Denton Taylor wrote:
>I followed the mirror lens thread with interest cuz I have a Vivitar
>[Series 1] 600mm solid cat. I must say, I don't care for it much.
>Very low in contrast and not terribly sharp either. [snip]
I have two of those chunky monkeys, and have recently run some tests.
Based on those tests, which I will publish here at a later date,
I must disagree with Denton's assessment. I find the 600/f8 Solid
Cat performance excellent, if one remembers the inherent limitations:
shallow DOF at 600mm, no DOF control due to fixed aperture (can be
controlled with great difficulty and inconvenience by means of ND
filters), heavy weight which necessitates sturdy support and minimum
vibrations, etc. If possible, shoot at a fast shutter speed (1/250
or higher is recommended), and/or use a relatively high speed film.
Based on my two samples (one will soon be for sale, btw), I have
seen little sample variation. However, one should not count out
a possible "out of spec" condition of Denton's lens. I am uncertain
whether Vivitar still maintains/repairs this particular product.
Denton Taylor again:
>I've put up two images taken with OM4T and Vivitar 600 f/8 Solid Cat.
>To me, these images show the best and the worst of mirror lenses.
>Enjoy, or not!
>http://www.dentontaylor.com/mirror.htm
While I see Denton's point wrt the second photo, I must wonder whether
the relatively low lighting conditions, vibrations caused by the heavy
duty Manhattan traffic, etc. weren't as much a contributing factor to
this picture's relative fuzziness as was the lens itself. Besides,
the depicted scene has a considerable depth, and it is hard to tell
what was the lens focussed on. In fact, I wonder whether ANY long
telephoto lens would produce considerably better results, save for a
conventional 600/f4 closed down to f22 or f32.
The fuzzy car lights and their spectral dispersion are unfortunate
by-products of the mirror lenses construction, which the Solid Cat
exhibits to much lesser degree than the more conventional RF lenses.
I'm not sure whether it is feasible to build apochromatic CATs, and
so the choice remains: spend $500 on a high quality CAT, or an order
of magnitude more on a 600/f4.
I will scan a couple of my own photos made with my Solid Kittens,
and will send them over to Denton. If he chooses to do so, Denton
will post them on the same web page with his own photos, so other
OLY list members can get both our points of view.
Cheers,
/Gary Schloss.
Studio City, CA
schloss@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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