I bought the Exacta lens for long shots that were hard to reach with
anything else. I also wanted something that wasn?t too expensive that I
could take in the jeep when banging around in rough dirty places. I found
the thing to be very awkward to use. The single point tripod mount is
useless as it has little rigidity and the lens is about 25 inches long when
fully extended. There is a locking collar on the sliding zoom mechanism but
it doesn?t lock very well. I found that when turning the focusing collar the
whole mechanism would rotate creating an unstable mess. I built an aluminum
sliding strongback that mounts to the front element of the lens, the tripod
mount ring, and the baseplate of an OM-1. This provides rotational
stability. I use a Bogen rubber flexhead (Bogen Part No. 3423C) to connect
the OM-1 to the strongback. I mounted a Bogen quick-release plate on the
strongback about six inches in front of the camera and this mounts to the
gun-stock. There is a u-shaped bracket near the front of the stock for the
front of the strongback to rest in. This gives a solid two point support for
the system. Most of the time I prefer to shoot with the front of the
strong-back resting on a bean-bag over the car door with me holding the
camera. I have a special low tripod that can be used on a car hood or in a
variety of other ways. I will be adapting this lens to that device also but
have not done so yet. For use on a tripod a secondary support is needed for
stability.
I was not expecting much in the area of optical quality but have been
pleasantly surprised. I took some test pictures comparing this lens with
some others but cannot remember if the 1000mm mirror lens was used. I will
check that when I get back where those slides are filed. I have the
Celestron 90 which is about the same as the Meade unit Moose mentioned. I
had planned to use this lens a lot this summer but had a bad climbing
accident in early June so have been out of commission until recently. So far
the lens has been used for wildlife (animals) and for investigative work for
an agency that needs photos for legal evidence. Sometimes this is also
wildlife (people) who really do not want to be photographed. The long reach
is nice but a lot of light is needed.
I?ve sold my slide scanner and am just now getting the new one set up. I?ll
share some of the wildlife (animal) shots when I can. The people ones best
not be shared??that might get me laid-up for a very long time. I will also
post pictures of the hardware or can send those to anyone who might be
interested. The stuff looks crude but it works.
/jnm
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Bruce Hamm
Sent: Friday, December 14, 2001 7:14 PM
To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [OM] 200/4 -vs- 200/5?
> My lens I call "the beast" is a 650-1300mm zoom made by Exacta with an OM
> mount.
James,
How do you find the optical quality of the lens. What do you typically use
this for?
Bruce
Bruce Hamm
Ottawa, Canada
bhamm@xxxxxxxx
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