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Author Topic: cheap 500mm lens for DSLR  (Read 7311 times)

EinstStein

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cheap 500mm lens for DSLR
« on: March 27, 2011, 12:46:58 am »

Looking for cheap 500mm lens for 35mm DSLR. Will be used to mostly for slow motion objects.
Three candidates come to my mind: Hasselblad 500mm/8 Tele-Tessar, Mamiya 500mm/5.6, and Leica Telyt 560mm/6.8.
I found a few pictures taken with Telyt, but not enough from Hasselblad 500mm and Mamiya 500mm for comparison.

Any comment or suggestion?
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graeme

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curtphoto

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Re: cheap 500mm lens for DSLR
« Reply #2 on: March 27, 2011, 08:17:17 am »

Unfortunately those (Leitz, Hasssy, etc) lenses will not fit a DSLR.
You might look for an older manual focus lens by your camera manufacturer or an independent brand like Sigma, Tamron, Tokina, Tamron.
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donaldt

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Re: cheap 500mm lens for DSLR
« Reply #3 on: March 27, 2011, 09:10:54 am »

Minolta used to make a nice 500mm mirror lens

those lens you mentioned in deed works with DSLR but you need an adapter
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schrodingerscat

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Re: cheap 500mm lens for DSLR
« Reply #4 on: March 27, 2011, 12:43:12 pm »

Looking for cheap 500mm lens for 35mm DSLR. Will be used to mostly for slow motion objects.
Three candidates come to my mind: Hasselblad 500mm/8 Tele-Tessar, Mamiya 500mm/5.6, and Leica Telyt 560mm/6.8.
I found a few pictures taken with Telyt, but not enough from Hasselblad 500mm and Mamiya 500mm for comparison.

Any comment or suggestion?


It looks like you're starting from scratch, so are you going with a full frame or crop sensor camera? If crop sensor, then you won't need an actual 500mm. The one lens on your list for a 35mm camera, the Telyt, is probably for the R cameras, and would be adaptable to a Canon DSLR. The other two are for medium format.

Nikon made a very nice 500mm mirror lens that will work with some of their current cameras, and may also be used on Canons with an adaptor. Vivitar used to offer a 500mm cat that was one of the sharpest available, actually made in the US by an aerospace contractor. It uses a T mount, so could work with a Nikon.

Sony has reintroduced a 500mm mirror for use on their cameras, and some legacy Minolta lenses will also work on Sony DSLR bodies.

In terms of cost, with used lenses it's the luck of the draw and how patient you are to get a deal. The Vivitar may be had fairly cheap as it's not on most people's radar, but is also rarer.  Since the mount is not a concerne, any example will do.
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EinstStein

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Re: cheap 500mm lens for DSLR
« Reply #5 on: March 28, 2011, 01:44:09 am »

Photodo's reviews are very vague. Can't get much meaningful out of it.
Do you have some first hand experience with Tamron 200-500?
Zoom is not on my list, but I'm heavily biased with no obvious reasons.

The three choices I listed are reachable ~$600. I've seen the Telyt's pictures, very very impressive.
But I'm wondering how Hasselblad 500mm or Mamiya 560mm compare to it. It seems few people on this site had the direct experience.



 
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graeme

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Re: cheap 500mm lens for DSLR
« Reply #6 on: March 28, 2011, 05:03:48 am »

Nope, I haven't used the Tamron. It's just a possible candidate for the longer lens that I often think about getting. It doesn't sound like a great lens from the reviews I've read but I'd be interested to hear if any of this forums users have tried it.

I mentioned it because it seems like a relatively cheap way of getting 500mm.

Good luck with your search.

Graeme
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telyt

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Re: cheap 500mm lens for DSLR
« Reply #7 on: March 28, 2011, 08:34:46 am »

Unfortunately those (Leitz, Hasssy, etc) lenses will not fit a DSLR.

The Leitz 560mm f/6.8 is easily adaptable to Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Sony DSLR bodies.  Either the R mount or Visoflex mount version will do.  I have no experience with the other lenses, but the Leitz 560 has been one of my favorites for the last ~25 years.  It's not without drawbacks, like field curvature and color fringes in the OOF areas but in the plane of focus it's very sharp, also lightweight and quick handling.  Great bang-for-buck ratio.  Sample photos:

http://wildlightphoto.com/560r68.html
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stever

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Re: cheap 500mm lens for DSLR
« Reply #8 on: March 28, 2011, 09:53:13 am »

the Tamron is not a bad lens.  sold mine as it wasn't enough sharper at 500 than a crop from the Canon 100-400 Is to be worth the trouble of a heavy tripod to support it.  really needs to be stopped down to f8 for decent results

don't know how it compares in quality to other choices mentioned, but would be more generally useful than mirror or other prime lenses
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KevinA

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Re: cheap 500mm lens for DSLR
« Reply #9 on: March 28, 2011, 11:04:20 am »

Samyang makes some. No idea what they shoot like, they felt well made when I held them at a show the other week.
www.samyang.pl

Kevin.
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Kevin.

EinstStein

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Re: cheap 500mm lens for DSLR
« Reply #10 on: March 28, 2011, 02:25:45 pm »

Hey, Doug, I don't need any more of your oppinion.
Your pictures are talking too loud. :) :) :)
Please turn down the volumn.
...
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telyt

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Re: cheap 500mm lens for DSLR
« Reply #11 on: March 28, 2011, 02:35:11 pm »

Hey, Doug, I don't need any more of your oppinion.
Your pictures are talking too loud. :) :) :)
Please turn down the volumn.
...

Sorry  ;D
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pentaxitin

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Re: cheap 500mm lens for DSLR
« Reply #12 on: November 29, 2019, 03:24:04 am »

Which adapter to use for mounting this lens on Pentax 645Z and Pentax K1?

If you can post a link to the correct adapter, I would be thankful.
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Rob C

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Re: cheap 500mm lens for DSLR
« Reply #13 on: November 29, 2019, 09:43:33 am »

If you want something that no straight type of 500mm can give you, consider the Nikkor 8/500mm Reflex.

I used one over the years for special fashion and effects shots, and though I once sold all my Nikon stuff to go 120 rollfilm exclusively, I realised the error of my ways and when I rebuilt the armoury, this lens was bought for the second time.

In the shot below, I have intentionally focussed on a point not in the image because I wanted to create an out of focus dreamworld of sorts; images can be made crisp too, using this lens, if you use a good tripod, of course.

Rob

BRH

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Re: cheap 500mm lens for DSLR
« Reply #14 on: November 29, 2019, 01:24:32 pm »

I use a Mamiya 500C f5.6 lens (from my MF lens set) such as this;-

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Near-Mint-Mamiya-Sekor-C-500mm-f-5-6-Telephoto-Lens-for-M645-1000S-645Pro/193145662316?hash=item2cf860eb6c:g:V58AAOSwFhZdmyRt

on my Sony A850 using this adapter;-
https://fotodioxpro.com/products/m645-snya-pro

The lens is very sharp, even when used on my smaller format A77ii and comparable with the Sony 500mm Reflex I also use. The Mamiya however does NOT suffer from the dreaded doughnut Bokeh!
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Rob C

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Re: cheap 500mm lens for DSLR
« Reply #15 on: November 29, 2019, 04:13:31 pm »

I use a Mamiya 500C f5.6 lens (from my MF lens set) such as this;-

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Near-Mint-Mamiya-Sekor-C-500mm-f-5-6-Telephoto-Lens-for-M645-1000S-645Pro/193145662316?hash=item2cf860eb6c:g:V58AAOSwFhZdmyRt

on my Sony A850 using this adapter;-
https://fotodioxpro.com/products/m645-snya-pro

The lens is very sharp, even when used on my smaller format A77ii and comparable with the Sony 500mm Reflex I also use. The Mamiya however does NOT suffer from the dreaded doughnut Bokeh!

I never dreaded the doughnuts: they were exactly why I bought it twice.

Martin Kristiansen

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Re: cheap 500mm lens for DSLR
« Reply #16 on: November 29, 2019, 11:50:03 pm »

I never dreaded the doughnuts: they were exactly why I bought it twice.

Yep always admired those doughnuts as a kid and could only dream of owning such a lens. I now have a mint condition Minolta 500mm mirror that I can use on my Sony. Cheap as chips it was.
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nemophoto

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Re: cheap 500mm lens for DSLR
« Reply #17 on: December 16, 2019, 06:20:36 pm »

I was thrilled when I found that several companies had made an FD-to-EOS R. My Canon 500/8 mirror lens came out of hibernation. I always found that, while it may not be as sharp as some traditional lenses, it was light weight and with the advent of digital, could be sharpened well. The added benefit with the EOS R is the manual focus peaking (which I nicknamed "Predator Mode").

You may be able to find a used on eBay or something. I was never happy with the old FD-to-EF adapters because they added an extra (cheap) element. The lens was OK with my 1Dx, but the 5Ds was just too critical. But it was fun playing with the lens with even those DSLRs. But the EOS R really opens up things for some older Canon lenses.
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