Man walks into a camera shop and is approached by 2 cats...

[justtorchit]

...the cats have something of a reputation and have been known to be rather desirable. The man however, is both skeptical and, well...broke. He purchases them regardless. LBA strikes again!

I present to you my most recent, and irresistible find: The Vivitar Series 1 Solid Cat(s).



I know there exist a few posts here on the forum on these lenses but I figured I would throw in some more samples. I can't say I have ever been extremely fond of the Catadioptric optics and their "doughnut" bokeh. But I have to say these lenses have really impressed me! I think used correctly, they can produce some very beautiful results. And the lack of CA under the most extreme contrast situations is just awesome!

The sample images have been very minimally processed, if at all. A slight curve here or there but no post sharpening. Wow, these lenses do quite admirably. And they are a joy to use. All shots handheld on the Nikon D700.

[berraneck]

what a magnificient shots! I must try that MTO500 which sits in my bookshelf

[gearsNcogs]

i really like the donut bokeh in shots 2 and 3, i agree it can definitely be distracting, but in these shots i feel it actually adds something to the picture. they're all great shots -- congratulations!

[martyn_bannister]

Nice shots, although, as you say, the bokeh is, erm, striking on occasion.

Excuse my ignorance, but why are these lenses described as "solid" cat? Are they not like my mirror lenses with a front element and a rear mirror, with an air space between?

[Minolfan]

I am not sure about the answer. The technical descriptions I found, made curious by you, were noit clear for me. It has something to do with the construction of the mirrorlens and passing the light through solid glass.

But may be the answer is given here: http://www.adaptall-2.org/lenses/55B.html in the comparing of the schemes of the Tamron with a traditional mirror lens?

[martyn_bannister]

[justtorchit]

martyn, I bet someone else here probably has a more technically sound explanation here but as far as I understand, the "Solid Cats" get their name from the fact that yes (as Minolfan mentions), the lenses utilize a solid piece of glass between the mirrors. This not only accounts for their considerably smaller size than other mirror lenses of the same focal length, but also the lack of a need to collimate, or essentially calibrate, the optic (making sure the mirrors are in alignment). Consequently the Solid Cats weigh a hefty sum and could easily carry the name for additional reasons such as Martyn mentions, they feel like a solid chunk of metal and glass!

[WolverineX]

a little bit about catadioptric lenses
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catadioptric_system

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/lenses/solid_cat.shtml

[martyn_bannister]

Enough hijacking the thread, for which I apologise. A very quick google found THIS PAGE, which details a cat lens designed as one solid piece of glass.

EDIT..... As mentioned by Wolverine's second link, which I have just read. DOH! Apologies!

[poilu]

congrats David, share your donuts with us

[JohnBee]

Arg! my eyes! my eyes!
Mirror lenses are so amazingly sharp for size etc.
but the bokeh is just so unsightly to me

[WolverineX]

[justtorchit]

I am curious though, and perhaps Martyn, your link will answer it for me, ( I am at work and just read the title. I will go back to it later when I have time.) how these lenses manage to handle CA so well, like the catadioptric lenses which do not use glass. I thought the use of mirrors and lack of diffracting light was the reason cat's didn't suffer CA. Once a glass element is introduced, does that not also introduce some sort of light-bending property? And don't worry about hijacking the thread in the name of science! I appreciate all the info I can get on these lenses.

[martyn_bannister]

I'm no expert, but I think the general idea is that CA is not present because the light gets bent going through the front surface to get to the rear surface mirror, only to be bent exactly the reverse amount on the way back out again. Thus CA is "cancelled out" if you like. Of course, the optical schemes shown in the Tamron link do have some normal lens elements just before the light leaves the lens but I suppose these are designed for minimal CA?

[Big Dawg]

Solid Cats are as they say solid one piece glass. Originally made for the military they were designed this way for durability. You can drop one and it will not get out of alignment. Very tough lenses. I loved mine but my desire for Zeiss lenses prompted me to get rid of it. If you shoot with the light behind or at least 90 degrees to the front of the lens you won't get as much (if any) of the doughnut bokeh. Shoot on and enjoy them as they, when focused properly are very sharp and as noted no CA.

[Attila]