>Do *you* have a mirror lens?
Yup, two. Celestron Pacific (over 25 years old) 8 inch diameter F10 the
fl is 2000mm and a brand X Tokina or something I don't recall (or pay much
attention) it is F8 500mm
>Does it get used as much as your refracting teles and zooms?
Nope, not even collectively.
>What problems has it solved?
Celestron: What to do on cold clear nights in the desert.
(astronomy) Also it gets you really close to things in the field. If you
just need "close" and no artsy craftsy depth of field relative focus
capability (this lil' tele definitely compresses images) Great eclipse
shots as the FOV at prime focus with a 35mm camera such as the FINE OM-1n
or OM-2n just barely gets the entire disk of the sun or moon.
Brand X: How to afford and carry a 500 mm lense along with a full
bag of other fixed and zoom lenses without hiring native bearers to
accompany me on a photo expedition to the San Diego Zoo, their Wild Animal
Park, or any of the protected wetlands or wildlife/bird sanctuary locations.
>What problems does it introduce?
Celestron: Portability (or lack thereof) quite narrow field of view
and depth of focus.
Brand X: Out of focus fore and backgrounds not always artistically
pleasing (not all bad either) To defend it, I have some 14inch prints of
flamingos with pleasingly out of focus thin green bushes in front of the
pastel pink body where with a hand lense you can almost see my reflection
in the pupil of the eye of the main subject (dead sharp in the center of
focus). Light weight encourages use without tripod (not always successful
and I am one of steadiest holders I know) I have tried it with a X2. Not
a great optical combination but if you want 1000 mm that is light and
portable and can accept mediocre results...
>For what situations is it ideal?
Celestron: Short exposure astrophotgraphy (basic old fashioned
tracking system) When there is no substitute for FL in nature shots; shy
coyote family, mountain goats in inaccessible locations, etc.
Brand X: This lense is truly light weight and if you can spare the
space (not too much) it is no bother to carry it around for a long time so
it is there when you need it like when your zoom to 205mm just isn't enough
or your 300mm just isn't enough. Better the 500 mm than the 300 with a
times two on it (usually).
>What situations find it wanting, and why?
Celestron: Again portability. Action that has high angular
velocity requiring fast panning or follow focus. You don't do pairs of
eagles dancing together across the sky or this past weekend's US Marine
Corps Air Station, Miramar Air Show (Blue Angels etc.)
Brand X: Could have used this on action at Miramar Air Show but
would have needed a zoom lense on another camera to avoid down time while
changing lenses. In dynamically evolving fast paced action situations it
is likely that you will need two cameras if you use a 500mm mirror lense as
it not the right lense at least part of the time. You will quickly learn
what the "right stuff" is to shoot with a mirror lense.
If you are on a short budget (aren't most of us, at least some of
the time?) buy an inexpensive one (brand X) and if you can't get along
without it, consider selling it... and buying a Maksutov version of the
catadioptric miror lense. Maks can be identified by observing the deep
dish of the corrector plate ("objective "). Careful, not all Maks are
created equal.
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|