REPRINTED FROM AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER Alan McFaden puts the Sigma 600mm mirror lens through its paces. I MA
mm
MIRROR LENS
IGMA HAS BEEN
quick to supply an in­
dependent mirror lens to
fit the Canon EOS. The
lens will be especially
useful as Canon has yet to
release any 'Long Toms'.
Canon's longest EF telephoto
lens is a 300mm, so anything
beyond this focal length is a
S
bonus.
Mirror, or catadioptric, lenses
such as the Sigma 600mm tend
to
have fixed apertures and
cannot be stopped down: these
lenses are typically designated
300mm f/5.6, 500-600mm f/8
and lOOOmm fIll. A conven­
tional telephoto of this focal
length, with a range of f-stops,
would be of enormous size and
weight; mirror lenses are con­
veniently smaller and lighter.
The unnerving thing about
telephoto and mirror lenses is
that there's no room for focusing
errors, as there is hardly any
depth of field. The camera and
lens must be held steady to
focus and shoot because the
For £249.95 you get lens cap, hood,
l!10oosec, which is essential
to prevent camera shake. Also, case and five fi1te~e fifth /5
if the light levels were to drop already in position at the rear of the
lens.
the film could easily be pushed
Telephone junction boxes also
to ISO 800 or even 1600.
However, I do recommend this provide good platforms, as do
as a fair weather lens, bright walls, but put cloth or paper
conditions giving acceptably under the camera to stop it
fast shutter speeds with faster being scratched. A bean bag on
any reasonably flat surface is
films.
The lens
well on the body
In theory a tripod should be also a great camera support. I
01 the Canon
650. Although
used with this lens. Although was very lucky around the
hamiheld shots are possible in
the lens has a built-in tripod Westminster area, the council
stronr IlghtinE while us!nr fast film
decided to go for a walk around bush, in practice it is not always having obligingly supplied
to rive adequately fast shutter
London, a great place to take practical to use a tripod in busy several coin-operated tele­
speeds, it's advisable to llit;Jch the
photographs as there is so much places. There are other ways and scopes, each providing a flat
lens to a tripod using its tripod bush.
going on that there is almost a means of keeping the camera platform at the right height and
tiniest movement can cause picture around every corner. And steady-thank heaven for lamp­
well sited for telephoto work.
The Sigma 600mm is sup­
unsharpness due to the extreme­
with so many camera-laden posts and signposts! Most towns
ly narrow angle of view-4 deg.
tourists around you don't attract are liberally endowed with plied with filters. These need to
I was glad to have the much attention.
these, and holding the lens be fitted over the rear of the lens
opportunity to try a 'cat' lens
The film I used was T-Max firmly against such supports because the front of the lens is
and was keen to use it for 400, which would enable me to should give sufficient steadi­
so wide. The red, yellow and
unobtrusive candid portrlliture. I use a shutter speed of around ness if a tripod is not available. orange filters help to penetrate
Amateur PhotogrophfJ< 'I'Ile September 5 1987
The front element is too la"e to make the use of conventional filters pmctical, so rear.mountinllil~rs are supplied. Candid shots can be picked out with this lens and isolated from cDnfusinf
backffounds.
Aperture priority mode can be
haze and give more contrast
with monochrome subjects. The used , bot the shutter speed
neutral density (NO) filter suggested would give six stops
provided helps to reduce ex­
overexposure. As there are no
posure if there is, say, a light contacts on the lens mount, the
camera assumes it has a maxim·
reading which
calls for
1I4000sec at fl8 (not very um aperture of fll, so this f-stop
likely) and the camera's fastest should be dialled in rather than
flS. Manual mode can be also
speed is only 1I 1 000~c.
There is little point in using be used if fl l is chosen, but
programmed, shutter priority
this lens to attempt shots which
can just as easily be had by and depth modes are of no use
wa lking up closer to the subject with this fixed-aperture lens.
Versions com patible with the
with a normal lens. The 600mm
offers a powerful means of Canon EOS and Minolta AF
capturing pictures over a great
SLRs are available, while those
distance, and which have a dis­
that link with Pentax SFX and
Olympus OM707 are in the
tinc tly different 'look'.
The most obvious effect is the pipeline.
way subjects can be made to
It is an ideal lens for faraway,
stand out from their back­
inaccessible subjects. Paparazzi
photographers will find it use fu l!
grounds. This is helped by the
It's handy for wildlife and
very narrow depth of field, which
is very effective for isolating sporting events too, where there
portrait subjects. Another effect are restrictions on getting c lose
is exaggerated perspective
to the subject.
where the distance Detween
objects seems dramatically re­
duced. Because the mirror in
lens: Sigma 600mm mirror lens
the lens has the cenire blocked
ApeltUre
13Ra:e: fl8
out, out of focus highlights in
MinimulA focusinl: 2m
photographs come out shaped
Macro ratio; 1:3
like doughnut rings. This is the Filter size; 30.Smm, rear·mounted
characteri stic which makes it lens Ilood; Supplied
easy to spot when a mirror lens AnIle 01 view; 4deg
Elements/a:rouIlS: 7 elements in
has been used.
4 il:rOUPS
Results with the Sigma
600mm turned out to be very Available fitS; Most major fittings in
oon-AF. Currently
sharp and of reasonable con·
available in AF:
trast. As it's Quite a lighllens for
Minolta. Canon EOS
its type I did not feel weighted
Weilflt (£): 830g
down after a day's shooting.
lenilh )( diameter (mm): 122 )( 99
However, it was a shame that
Price (approx); £250
the lens did not offer autofocus
Distributor: CZ ScientifIC
Instruments, PO Box 71,
or complete auto exposure
This shot of the top Df St Paul's cathedral fives an idea of the tlscl! of
Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.
Siems's lens; /he picture was taken from fTOuna level!
operation.
DATA PANEl
SoJe UK Distributor
C.z. SCIENTIRC INSTRUMENTS LIMITED
PO Box 43, 1 Elstree Way, Borehamwood, Herts. WD61NH Telephone: 01-9531688 •
I
mirror ·enses Eight mi" or tenses (rom the inde­
p enden t tens manufectunus which
comprise our Whic h Cho ice. Focill
leng ths rllngtJ from 3 00mm up
6 00mm , though the 'standard '
f ocil/length is 5 00mm.
It' s over a year ago since we loo k
a close look at a batch of mirro r
lenses and the market has
develo ped co nsiderably si nce
then . The len~cs tested then were
the Cannon, T<lmron, RoHor,
O ptom ax an d Vivitar. T ho:: first
four were 500mm and l he
C hnar, the smaller o f the (W O ,
o nly 300mm , was ~ urri cien ll y
'differe nt' to deserve d ose
inves tiga tion .
Vivilar an 800mm lens.
The past year has seen the
Strictl y spea king, a mirror lens is
a ca tadioptric lens, Ofte n
sho rtened to 'cal' . Ihis term indio
cates [hal the lens employs both
refracting tie glass elements) and
reflecting (ie mi rro rs) surfaces.
If it was purel y a mi rror lens, il
wo uld ~ know n as catoptric.
When in use, the fo llowing
principles are a pplied: Ligh t
enters thro ugh the fro nt o f the
lens, pass in g th ro ugh a glass
e lement. It goes alo ng the length
of the lens a nd hits the outer part
of a c ircula r concave lens (w hir.: h
has a hole in its ,:e ntre) at t he
back o f the le,15. T he mi rro r
re llecu the light back aloog 10
introduction o f several mi rro r
le nses from th e independenl lens
rnil Dufaclu rers wit h a ge neral
tre nd thaI they have beco me
mo re {.'Ompacl, cheaper a nd
shoner in focal length. O ne
e,'(ce pt io n was the Sigma, which
measu red in with a 600mm foca l
le ngth . Whe re it sw red was in ils
cheap pr i.:c as it underclH many
o f the others and gave an e~l ra ­
la rge image size. Lts in troduction
and chea p price (approx ima tely
f1 40) led to a spate o f lette rs 10
th e AP o frk es, with co(!uirers
aski ng if we had t es l ~ the new
beast. We dedd ~d 10 wait a fe w
mo nths, let PhOLO kina setde
do wn and then check o ut a
gro up o f the newer mirro rs.
To sim plify the test, we kept
the mi rro r lenses unde r scrut iny
do wn to the independents:
Ch na r JOOmm, C hna r SOOmm ,
Sunagor
Pa nago r
500mm,
500mrn , Super Parago n SOOmm ,
Tamron S P SOOmm, To kina
500mm and Sigma 6OOmm .
The eight under scrutin y give a
fa ir cross sec tio n of the ra nge
available - in (er ms o f price,
foc al length and quality. A l­
tho ugh two lenses are rro m
WHAT IS A
MIRROR LENS?
the ffont o f the lens, where it
hits a second mirro r wh ic h
bounces the light bad down the
lens, thro ugh the hole in the
co ncave mirro r a nd onto the
fil m.
By the time the light has
passed Onto the film , it has
tra velled the length of the lens
th ree limes. For a normal lo ng
focus lens, where mirrors are not
used, the lighl l raveJs do wn o nl y
o nce and is nOt bounced back '
and fo rt h - hence {he mirror
lens is fa r, far sho n er than a
no rmal 500mm lens. The mirrors
which ha ve ta ken the place o f
some o f the glass elements a lso
have (he effect o r ma king the
mi rro r le ns a lot lighter {ha n a
norma l lo ng fo cus lens.
So what' s the ca tc h? The light
bo unci ng backwards and for­
wards prevents an iris dia phragm
fro m being fi xed into Ihe lens,
which means tha i rhe mirror lens
has o nl y one wor king a perture,
which is most o fte n fl S in
mode rn mirro r lenses . Therefo re
if the light is too great, you ca n' t
sto p dow n th e lem to gel a
correc t exposure but must use
neu tra l de ns ity fil ters.
AnOlher draw bac k or the
mirror lenses is that altho ugh
they are fa r s ma lle r and lighter
th an the conve mio no llo ng focus
lenses , they are no t q uite com­
pact eno ugh to be hand- held
(apart froOi the 300mm), A
tripod or mo nopod is really
necessary fo r successful use o f
the equ ipment.
Allo wa nCe must be made fo r
the brightness o f I h~ viewt1nder
ima ge, which with a fix ed a pe-r·
ture ofaround f/ 8, isn' t going 10
be part ic ularly sparkl ing fo r
Viewing a nd fOCUSing . O ve rall,
mirr o r lenses a re light a nd co m­
pact, but their a pplicll1ions are
limited .
OHNAR
300mm f/5.6
Ho w it w orks. The diagram iHustrates fhe light pllths thro ugh the
Tamron 50 0m m fens. A combina tIon 01 mirrors and gl8ss
elem ents (se1/f~n in lour groups ) bounce and relrllC t the ligh t on t o
the fflm plaMJ.
In use, this lens is a wi nner.
W~ighi ng in a ( 260g a nd measur­
ing 67 mm (less than t hree incheS)
this lern is only frac tionally
larger than a ty pical standard
SOmm lens. Indeed . it wou ld be
ve ry good fo r candids - no-one
wo uld be aware that you' re
shoOl ing th rou gh a 10Jlg: te le­
pho to lens. It's ve ry good in
sporting applicatio ns as well ,
wi th the 300mm size ~in g ve ry
useful fo r th at sore of wor k.
The fixed a ~ rlu rc is 1'/5,6,
which will aJlow fo r a ra St~r
shuuer speed lhan 011 a compar­
able f1~ \eos, Clos<:st r<xusi n ~ is
just over 2m and there is no
macro facililY pro vided , Fillers
are PU I onlO the l en~ in the
trad itional screw-in ma nner on
the fro Ol ; these are 67mm in
size,
As with ~'Vlc'Ta l o f the mirrors,
Ihe lens fixes to lhe camera by
means 01 a T2 mo unt; while
these mounlS have largely go ne
out 01' I'asnian th es~ days with
fu ll apenu re meteri ng, they still
have app licati o n ~ with fixed
apenure mirror lenses whae
meteri ng is eHectivdy a co m·
bination o f both full aperlure
a nd stop·down metering at the
lens' fixed aperture.
Price of the lens is aro und
f.77 , )0 it 's gOt to be taken as a
serious in vestment should you
;;:hoose 10 buy ooe, For lhe
sports photographer, tho ugh,
who does n' t wa Ol lhe hassle o f a
tripod, this I ~m is well nigh
ideal,
Optically this was a very good
lens and certai nl y wor th beinll
given a d ose look if you 're in the
market for a 300mm lens. Okay,
so you 've o nl y gOt o ne aperture,
but the lens is so light and
compact tha t ii 's a geOl 10 use
and light enough that yo u're not
gomg to be Weighed down by il
when out takiog p ictures ror a
!'ew hour~ .
I"cd in us..: <J Ill] iudIC ;'! I": t'.:,at ;.)
Jillled at the lup end 0.) 1' t!'le."
amateur mat!"c!'
l~a n ag <) r ' s mirror kn~, I'o r 11 11
it:. up-ma r ket appearance,
couldn 't ~ u pp ort this with an up­
market perfo rmance. Somelhing
01' a disappo intment and al­
though image Quality didn't de·
teriorate much rrom centre to
cdge. it wasn ' t panieularly good
al the cenUe 10 slart on wit h,
The till/lind the small, M Ol.lnred ontO camera bod",s. the Olmal 300mm
lleft) lfnd Sigm e 600 m m mirrors give lin impression of the size and
appeallfnca of th ese fixe d aperture lenses.
Ohnar 's 300mm m irlor /#HIS muscles up IIgttinst II bOil of matches, ThIS
115,6 lens presents no ploblems for h end·held USB.
OHNAR
500mm f18
Ohnar's mir ro r lens was the IIrst
o f three of Ih e SOOmm sizes
which were very similar in
appearance and specifications"
Th ese are solidly built with a two
inch wide knurled ring for
focusin g and gripping. The fil te r
thread size at the fr ont o f the
lens is 77mm, but three filt ers
are provided which screw into
the rear of Ihe lens via a metal
key, Already in place is a tA
skylight fi lter and two neulraJ
density filters can be used shou ld
the light get too bright.
A tripod mount is al so
provided , Focusing is down to
fo ur metres and the focusing
scales are marked in orange and
white; the same style as for the
Sunagor and Super Parago n
lenses.
Overall. the lens is fairly
chunky and weighty, A tri pod
would be ad visable.
In use, the Oh nar ~OOmm lens
proved to be a solid, ir unexcep·
tional , performer. It slipped off
a bit at the edge, for which is was
given an ollf!roge balance of
SUNAGOR
500mm f18
Sunagor' s lens look s to be preuy
well the same as Ohoa r's,
General specifie<uions are the
same (length and width), and Ihe
lens elemcols l"Onstru;;: tion is
identical - six in rive grou p~ .
Dif'i"erences arise in minor
detail.s. Sunagor's I l! n~ b llgh ter ,
due to (he fac t that it doesn' t
have a tripod moun!. The lens
I:ap is also sligfnly d ifr~re nl.
The lack of a tripod moun t
seems to make the lens mort!
geared for hand-held work, bu t
at SlOg, this is a bit trick y. A
slight fall -off in de finit ion
towards the edge o f the frame
while looking through the view­
finder was a slightly wo rrying
fac to r, but this was n't ver y
..;onsiderable,
A reliable, all· rou nd lens
which was good in all the
categories under which we judge
a !ens, As with the other 500mrn
lenses which looked idenlical 10
the Sunago r, thei;6 were all good
lenso;:s, AJI three we re of a
reliable standard , without being
exceptional,
SUPER PARAGON
500mm f18
MOle 01 th e same. The Super Plltllgon, 5unllgol and Ohnat 500mm
lenses turntld out to b tl similllr in app611rance, sjncif icilfkms df'ld
p6rionnlmce.
aberrations rating, In all other
respects, tho ugh , this was a good
lens.
PANAGOR
500mm f18
Large a('ld chunky are apt wo rds
to describe the Pa nago r mirror
lens, Holding this lens is quite a
handful and you 'd be very, ve ry
lucky to gel away wilh hand­
holding it. Perhaps this is the
inevitable o utcome' of it being
well-made and an up-market
mirror lens. II has a re tract able
lens hood which is fixed to the
lens , A tripod mount is provided
which can be rotated lhro ugh
360deg to .:nable the ca mera to
be placed horizontall y. vertically
or indeed at any angle to the
tripod. The tripod mOunt is
ho used on a ri ng which ro tates
round the lens mount; a locking
screw tightens and loosens this
ring for adjustments,
Contained on the rear of the
lens is a filt er drawer, A variety
of filter s can be used and these
are an iOiegra) part o f the
Pa,nagor mirror lens package.
Thty are skylight l A filler, a 4X
neu tral den sity filter , a deep red
60, a yellow 48 and an orange
56, Fo r general usage the 1A
sh ould be kept in all the time, It
can be removed easily enough
and othe rs inserted j ust a ~
simply,
It' s the features of this mi rror
lens, with the retractable lens
hood , fille rs and adjustable
tripod mount, tha t give it a good
The Su per Paragon is the fin al
Icns o f three very similar SOOmm
lenses, the others hav jng been
the Ohnar and the Sunago r.
Speci ficatio ns a re largely the
same, with an identical knurled
ring on each being used fo r
focusing. Once again, the T2
mount system is adopted , These
mounlS cost about a couple of
pounds and screw mHO the lens,
fhe mount is Ihe n auached to
the camera body - so yo u buy
the relevant mOll nt fo r your own
particu lar camera model.
A IA filter is housed at Ihe
rear o r the lens and this can be
unscrewed by a metal key and
replaced wit h a neutral denstty
filt er, also provided, Other
fi lters can be lin ed 0010 the
fronl of the lens; filter [h r",ad
size at the front is 77mOl,
Oefinilion on the Super
Paragon lens loo ked slightly
aw kward , for whi;;:h il was giver.
· I~/O ¥roup~ . A lkl:l..:habk k u)
hood i ~ provH,J..:U , whid! ..:a n b..:
slOrw around t he k ns wh.:n not
in use.
Smail , ..:hunky and li"ht \vit n a
good knurleu rin¥ (or rocusinl!;
the o nly drawbad. in U~I.! Wi th
this lens was lhul the ro..:u~ing
ring rotates SV mu..:h that it
couldn ' l be done in one move­
menl o A tripod bush is no(
provided on lhe came ra; il'~ not
really necessary a:. the weigh t o f
lhe lens isn't ¥relU enoullh to
pose a threat to [he camera
mount when lhe C<lm\!ra is
placed upon a tripod.
The Tok ina lens performed
well in o ur lC!il~, gaining a good
rating throughout the ra nge. ll ~
compac t ness, co mbined wit h its Two hell vies. Sigm.'! 600mm Olferlld th e longest loul fllnglh lind
Pan.gor's 500mm (right) WIlS nOticlI~bly on the weighty sidll.
light \Vei ght, ~ives il the edge
over other si milar 500mm lenses
with similar pcrformanl.:e resu lt ~
bUI whkh are heavier.
SIGMA 600mm f /8
The ultra·long 600mm foca l
length marks lhi) lens out as the
longest of lhe balch of mirrors
under consideratio n, The extra
IOOmm focal length has the
ostensible effCCI or making i[ II
bil heavier a nd -.:hunkier lhan Ihe
resl - wit h Ihe ex-.:eplion o f the
Panagor 500mm, whic h OUt ·
weig hs all l he olher lenses. A
t ri pod mou nt i~ p rovided which
.::an be rOt31cO from a pOSit ion
fo r horizontsl shots Iinough to
o ne for \'ertkal shots. The
mo unt dick·stops into position
a t these S<!uings.
Focusing is all the way down
to 2m, al whic h d istance a I: J
reproduction results. This dose
focusing abili ty of the lens gives
it an e;>;ce ll en l, profes:.ional
quality which ha~ a good feel 10
Tllmron ·s SOOmm lens fill ft}. proved to be the best of the bunch. Thll
Tokinll SOOmm fens consistlld of lin unorthodox lens elemenU ­groups
con!truction f7-21 but this didn't prevflnt good performance.
it.
The lens ~o m cs with a ki t o f
fi ve ti llers: a IA s kylight, ne utral
de nsit y 4X, yellow 52. orange 56
and red 60. These are 22.5m(\l in
size a nd screw into the ba.::k of
the lens.
10 Ihc inst ruction I.....d fl .:t
accom panying the lens, Sigma
ad vise thaI Ih~ kns should be
used with a filh:f in all the time.
This is be.;ause the upti..:al dc:.ign
o f the lens includes the filler aod
wilho ut One in place a focus s hift
and dro p in resolutio n can be
expec ted . They also advise
against USing other fi llers o n Ihe
front of Ihe le ns for Ihe same
reason.
I n a piece oi equipment whe re
focusi ng a nd acc uracy is oi the
absolute essence, it 's gooo to see
the cOl11pani~ o ffering this sort
o f information a nd ad vice; it 's
Ihe iII-info rmcd or ignorant us.:r
of t he equipment who sufkrs the
~
Filt ers for mirror IttnS8S 11(11 inv8ri8b1y sm./lllnd slot into the back of (he
Hms. In this casll rhe skylight 1A filter is pvshad into the Pan.gor lenS,
MIRROR LENSES
- OUR CHOICE
TAMRON SP saOmm fl8
_?HNA_~. 300mm f1S.6
SIGMA
----­600mm
_ . _ .fl8
.
SUNAGOR 500mm fla
TOKINA 500mm f /8
OHNAR 500mm ffS
~y PE!'I-""-~AgON
PERFORMANCE
- ­ VERY GOOD
.. VERY GOODGOOO
._.­
---­
GOOD
SOOmm f/8 GOOD
PANAGOR 500mm tiS
AVERAGE
-­
-
-
-­
-_.
most from bad ':.:'",: 11$. ,
With the longest 1'01.111 il!n t!l h,
Sig ma's {em is ve ry com~l ili ­
vely priced against the ,horler
SOOmm lellsc~. Ddlnition was
good 31 both centre a nd edge,
for which the balance of aber·
ralions was given a '/try good
rating. Overall, a good (en~.
HOW THEY FARED
AU ill aU, the mirror lenses under
scrutin y performed well and
there won no obviously poor
quality products, Indeed, such a
solid group as they turned o ut to
be, there wasn' t much to Idl
between them at t he end of t he
da y. All will give good u.sage.­
The majo r bugbear of mirror
leoses i5 not so much the fixed
aperture - neut ral densi t y !il­
te rs a re usually provided to com·
pensate for exposure prob lems
- but Ihe problem or camera
s ha ke, This was such as to ro rce
us to a bandon o ur normal 'ship'
pictures. The next choice was a
churc h [o we r nea r o ur offices
which was photographed thrOui h
an open window, but o nce again
vibrations were a proble m .
Eventually the equipment wa:>
leSled o ut in our sludios a nd a
line d ra wing of a n ae ro plane was
(,..h osel) as the subject. This \Vas
sho t a t a distance of approxi·
mately eight meltcs, but closcr
ror the JOOmm mirro r le ns .
Lighting was provided by el«·
Itonic n ash - [ 0 completely eli·
minate camera shake - a nd Ihe
pi.::tures were shol on Pan F,
50ASA.
t3est of the bunch was un ·
doubtedly the Tam ron S P
500mm, Good to use, nicely
packaged a nd giving very good
oplicai quali ty, il was noticea bly
belief than the rest. SUI a t £100,
you pay fvr il.
Closely behind the;: Tamron
Wi.) the O hnar JOOmm lens. Thi!>
.:an be hand·hdd and is idea l fo r
sponing event~. Recaili ng fo r
aro und £75·£80, it's easily thr:
chcapcSI of the {en scs we
checked out. Expecl to see this
size mirror ,lens be.::oming a n
in.;:reasing fe31ure or' new equip·
mC'nI trcnds.
Of the good {ensts, the Sigma
600mm was thc ~t. This lens
gives [he C'Xlra HXlmm in lo.:a!
kng[h and Il)I.:uS<!S all tho:: ....ay
down 10 2m ,
Four of the 500111111 lenses
were very doS<:' in uveraU perror·
man.:.:. These wer.: the Suna!:or,
Tokina, Ohn a r and Super Para·
~on '. To dis tinguisll belw~en
them requi res a very t'in~ margi n
of choice , but the Tokin a's light­
ness and compactness gives iltile
edge over its rivals.
LENS PERFORMANCE LENS PERFORMANCE
POO(
PANAGOl15O(1
OveralllWrlOlm3l1ce
Definition
Image <;orurut
Balance of aberrations
Fair
Aver~ge Good
•• •
•
Ve<y goOd
EXCilllent
Poo<
SUNAGOA 500
F8i,
Avttilgfl Good Verv good
••
••
Ove,.(1 pftrlorma nce
Oefin ; ~on
Imlge. eontrllU
Balance (If abelt.lions
DATA PANEL:
D/l.TA PANEL:
PANAGOR 500mm
SUNAGO R SOOmm
M(Uimum apuluu: U8 W"td)
MfUimllm aputure: f / 8 (fh.ed) Allglt of vie ...: 5deg
CloslSt focusing: 4m
£lemems-Croups: 6-5
Filtu sin: 17mm, 36mm at
Ang/e IJ/I'itw; 5dtfl: Closnt jOf:using: 4m CENTRE
t:lemtflfS-CrUups; 6-5
Filter site: Sp«ial filter dr:lwer
in lens body
Lms hood: Buill-in
fIttings: MoS!
Maximum diameter:
rtu via filter key pro~ ided
Lens hood: No
Fillings: M051 fi lS
Wei,hl: 5JOg
Length (IU in/lnity): J IOmm
Maximum diamtler: B3mm
S,lf/ng pric(! ((lpprox): £1:0
Tnl /(!ns number: 5329496
Dlslribulor:
Ttan sworld
Tflidin g llnd Finance, I Sel"lice
Rd, {IIorthways. Swiss Colta!tf.
London, NW3.
CENTRE
Weight; 7SOg
Llnfth (al infinity); J20.5mm
~((jng
~lmm
priu (appfOlC):
£154
Test {ens number: 10266
DiS/fibulQr:
Ako (U K) Ltd .
Ak" Ht,luse, FlIl'1IIday Rd.
Londo n Rd Ind listrillli Estale,
Ne wbury, Berks..
LENS PERFORMANCE
TOKINA 500
Ove rall pariorm ane.
Oflfinitiorl
Image comtast
8atance of "ber,~t;ons
ExceUem
••
••
LENS PERFORMANCE SIGMA IlOO
,~
Fai,
A\lefage
Ov~ .. 1t
pariormence
Definition
Imag e contrMt
Bataoce of
~b<lnijlio rlS
­
G_ Very good
••
• •
Exe~tlarl\
OATA PANEL:
DATA PANEL:
.il.
TOklNA 500mm
SIGMA 600mm
Maximum aptrture: fI B (fb:.ed)
Maximum apUfUIl: US
Angle 0/ vitw: 5dq
Anllt 0/ vitw: 4dei
Cloust /ocu.ring: J.Sm
ClostSf /ocl4ing: 2m
£/emtnts-Croups: 7-2
£Jem enrs-GrQups: 6-6
Filltr site: nmm lit tlie rro nl ;
Filttf Size: J5.5mm
Itns accessories u . 22.Smm
Lens hood: Scrtw-in I)·pt.
detachable
screw· in
Fit/infs: Most
Lrns hood: Sc rew- in typ~,
CENTRE
Weigh:: 465g
de laclillbk
Llngth ((II in/wily): 88.lmm
Flltlnfs: Mosl
Mcuimum diamtler: 7Smm
Weifht: 620t
Stlling p,kt (approx): £133
Ltngth (ut infiniIY): 1I1.Smm
Test ItnJ num()lr: 8010538
Maximum diumeu,: 92mm
Distributor: Op lil"llm Ma rktf­
Selling price ((lpp'o~: £14'.95
jng Lid . hndllY Ruad . Lon­
Tnt lens numbt" 1032 19
dun Road Indusfrilll £:itate.
Distributo r: C.Z. Sclentirl~
Newbury, Ber k ~.
Instruments Ltd, 2 [IS lfH'
Way, 80rehllmwood. HlI'rl5,
WD6 INH .
~ ..,~-
-
,
.
,.". ."7
- -<:~"2Y~:
--...
,
.,.,~.~
.
. 7/~if~?-~ CENTRE
EDGe
ro tation .
a IA fi!tu, but others are
Focusing on the lens is down
provided: a neu tral density 4X
10 I. 7m , but with a 2:< tel¢­ fiher, yeUow 52. orange 56 and
converter a macro mode res ults red. 60. These are JO.5 mm in
which has a magnification ratio size. They screw into the back of
up 10 a I: 1.5 ratio . The lens has the leos, which is easiest done
the
adaplall
mount
a wo rking ape rtu re of fl 8 - as wit h
with mOST of the other mirro rs removed. They can be inserted
- but the image in this lens was with' the mount altached, but
somewh at brigh te r, which fac ili­ this incurs the risk of getting
tated focusing. A detachable
fi ngerprin ts on the filters.
screw-in lens hood is. provided
Tam(on' 5 lens is considerably
wit h the lens.
more expensive than the other
A variety of filters are mirror lenses, but thiS price
provided for use wi th the lens, increase is ma tched by a superior
which fit infO their own smart quality. Definition at both
case. Already set into the lens is centre and edge was very good,
and indeed this performance was
carried on throughout the entire
test range.
Tamron's lens stands our as
the best of the bunch, but the
question remains whether the
camera-buying public are pre­
pared 10 forlc OUI the eXira £80
or so for this lens - if you can ,
do, but if no t don't worry
because the others are preuy
good as wtll.
This was noticeable and the Tokina could be hand-held with greater confidence than the
others.
Three filters come with the
lens, a l A, a 2X and a 4X
neut ral density filter. These are
35.Smm size and screw into the
back of the lens with the help of
a metal key. Focusing is down to
1. 5m and the complet e focusing
movement from I.Sm to infinity
rOtates the knurled ring th ro ugh
TO KINA 500mm ffS almost 36Odeg. The elements·
Of the 500mrn size lenses tesled, groups configuration is some­
the T okina, at 465g, was consi­ whaT unusual in this lens, with a
total of seven elements in only
derably ligh te r tha n the others.
LENS PERFORMANCE ' LENS PERFORMANCE
. Poor
OMNAR lOG
F. "
""....se Good ! Very good
••
• •
O..er.1I perlorm.nee
Oe!iNt,gn
IrnalJe contra st
Ballne. 01 atM!fr,lol)fl'
i ucel1....t
OHNAfII
sao
POOl
Fliit
OATA Po\ .' J::L
OHNAR S4J0mm
DIN"ure:
Ma.rimum llperture: rt3 IIi.u dl
.4ngle of ,'ie",: 5d~
e lvsnl focusing: 4111
Eltmf'nts-Croups." 6-S
Flirt, size: nmm
Lrm "000: No
fiuingf: Mos.!, vi. T2 mount
Weight: SSSg
Lmfth (Ul infinityJ: IIOmrn
IHillimum diQmeur; 83mm
Selling price (fJpproJ(): £120
Test Itns numbe,; SJ29(}21
Distributor.- Bush and Meissner
flS.6
1r;J(~)
Angle 0/ ,'1_: Sdeg
Clasnor jorlLJing: 2.5m
Elements-Croups: &-s
Fillt'
s":.6:
67mm
Lens hood: No
fillings; MOSI , via T1 moum
Weight: 260g
Ltnglh (UI i'lfinily); 67mm
CENTRE
CENTRE
Maximum d/Qmerer: 70mm
Stffing price (approx): £77
TIS! lms numl>tr: 20403
Disrdbu/or: Bush and MtiSSMT
Li d , 136-144 GnlJwille Rd,
Lortdon. NW).
.-
Lid, 136-144
Lo ndon, NW3.
LENS PERFORMANCE SUPER PARAGON 600
perlOtm.nce
Definition
Owf.U
Fai,
AVIllf{je
Imil't COnl'Ut
8alilnce of abell'lions
. , "' ,. 1 1
,
Good
• ••
•
V"'_
tA M AON SP 500
Poor
Fair
•••
D.finition
1/TWIge conUUl
,'i,
Phulax
Rd ,
E;<CtIIeI1l
I
•
B,I.nell of abwrWonI
hood. No
FllllnlS: Must,
T2 m ou n t
W.ight: SlOi:
L.nglh (01 infinity): 1l0mm
Maximum aiameler: 8Smm
5.lIIn, price (approx): £120
Tesl JtllS number: 5328439
Olst~/bufor;
Av erage Good VelV good
0 -•• pMC)lmaoce
DATA. PANEL: SUPER PARAGON 500mm Mcuimum ofHnuu; rI ll (I1xi'd)
Anglt 0/ view: Sdl'C
Ciousl fOCUSing: .:1 m
£Itm,nrs-Group,: 6-5
Fill" slu: 71mm 1II1 Ihe front:
L~s
Gran~lIle
LENS PERFORMANCE
Excelltm
DATA PANEL:
TAMRON SP 500mm
Maximum fJfHrtu~e: (/8 (rind )
Angle of vie,.,: Sdel
C/OSf!3f locusing: 1.7m
Eltmf!nts·G~oups: 1·4
Filler she; 82mm at the front;
lens accessories are 22.5mm
screw-In
CENTRE
••
E~eeller"
good
• •
l~ conUUI
S alanee of atlolfU!;on.
OATA PA~EL:
OHNAR 300mm
Mazimuln
Allerage Good Very
OvetaM performllnce
CENTRE
lens accesories ~re 30.Smm
screw·in
l.tns hood: Screw·in I)'pl',
delachable
Fiuinls: Most, vi. JdJp tall
moun t system
Weight: S1Sg
Length (at infinity): I7mm
Maximum diomtlu: 84mm
Selli. g price (opprfJx): £200
Tesllens numbtr: 931035
DiSlributor: Ellmi& (UK) lid.
14 Priestle)' Way. Eldon","'all
T,..dl ng ~ale. Londgn NW2
(Land un)
Lid. BMlmplon Rd. H,mpdtn
P-"It. EastOOurne. Sussn.
EDGE
ITN.
PiClur., " . cenlTe and edge
IhOIlJ of a 'ine d rawing o f an
_ rop'ane. They are wct ioros Irom
lOin prints - exactly the same
anlargoment as the normal ship
plClures. Problems of camer.
shaka forced us to shoot tho test
plctur., in me confines of a
studio. IIford Pan F film. AC\ltol
deve loper. 5min. 20dag C.
an averge rating, but in all other
respeclS the len5 performed well
and was given a good category.
II passes the test and will live
usage, but s ta ys in the pack
Of good qua.lit y equipmem .
,cod
~
TAMRON SP
500mm f/8
This is the longest running of Ihe
independents under review. I I
(ails under Tamron's top-nighl
SP (Super Performance) range
and appearances iodicale thai
it is a well-made lens. It has
a tripod mount . which can be
rotated through 360deg by
means of it being housed on a
rotating ring surrounding the
lens. As with the Panagor a lock­
ing screw is used to loosen or
tighten this rjng. Two other
locking screws are housed on
this ring, and loosening these
allows the tripod mount 10 be
removed from the lens. This
enables the user to take pictures
with Ihe lens comfortably in the
hand· held mode; should he or
she then wish 10 mount the lens
and camera on a tripod , the
mount is simply screwed back in
again . Once again . however, the
user wo uld need a stead y hand to
be able to use this without a
tripod.
The tripod mount itself is 'L'
shaped and to find the centre of
gravity for a corra::t balance, the
' L' must be positioned lowards
the camera body. This, however,
restric ts {he free movement of
the t ripod bush as. on a Pentax·
mount camera, the front of the
pentaprism blocked the tri pod
mount from completely free