everything...


PostPosted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 7:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Those are some great examples, Woodrim. That Makinon looks to be impressively sharp to me.

What is the typical aperture of a 250mm mirror? f/4? f/5.6?

I would like to own a smaller mirror one day, but I just can't get my head around the prices they sell for these days. I'll stick to refractors for now.

I guess I'm somewhat of an oddity. I actually don't mind OOF donuts. I think they actually look kinda cool. But they don't have to be all that obvious, either:

Canon FTbn, Sigma 600mm f/8, Kodachrome 64, circa 1985


PostPosted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 12:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Tamron 350@NEX-5N


100% crop with default Lightroom sharpen only, click to enlarge to full size:


PostPosted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 3:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
That Tamron looks very good to my eyes, certainly much better than many other mirrors I have seen.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 21, 2017 9:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I spent time today with my unbranded Makinon and learned how to use it more effectively. Still though, getting sharp images is challenging with only a tiny movement making the difference between in or out of focus. Every once in a while this happens and gives me hope...



PostPosted: Fri Jul 21, 2017 11:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Focusing with the Tamron is easy thanks to its long focus throw, good sharpness and the tripod mount.





PostPosted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 8:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
calvin83 wrote:
Focusing with the Tamron is easy thanks to its long focus throw, good sharpness and the tripod mount.


There is little doubt that the top three Mirror lenses in this focal range are Minolta 250mm as best with Rubinar 300mm and Tamron 350mm in either order. You have repeated what I have read elsewhere about the Tamron focusing better. I just witnessed a Minolta selling for >$1200 at auction. Rubinar and Tamron have been running at 2/3 to 3/4 the price of Minolta. All three have remained out of my reach.


PostPosted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 8:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
My Ohnar arrived yesterday while I was out playing with the Makinon. I have only so far done some test shots from my front porch and while I have the impression that it is very good, I will give it a try in the field before writing more. Maybe some comparisons to the Makinon too.

While taking silly test pictures from the porch, this fellow came around to help make it more interesting...
Ohnar 5.6/300 - Slight crop.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2017 12:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Three more early Ohnar images...







PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2017 6:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Like 1


PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2017 9:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
As some may know I do a lot of experiments with homeade and modified speedboosters.
Here my Rubinar 500mm/5.6 boosted one stop to 350mm f/4.0 on Sony A7II:

Cherry Blossoms by Markus, auf Flickr

I think I no longer have the need for the slow Minolta 250mm/5.6 Smile
OK, it would be much smaller.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2017 11:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
ZoneV wrote:
As some may know I do a lot of experiments with homeade and modified speedboosters.
Here my Rubinar 500mm/5.6 boosted one stop to 350mm f/4.0 on Sony A7II:

Cherry Blossoms by Markus, auf Flickr

I think I no longer have the need for the slow Minolta 250mm/5.6 Smile
OK, it would be much smaller.

Beautiful picture. Thank you for sharing it.

As for affordable shorter mirror lenses, there is also the Spiratone 300/5.6, which is rather good. My copy is not quite as good as the Tamron 350/5.6, but it's definitely lighter and more compact! Check this thread: http://forum.mflenses.com/spiratone-15-6-f300mm-minitel-s-plura-coat-mirror-lens-t75119.html

Cheers!

Abbazz


PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2017 2:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
ZoneV wrote:
As some may know I do a lot of experiments with homeade and modified speedboosters.
Here my Rubinar 500mm/5.6 boosted one stop to 350mm f/4.0 on Sony A7II:


Very nice. Was it a standard speedbooster or modified? What does it do to minimum focus distance? I am also looking for a Rubinar. The 300mm is out of sight and reach with price but the 5.6/500 can be found more affordably, although I let three get away recently under $200.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2017 3:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Abbazz wrote:

As for affordable shorter mirror lenses, there is also the Spiratone 300/5.6, which is rather good. My copy is not quite as good as the Tamron 350/5.6, but it's definitely lighter and more compact! Check this thread: http://forum.mflenses.com/spiratone-15-6-f300mm-minitel-s-plura-coat-mirror-lens-t75119.html

Cheers!

Abbazz


The Spiratone was on my search list after doing a great deal of research. I do wonder who made it. The list did include Tamron and Rubinar at the top in case I got lucky, but I thought I might more realistically ($$$) find these others: Spiratone, Ohnar, Soligor, Chinon, Panagor, and maybe a few others. Spiratone is pricey when it does show up for sale, Soligor no better. Finally, I found an Ohnar in a small, obscure shop in England. There was no electronic purchase available, so after a phone call and figuring out how to pay and ship, I received a very good copy for $75, half of that being the shipping cost. They didn't take international credit cards and didn't ship abroad, but fortunately we spoke similar languages.

I will report on my comparisons with the Ohnar and unbranded Makinon once I have done more shooting. Initially, the Ohanr seems easier to focus. I think the Makinon has better contrast, although that evens up after a single click in post. Maybe better colors from Makinon too. They both handle and feel the same. There are probably more similarities than differences.


PostPosted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 6:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
woodrim wrote:
The Spiratone was on my search list after doing a great deal of research. I do wonder who made it. The list did include Tamron and Rubinar at the top in case I got lucky, but I thought I might more realistically ($$$) find these others: Spiratone, Ohnar, Soligor, Chinon, Panagor, and maybe a few others. Spiratone is pricey when it does show up for sale, Soligor no better. Finally, I found an Ohnar in a small, obscure shop in England. There was no electronic purchase available, so after a phone call and figuring out how to pay and ship, I received a very good copy for $75, half of that being the shipping cost. They didn't take international credit cards and didn't ship abroad, but fortunately we spoke similar languages.

I will report on my comparisons with the Ohnar and unbranded Makinon once I have done more shooting. Initially, the Ohanr seems easier to focus. I think the Makinon has better contrast, although that evens up after a single click in post. Maybe better colors from Makinon too. They both handle and feel the same. There are probably more similarities than differences.

I'm looking forward to reading your comparison. Did you get the Ohnar with variable aperture? It's a rather unique mirror lens with a 15 blade adjustable diaphragm:


Credit: http://allphotolenses.com/lenses/item/c_1977.html

Here are a few samples taken with the Spiratone 300/5.6 Minitel-S:









Cheers!

Abbazz


PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 7:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
woodrim wrote:

Very nice. Was it a standard speedbooster or modified? What does it do to minimum focus distance? I am also looking for a Rubinar. The 300mm is out of sight and reach with price but the 5.6/500 can be found more affordably, although I let three get away recently under $200.


It is a Kipon medium format to "fullframe" 0.7x speedbooster modified in a special housing caue I use it on differnet lenses like my Canon Fd 300 and 400mm/2.8 and an Kodak Aero Ektar clone / sister.


PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 8:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Shall I be a bit mean and throw in this one...?



and Yes, it is f1.4 not 1:4 and it has a variable aperture built in.... Wink

Richard Nye (now deceased) was making very special cat lenses mostly for scientific use, very fast and usually for infrared and ultraviolet, certainly not for amateur use, also considering the ($)$.$$$ price tag....


PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 9:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
kds315* wrote:
Shall I be a bit mean and throw in this one...?

Now, that's really mean! Wink

Cheers!

Abbazz


PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 9:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Abbazz wrote:
kds315* wrote:
Shall I be a bit mean and throw in this one...?

Now, that's really mean! Wink

Cheers!

Abbazz


Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil


PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 12:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
kds315* wrote:
Shall I be a bit mean and throw in this one...?

It depends on who is reading this thread. Wink


PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 1:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
calvin83 wrote:
kds315* wrote:
Shall I be a bit mean and throw in this one...?

It depends on who is reading this thread. Wink


Yep, for some (like me, maybe others..) it is a treasure... Wink


PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 3:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
kds315* wrote:
calvin83 wrote:
kds315* wrote:
Shall I be a bit mean and throw in this one...?

It depends on who is reading this thread. Wink


Yep, for some (like me, maybe others..) it is a treasure... Wink


Does it produce images?
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