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Explore the world of vintage lenses through repair notes, real test shots, and detailed archive threads packed with images.

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Soligor 500mm f8 Mirror Lens has anyone used this?
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 6:09 am
Post subject: Soligor 500mm f8 Mirror Lens has anyone used this?
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 6:09 am
Post subject: Soligor 500mm f8 Mirror Lens has anyone used this?
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looking at buying this depending on a few conditions(stops me buying anything and everything)
Is it a good lens...sharp etc I know bigger lens have different problems,and mirror lens are different again.
What should I ask the seller?
I really appreciate your help.I am slowly working out what lens I want and don't want.Mainly by using the lens and looking at the results.


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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 6:29 am
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 6:29 am
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I have one sitting here almost unused since I bought it. They are bloody heavy and there are better 500mm mirror lenses out there as far as image quality goes. There is a rotating disc inside for changing the aperture which goes to f16 with F11 as the other aperture option. I picked mine up for $100 aud if you want an idea of what a fair price for one would be.


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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 8:52 am
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 8:52 am
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Have you used mirror lenses before? For my taste they produce really ugly looking images, for example:

(Promaster 500/8)

(Rubinar Maksutov 1000/10)


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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 9:16 am
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 9:16 am
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@larsr No i have not used a mirror so no idea on how they work,silly but I like soligor and wondered if this would be a worthwhile addition to my little collection.

@xjjohnno Would it be possible for you to dust it off and provide a few photos?? Laughing

Hmmm might be worth letting it go.What would you use it for?as in what style of photo ...landscape,birds etc?


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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 10:04 am
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 10:04 am
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Bird pics for that focal length is great. Pictures of that cute young lady next door who never closes her curtains when dressing even better. I can provide sample images next couple of days. You are far better off getting a decent normal kind of lens though. Probably the most impressive pics I've seen from a mirror lens is one of the Russian brands, 3M 5A I think it was. Someone here might be able to steer you to something better then that Soligor.


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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 10:26 am
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 10:26 am
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I've got the Soligor C/D 500 f/8 mirror, it's a T mount with a hood that stores over the rear part of the lens... To be honest I've tried 3 times and haven't got the hang of it yet. I haven't managed to get a truly sharp picture yet - I just don't get along with teles, or perhaps I have a bad sample.



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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 11:01 am
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 11:01 am
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Thanks I would appreciate it.
@Nesster, looks nice on the Yashica.This may be one soligor I let go Wink


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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 12:04 pm
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 12:04 pm
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xjjohnno wrote:
Bird pics for that focal length is great. Pictures of that cute young lady next door who never closes her curtains when dressing even better. I can provide sample images next couple of days. You are far better off getting a decent normal kind of lens though. Probably the most impressive pics I've seen from a mirror lens is one of the Russian brands, 3M 5A I think it was. Someone here might be able to steer you to something better then that Soligor.


I have a 3M-5A. Quite happy with it:






bb2


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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 1:01 pm
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 1:01 pm
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Me too, can be difficult to focus but capable of good results. Both of these shots were hand held in good weather

url=https://forum.mflenses.com/userpix/200910/big_428__G104649_1.jpg][/url]

[/img]


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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 6:39 pm
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 6:39 pm
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Not a Soligor, but a Sigma 600mm f/8 mirror. I got my best results when I changed out my focusing screen to a plain ground glass one. As you can see, depending on the DOF, the out-of-focus donuts don't have to be severe. Canon F-1, the first one is Kodachrome 64, the second is Fujichrome 100.





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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 8:06 pm
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 8:06 pm
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wow.....love the Galah and rainbow lorikeet,is it hard to obtain these shots?

Looks like you have to practice with this type of lens to get the best.
thanks for your replies thus far plenty of food for thought.


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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 10:10 pm
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 10:10 pm
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Mo-Fo wrote:
.....Looks like you have to practice with this type of lens to get the best....


It takes a lot of practice to master the mirrorlens but it's worth it. When you can do it with a mirrorlens, you can do it with any other type.

This one was with a Tokina 500mm


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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 12:05 am
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 12:05 am
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Shocked ...Tokina so far followed by the Russian.


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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 12:07 am
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 12:07 am
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beachboy2 wrote:
xjjohnno wrote:
Bird pics for that focal length is great. Pictures of that cute young lady next door who never closes her curtains when dressing even better. I can provide sample images next couple of days. You are far better off getting a decent normal kind of lens though. Probably the most impressive pics I've seen from a mirror lens is one of the Russian brands, 3M 5A I think it was. Someone here might be able to steer you to something better then that Soligor.


I have a 3M-5A. Quite happy with it:






bb2


What a dream place !!

I love your shoots, please publish more.


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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 12:14 am
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 12:14 am
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Attila you must come to Australia ,the colours in the birdlife is amazing....and everything else... Laughing


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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 12:31 am
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 12:31 am
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Mo-Fo wrote:
Attila you must come to Australia ,the colours in the birdlife is amazing....and everything else... Laughing


Laughing I wish but 24 hrs flight and cost of travel ..


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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 4:35 am
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 4:35 am
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Taken with Tamron SP500 Mirror.


Still learning how to handle this small beast. Lots to learn about Bokeh control but very handy and loving it.


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Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 4:33 pm
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Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 4:33 pm
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beachboy2 wrote:



It looks great and the donut bokeh is great in this one Smile


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Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 6:10 pm
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Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 6:10 pm
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Yeah, I've found that occasionally the donut bokeh can add an interesting element to photos at times.

Beachboy2's shot is a really good example of this. The bokeh complement the round berries.
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