Mirror lenses!

Snegren wrote: Hi Ine, the Vectis 400/8 Mirror (I have one) is totally useless unless you have a suitable adapter (I don't have one) as the lens focusses electronically. There may be a re-issue of an adaptor, nothing confirmed, so I recommend not to go there. The Minolta SR mount Mirror lenses are possibly more useful on FE-mount cameras as they are not designed to focus to infinity on A-mount cameras.

Mounts can be confusing, for sure. The best Minolta mirror for A-mount is the AF Reflex.

Ine: It is Vectis, not Vectris. And the focal length is 400mm; they didn't make a 500mm for Vectis. I don't remember which mount camera you have but I'm certain you realize that there is much more flexibility with mirrorless.

I agree with Paul that the Vectis is (near) useless without a powered adapter. However, I have much more confidence that they will be reintroduced in the not too distant future. Keep in mind that several months is like days to me. I have been in direct contact with the developer and have assisted with some testing in order to improve upon the original offering.

I had only pursued the Vectis 400 out of a hunch that it would be a very good mirror. I based that hunch on my confidence and experience with Minolta. At the time I purchased one (from Ireland), there was no indication of a reissue of the adapters. I was going to attempt a mount conversion of my own, but then learned more of the difficulty, and then, fortunately, the MonsterAdapter people reissued the adapter in limited numbers. My feeling about the Vectis mirror and the advice I have given mirror-friends is to purchase one now. I predict they are going get much more expensive when the adapter comes out again. Availability of the adapter, the sharing of images from the lens, and the rarity of the lens will all contribute to the price increase.

The downside of the Vectis 400, as with all the other Vectis lenses is the format. Although they cover the full-frame well, they do have produce vignetting in the corners. In most cases, I crop to remove or minimize the vignetting. However, as you may have noticed here that when shooting up into a bright sky background, the vignetting becomes more pronounced and the center of the image appears brighter (typical of many mirrors). I think the vignetting contributes to the perception of a bright center. I am going to experiment by removing the rectangular baffle at the rear lens mount. I suspect it is the cause or at least contributing to the vignetting.

THX Paul (always a pleasure to 'see' you too! ) and Mike! are you saying not everything is a match with E-mount? learning something new every day!
thought back then that a Vectis (not VectRis, sorry) lens for just 10 Euro + an A7something for $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Euro could be an option.
it was a long lens and a Vectis. must have been 400mm then?
vignetting doesn't come as a surprise as the diameter is rather small-ish. surprised, blown away by your results!!

Later, after the mist had lifted somewhat. With A7iii and Minolta RF Rokkor 250mm 1:5.6

4: Impressions of a fence

Exposure Time: 0.008 sec (1/125)
ISO: 250

5: Broken fence

Exposure Time: 0.008 sec (1/125)
ISO: 400

6: Street chess

Exposure Time: 0.008 sec (1/125)
ISO: 1600

7: Tire and rack

Exposure Time: 0.008 sec (1/125)
ISO: 320

8: Lucky 13

Exposure Time: 0.008 sec (1/125)
ISO: 640

9: Track to infinity

Exposure Time: 0.008 sec (1/125)
ISO: 500

10: High voltage

Exposure Time: 0.008 sec (1/125)
ISO: 1000

11: Church window and lights

Exposure Time: 0.008 sec (1/125)
ISO: 1600

12: Mosque

Exposure Time: 0.008 sec (1/125)
ISO: 125

Like #9 especially Paul: that fence is so sweet! Lovely how the circles develop into donuts.

Talking about donuts: the latest addition to my mirror cabinet is a MC MTO-11CA 10/1000. I am desperate to take this lens outside but inclement weather so far has made outside a no-go with this monster. So I'm sort of testing it inside but my home is not a palace and 1000mm is a bit much.
But photos can me made everywhere!

Baublicious

a7rii + MC MTO-11CA 10/1000 (1986; M42)

The MTO-11CA was made by LZOS (Lytkarino Optical Glass Factory) or: ЛЗОС (Лыткаринский завод оптического стекла) and designed by Maksutov (Mak for friends). MTO = Максутова Теле-Объектив (Maksutov Tele-objektiv).

5 Bell tower Maria Magdalena church, Goes


6 Laterna Magica


7 Cormorants


8 Vases


all with a7riv + Minolta RF Rokkor 250mm 1:5.6 (1979)

angora wrote: THX Paul (always a pleasure to 'see' you too! ) and Mike! are you saying not everything is a match with E-mount? learning something new every day! thought back then that a Vectis (not VectRis, sorry) lens for just 10 Euro + an A7something for $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Euro could be an option. it was a long lens and a Vectis. must have been 400mm then? vignetting doesn't come as a surprise as the diameter is rather small-ish. surprised, blown away by your results!!

Ine: I do crop and try to manage the vignetting in other ways. Sometimes when not shooting into a bright area or at certain focus distances, the vignetting can all but disappear. Paul did touch on the issue with adapting the Vectis to the E-mount. It is much more complicated than what one might think. Not just an issue of register, or flange distance, but the lens must receive power and initialization protocols from the camera. The focus is driven by an internal motor and the focus ring does nothing without the power. I had first thought that adding battery was all that was needed, then learned from the Monster person that it is a much more complex conversation that must go on between lens and camera - even to just activate the manual focus. This was explained in much more depth earlier on in this thread. Had Minolta not done the focus-by-wire, it might have been just an adapter-flang distance issue like other lenses. To complicate it further, the focusing occurs at the front of the lens, so helicoids are not an option for focusing.

Thanks Mike! I'm sure we would do more wildlife if we had it in such abundance as you have. But there's so much beauty in the mundane too, fortunately, especially when you embrace the donut :-)