Canon 200mm F/3.5 Black Mirror Box Lens with tele-coupler

pdccameras · Expire: 2014-08-11

I just recently scored this beautiful 200mm f/3.5 Canon mirror box lens in ltm along with the tele-coupler adapter. To the best of my knowledge, this lens was originally designed for screw mount Canon rangefinders via the mirror box (Canon's version of the Visoflex). Canon produced the tele-coupler adapter so its mirror box lenses could be used on the Canonflex SLRs until true Canonflex lenses could be produced. I am pretty sure that Kuanan has posted about the other Caonon mirror box lenses.

In any case this lens is incredibly well made and turns in some nice results. It lacks a little contrast, but makes up for it in resolution. It is a bit soft wide open, but sharpens right up by f/4. Also, I have noiticed some definite purple CA wide open, which clears up nicely by f/5.6 or so. Amazing (to me) is that I find the color rendition very close to modern EOS glass. The bokeh is circular and progresses from very smooth (see the portrait image) to a little more obvious (see the image of the tall grass). I really like it!

I bought it rather inexpensively, so I was able to have it completely CLA'd. I haven't had a chance to put it through its paces, yet, but here are some pics of the lens and few test shots i made with the lens mounted on a Sony A7 Mii. Enjoy!

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tikkathree · Expire: 2012-12-28

Good catch - well done!

I've highlighted two of your points which I want to chip in on.

Firstly isn't it often the case that a lens, almost any lens is softest when wide open? I'm certainly no expeert but I've read enough reviews of Canon lenses (and others) o begin to recognise a pattern.

And on colour rendition, it was once put to me that Canon "upgraded" the branding of some of their best/mist popular lenses simply because they could make more money by charging more for them We can get drawn into L-obsession and forget to use our eyes.

You make salient points which we can all acknowledge - well done of finding this one.

pdccameras · Expire: 2014-08-11

Great points!

Most lenses are weakest wide open. Some lenses, ie. many Leitz M lenses, can be superb at full aperture, dipping in performance only at small apertures when diffraction sets in. Generally speaking, and in my limited experience, a 200mm lens from the early sixties isn't typically the kind of lens I would expect to be all that wonderful wide open, or to clean up much before f/5.6. I think this lens is a little better than the run of the mill.

You're right of course about Canon - it's amazing how much extra dough they can get by throwing a thin red line on the end of a lens!

Thanks for the comments!!!

All the best,

Paul