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DPChallenge Forums >> Tips, Tricks, and Q&A >> Reflex (Mirror) lense
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 12/28/2005 09:41:09 PM · #1
Can any one around here point out the pros and cons of this type of lens ? Let's say it's a Zuiko Telephoto lenses - 500mm f/8.0 Reflex (Mirror) lense because this is what my friend is looking at for his EVOLT 300. I assume it is not the quality of a normal 500 mm lens because it's 1/5 the price of the price. If you can offer information it would be easier to make a choice or not for this lens. Thanks in advance.
 12/28/2005 09:47:13 PM · #2
Fixed aperture, Manual focus, weird donut-shaped bokeh...but small, light and quite portable and cheap.
 12/28/2005 09:55:39 PM · #3
don't do it.

if the mirror is shifted at all, then there goes the lens.

just my opinion.
 12/28/2005 10:02:28 PM · #4


This is a 500mm f8 mirror lens (nikon) on my Olympus E-300. Remember the Olympus has a 2x factor compared to 35mm cameras, so the 500 is the equivelent to a 1000mm f8 that you can hand hold. Not a lens you would use every day, but for the occasional super telephoto shot it's worth the money. Also I've seen tiny 300mm f5.6 mirrors that would be a great combo if you can find one.
 12/28/2005 10:06:03 PM · #5
I have a centon 500mm mirror lens... the pros include it being very small and light, hence convenient to carry, and of course very long. The cons however are quite numerous - the quality is terrible, it's soft, uncontrasty, and the donut bokeh is weird and not often desirable. In addition, i've never seen an autofocus lens of this type, and the fixed aperture at f/8 gets very annoying - often too dark in the viewfinder to manually focus properly.
 12/28/2005 10:08:39 PM · #6
Originally posted by hyperfocal:


This is a 500mm f8 mirror lens (nikon) on my Olympus E-300. Remember the Olympus has a 2x factor compared to 35mm cameras, so the 500 is the equivelent to a 1000mm f8 that you can hand hold. Not a lens you would use every day, but for the occasional super telephoto shot it's worth the money. Also I've seen tiny 300mm f5.6 mirrors that would be a great combo if you can find one.


So if this moon shot is with the 500 mirror lens that is suppose to be a 1000 on the E-300 is it better or worse than a regular style of lens ? I took this shot with my Sigma Bigma handheld at 500 which should actually be 800 mm it seems to be closer, it is cropped, but that's all.
12/28/2005 10:12:59 PM · #7
My image is full frame with no crop. I wasn't implying that this was a great image, but just showing the magnifcation possible with the combination. My E-300 with a 500mm mirror will fit into the glove box of my car. Not too many 1000mm equivalent rigs can say the same.
 12/28/2005 10:16:56 PM · #8
Originally posted by hyperfocal:
My image is full frame with no crop. I wasn't implying that this was a great image, but just showing the magnifcation possible with the combination. My E-300 with a 500mm mirror will fit into the glove box of my car. Not too many 1000mm equivalent rigs can say the same.


Since you have one is there anything you feel he should be checking it for as this one he is looking at it used also. Have you found any draw backs to this lens?
Thanks
 12/29/2005 12:00:32 AM · #9
Originally posted by hyperfocal:
My image is full frame with no crop. I wasn't implying that this was a great image, but just showing the magnifcation possible with the combination. My E-300 with a 500mm mirror will fit into the glove box of my car. Not too many 1000mm equivalent rigs can say the same.


Stuffing a mirror reflex lens int he car's glovebox is a recipe for diaster; they are extremely sensitive to warping in high temperatures. I used to use a Nikkor 500mm mirror reflex on my film Nikon and liked it fine. On the other hand, I tried a couple off brands back then and theyw ere both truly awful...

R.
 12/29/2005 05:58:00 AM · #10
Originally posted by Pioneer:


Since you have one is there anything you feel he should be checking it for as this one he is looking at it used also. Have you found any draw backs to this lens?
Thanks


Check for fungus which is more common on mirrors than traditional lenses, and I would pass on those with stiff focus (dropped).
 12/29/2005 05:59:39 AM · #11
Originally posted by bear_music:


Stuffing a mirror reflex lens int he car's glovebox is a recipe for diaster; they are extremely sensitive to warping in high temperatures. I used to use a Nikkor 500mm mirror reflex on my film Nikon and liked it fine. On the other hand, I tried a couple off brands back then and theyw ere both truly awful...

R.


I would never store my camera in the glovebox. I was just illustrating how small the rig is.
 12/29/2005 09:58:14 AM · #12
Reflex Mirrors are more akin to their telescope brethren.

They may have the "range" (mm) but the quality is subpar to today's units. However, if you can't afford more than $50-$100 it may get you by till you can.

I seldom use mine...
 12/29/2005 11:11:57 AM · #13
The reflex lenses are really just small catadioptric telescopes, either Maksutov-Cassegrain or similar designs. They combine both refractive optics (the front corrector plate) and relfective optics (the primary and secondary mirrors). The quality of the corrector and mirrors and their alignment is critical to the performance of the instrument. Just as with (refractive) lenses, you get what you pay for. A really good reflex lens can produce very nice images, though you will never achieve the contrast of refractive optics. The bokeh is something else again, but that's not really a concern in the applications for which a reflex lens is normally purchased.

12/29/2005 12:09:17 PM · #14
Another benefit of mirrors is virtually no chromatic aberration.
 12/29/2005 12:29:45 PM · #15
Originally posted by theSaj:
Reflex Mirrors are more akin to their telescope brethren.

They may have the "range" (mm) but the quality is subpar to today's units. However, if you can't afford more than $50-$100 it may get you by till you can.

I seldom use mine...


This is not what I would call cheap, it is a long way from $100 it is $650 US funds new, but he is looking at $550 can used.

So for wildlife shots mailny would he be better off skipping over this type of lens and going for a good regular style 500 mm zoom?
 12/29/2005 12:51:03 PM · #16
Originally posted by Pioneer:


This is not what I would call cheap, it is a long way from $100 it is $650 US funds new, but he is looking at $550 can used.

So for wildlife shots mailny would he be better off skipping over this type of lens and going for a good regular style 500 mm zoom?


Is that an Olympus OM lens? I don't know how good a lens it is, but I can tell you the Nikon Nikkor 500mm f8N is an outstanding lens that is sharp, well constructed, and focuses down to 5 feet (great for birding). I see them on the used market for about $300-400 in mint condition. Unless your friend already has an OM adapter, I would suggest going the Nikon adapter route just to have more lens choices in the future. Nikon's lens catalog is quite a bit deeper than Olympus' OM system.
 12/29/2005 01:08:37 PM · #17
Originally posted by Pioneer:
So for wildlife shots mailny would he be better off skipping over this type of lens and going for a good regular style 500 mm zoom?


For wildlife a mirror lens is next to useless. The narrow maximum aperture means your backgrounds will often not be sufficiently out of focus, and you will not get enough light for fast enough shutter speeds to handhold such a long lens. Not to mention trying to manual-focus on a flying bird with a little light, shakey mirror lens...

Also, if you're trying to get artistic shots of the natural world, the donut bokeh makes it look like you're trying to be funny, and draws attention away from your subject. To be honest, the usability of such lenses is very limited - generally they are not suited at all to capturing any kind of action, but lenses of this length are only really required for action shots (wildlife, sports etc). A cheap one makes a good toy, but spending $650 on one seems a little excessive.
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