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darosa View Drop Down
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Posts: 14144 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Mirror lenses!
    Posted: 05 November 2021 at 19:43
This thread is about mirror lenses. I thought about naming it: "Show us your donuts" but decided against it because mirror lenses are so much more than donuts! They are: affordable, hand-holdable and offer extreme focal lengths (250mm-2000mm); and in able hands they produce excellent IQ.

High time these special lenses get a dedicated thread here on Dyxum, the more so as Minolta, and now Sony is famous for their unique AF mirror lens, the Reflex 8/500.

So here's the place to post your shots made with mirror lenses, discuss their pros and cons, give advise, tips, and so on and so forth.

Let's follow Alice through the mirror, and see what can be found there!
 



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Idleidolidyll View Drop Down
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Posts: 779 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 November 2021 at 19:57
Totally agree!
OK, I'll play:

Minolta AF 500mm f8 Reflex as a landscape lens? Hell yes!

Taranaki Forest, New Zealand by Michael J Breen, on Flickr
Sony ILCE-7R
500mm F8 Reflex
f/8.0 500.0 mm 1/400 6400 Flash (off, did not fire)

Distortion, what distortion?

Around Auckland by Michael J Breen, on Flickr
Sony ILCE-7R
500mm F8 Reflex
f/8.0 500.0 mm 1/500 100 Flash (off, did not fire)

Light Stuff

Around Auckland by Michael J Breen, on Flickr
Sony ILCE-7R
500mm F8 Reflex
f/8.0 500.0 mm 1/500 125 Flash (off, did not fire)

Jump!

Totara Park MTB by Michael J Breen, on Flickr
Sony ILCE-7R
500mm F8 Reflex

Turn!
Totara Park MTB by Michael J Breen, on Flickr
Sony ILCE-7R
500mm F8 Reflex
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Basil View Drop Down
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Posts: 2745 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 November 2021 at 20:01
Since I talked about this lens earlier in a different thread, I though I would share a couple shots with it.
Minolta 800 f/8 on an A57.
To see is to enjoy. To see beyond is to rejoice.

A77Mark II; A6600; A99; various film bodies and an ever-changing collection of lenses
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Fred_S View Drop Down
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Posts: 13515 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 November 2021 at 20:03
Two from stock with AF500 Reflex.

Chimney


Church tower


I found it hard to get nice shots out of it and sold it once I had the 70-400, so I can't post fresh mirror ones.
Looking at posts form others, it must have been me!


Edited by Fred_S - 05 November 2021 at 20:06
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addy landzaat View Drop Down
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Posts: 15551 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 November 2021 at 21:01
Well, maybe I am missing something - but only Jump is typically mirror, the rest could've been taken with any long lens. Next an APO lens thread
Why not follow me on Instagram? @Addy_101
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woodrim View Drop Down
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Posts: 1975 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 November 2021 at 23:17
Originally posted by addy landzaat addy landzaat wrote:

Well, maybe I am missing something - but only Jump is typically mirror, the rest could've been taken with any long lens. Next an APO lens thread


The beauty of a mirror lens in good hands is that the donuts can be controlled and the rendering can be quite nice. This isn't a thread to show donuts but what can be accomplished with a good mirror.
Regards,

woodrim
 



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sybersitizen View Drop Down
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Posts: 14453 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 November 2021 at 23:29
Originally posted by darosa darosa wrote:

... High time these special lenses get a dedicated thread here on Dyxum, the more so as Minolta, and now Sony is famous for their unique AF mirror lens, the Reflex 8/500.

I gently remind people that the lens - nice though it is - is not really unique as an AF mirror lens. Minolta also produced a 400mm AF mirror lens for the Vectis system.

Carry on.
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woodrim View Drop Down
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Posts: 1975 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 November 2021 at 23:37
Thank you for starting this thread, Leo.

Mike Idleidolidyll: That tree pops nicely. Great job on the bike pictures; I know how difficult it is to capture anything moving.

Basil: Those are some of the better images I've seen from the 800mm.

And Fred: You're missing some fun. Mirrors take some time to get used to and to develop technique.

I've been using mirrors since 2017 after giving them a second try. My first cats were not very good, which is an important lesson to understand when purchasing. After trying again and having bought a good one, I got hooked. I actually like the unique rendering provided by a mirror, I put up with the donuts, and have found the lenses that provide more than acceptable sharpness.

My mirror accumulation (not exactly a collection) is more than a dozen and has duplication of focal lengths. Some are better at close, some distance, and some just superior. Size and weight vary as well.

Technique is very important. Most if not all of the mirrors require precise focusing, more so than refractor lenses. And the depth of field is typically very narrow. Rules that we understand about normal optics don't seem to apply the same to cats. In addition to technique, I find it essential to use a mirrorless camera with focus magnification in order to obtain precise focus. This, of course, applies more to the manual focus lenses.

I consider this thread to be for mirror lenses of all types, not just the Minolta and Sony brands.

Dyxum is a collection of very good photographers. I look forward to seeing what others are accomplishing with mirrors.    
Regards,

woodrim
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woodrim View Drop Down
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Posts: 1975 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 November 2021 at 23:57
I'll be posting my first mirror pictures from my most recent purchase, the Nikon (new) 8/500. I have only just recently started using this lens. The "new" designation is misleading since it refers to the last or latest Nikon, not that it is new. I had read good things about it but the price had kept me away until now. It's a very well made lens with a long focus throw. The sharpness and contrast is better than most. I put this one among my top three performing mirrors.

1


2


3


4


5


6
Regards,

woodrim
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woodrim View Drop Down
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Posts: 1975 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 November 2021 at 23:58
Originally posted by sybersitizen sybersitizen wrote:

Originally posted by darosa darosa wrote:

... High time these special lenses get a dedicated thread here on Dyxum, the more so as Minolta, and now Sony is famous for their unique AF mirror lens, the Reflex 8/500.

I gently remind people that the lens - nice though it is - is not really unique as an AF mirror lens. Minolta also produced a 400mm AF mirror lens for the Vectis system.

Carry on.


Yes, and a wonderful lens it is.
Regards,

woodrim
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Jozioau View Drop Down
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Posts: 10216 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 November 2021 at 01:21
I bought my first Minolta 500mm f8 AF Reflex way back when using a Minolta 35mm AF camera, and it's been a very useful part of my kit ever since. I've found that on the a99ii it has really been given a new lease of life.
A sampler of photos I've taken with it is posted to the lens sample images thread in the Dyxum data base, but now this thread has been created, I'm happy to add to it.

Some moon shots to start:
1.
Full moon, Melbourne by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

2. Lunar exclipse.
Total eclipse, blood red super moon by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

And some big orange ball sunsets:
3.
Big ball sunset over Newport, from Brighton by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

4.
Sun dipping below the breakwater, Brighton marina by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

Pulling in distant subjects:
5.
Kite surfer powering off by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

6.
Fishing off the breakwater, Brighton by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

7.
Waiting for a bite, Brighton pier by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

8.
Rainbow lorikeet looking out from nesting hollow by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

9.
Tawny Frogmouth 6 by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

And some telephoto compression:
10.
Brighton bathing boxes 1 by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

11.
High St. Armadale sunset by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

A bit of deliberate donut:
12.
High St. Armadale sidewalk impression by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

And finally, for candid shots:
13.
Artist at work, Brighton beach by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

14.
Covid-19 Coiffure by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

I find it a handy walkabout, discrete, with tons of reach, zero distortion, zero chromatic aberration, and lots to recommend it once you learn your way around its limitations and get them mastered.
"Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst" - Henri Cartier-Bresson
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addy landzaat View Drop Down
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Posts: 15551 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 November 2021 at 08:43
Originally posted by woodrim woodrim wrote:

Originally posted by addy landzaat addy landzaat wrote:

Well, maybe I am missing something - but only Jump is typically mirror, the rest could've been taken with any long lens. Next an APO lens thread


The beauty of a mirror lens in good hands is that the donuts can be controlled and the rendering can be quite nice. This isn't a thread to show donuts but what can be accomplished with a good mirror.
That is why I proposed an APO thread, to show the rendering of those lenses

I see you guys enjoy your mirrors!
Why not follow me on Instagram? @Addy_101
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darosa View Drop Down
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Posts: 14144 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 November 2021 at 09:15
Originally posted by addy landzaat addy landzaat wrote:

Well, maybe I am missing something - but only Jump is typically mirror, the rest could've been taken with any long lens. Next an APO lens thread


We are not interested in what you are missing when you have obviously not (cared to) read the OP.
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darosa View Drop Down
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Posts: 14144 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 November 2021 at 09:19
Originally posted by sybersitizen sybersitizen wrote:

Originally posted by darosa darosa wrote:

... High time these special lenses get a dedicated thread here on Dyxum, the more so as Minolta, and now Sony is famous for their unique AF mirror lens, the Reflex 8/500.

I gently remind people that the lens - nice though it is - is not really unique as an AF mirror lens. Minolta also produced a 400mm AF mirror lens for the Vectis system.

Carry on.


You're right, thanks!
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