photo:vivitar600mmf8
Table of Contents
Vivitar Series 1 600mm f/8 Solid Cat mirror lens
see also:
introduction
- this super telephoto lens introduced in mid-1970's is a catadioptric mirror lens, and as with all such mirror lenses, share the following characteristics:
- manual focus
- fixed aperture (in this case f/8)
- virtual elimination of chromatic aberration as uses mirror rather than lenses
- also means focus position for infrared photography is the same as for light photography
- central mirror:
- allows much more compact lens length as the optic path is reflected internally twice
- by necessity, blocks some of the light and thus causes:
- decrease in image contrast
- characteristic “doughnut” shaped bokeh imagery in out of focus areas
- designed by OPCON Associates, a company founded by Ellis Betensky, who used to be a senior optical designer at Perkin-Elmer.
- their ruggedness is partially due to their solid, one-piece construction, unlike most production mirror lenses
specs
- 600mm focal length and field of view (4.2°) at infinity focus
- fixed f/8 aperture
- 9 lens elements, 7 groups
- closest focus 9.3m
- 35.5mm rear filter thread
- T2 lens mount thread
- mm diameter, 95mm long and 1.5kg
- price ~$US630 in 1975
reviews
photo/vivitar600mmf8.txt · Last modified: 2014/05/18 19:11 by gary1