Get the Lens Here (affiliate link) - geni.us/iUjSWQe or bit.ly/3X7GNRo Camera Used for Sample Photos and Video (affiliate links) - geni.us/Bz5PT OR geni.us/Lc7VGn ADPATERS REQUIRED (affiliate links) Sony E - geni.us/t0qnqR0 Canon RF - geni.us/mJd50 Canon EF- geni.us/bIUb2X L Mount - geni.us/KFven Nikon Z - geni.us/wPtfRu3 Fuji X - geni.us/bC9MNMN
I have a dumb question you may or may not know an answer to; is there a way to include an f/stop ring on an adapter for those fixed f/5 or other type of lenses?
I realise it's not of interest to most consumers, but it would be great if lens manufacturers started publishing the image circle of their lenses again... Like for example, I can't really know if it would cover Fuji's GFX sensor size.
I'm not a big fan of mirror lenses, but they have their place and I think street photography like you describe is the best one. I'm glad for shooters of many formats that there is a resurgence of mirror lenses. However, as a Micro Four Thirds shooter I have to point out that the OM System 14-150mm f4-5.6 lens gives a 35mm equivalent view of 28-300mm in a proper zoom lens that is about the same width, and a couple of inches *shorter* than this TTArtisan mirror lens. It is also auto focus, weather proof, and has excellent image quality. However, if you use this TTArtisian 250mm lens on an Olympus, OM System, or Lumix MFT camera it will give a 500mm equivalent field of view which would be some fun for really long range photography. Overall, I think the Micro Four Thirds system is just stellar for street photography because of it's small size, and amazing number of high quality lenses. Worth a look if you've never checked it out.
"and a couple of inches shorter than this TTArtisan mirror lens" OM 14 - 150 is 83 mm long. TT 250 is 67 mm long, so about 17 mm shorter (slightly less after you adapt it, but M42 adapters are very thin, usually few mm tops)
Tokina 500mm F/8 is a nice vintage one too. You can even get macro like pictures with it, because of the enormous focal length. Although it's quite small and light comapred to other 500mm lenses, a tripod or IBS would come in handy when it is less than broad daylight.
Nice review with some great samples. I've never been a fan of the donut bokeh but when it's not obvious, it gives good foreground/background separation. The crowd shots when it's just people works well. And from what i can tell on my phone screen, it appears pretty sharp too. Looks like a fun lens!
As someone who has shot a lot with a mirror reflex lens, be prepared to stabilize your camera and use fast shutter speeds. There is a TON of shake that is translated from your hands to the lens. Get read to GIT GUD and hand holding
To be fair, it's not any worse than other lenses of similar focal length. You're just not automatically bracing it like you would with the longer body and different balance of a typical long focal length lens.
@@davidg5898 it is worse , thats the whole thing about shapes and sizes, we're humans and not robot - so things will be worse or better since we correlate it to how we handle stuff
I got a Vivitar 500mm f8 exclusively because of the beautiful ring bokeh it gives but the useful distance to use it is a nightmare. This one sounds like a purchase I gotta make soon...
It is not the lens that changes the compression, it is your change of viewpoint. If you use a wideangle from the same standpoint as the mirror lens the relation between subjects would be the same, you would just have to crop in to see it. Moving closer in on your subject, that changes the perspective.
True, but in practical use you can't really get the same look out of a 35mm lens. i.e. you must move back to use the 250mm and there is not enough resolution to crop at 35mm. I always find this a hard topic to cover in the videos, because it can confuse people. I do cover this in an over simplified way, but that is by intention. I also try not to say it is the "lens", but I do in this video, I should just say, at 250mm you get compression, which you do because you have to move away. You are right, it's the distance not the lens.
Exactly. We should be careful to not perpetuate this misconception with new photographers. Easy way to get the concept across is the action of a wide range zoom lens. Does the apparent perspective/compression change as you zoom from wide to tele at any given position?
@@FixerFingers I could say, with the same framing a 250mm lens gets more compression than a 35mm lens, and this will be correct, but the new photographer will still will not understand the concept. After doing this for many years, I know you can get beginners lost really quickly. In the video I say you get more compression out of a 250mm lens than a 35mm lens, the "reason" is the distance you move from the subject. Which I don't go into, as to not over complicate the video. I should cover this in its own video.
@@FixerFingers Yes, and so many of the people at that event where micro 4/3 lovers or shot the GH5 at some stage. It would have made so much sense to have a few days on the S9 and a few on the GH7.
@@FixerFingers True, but you will probably only really experience it, if you cropped into the wideangle shot to exactly the same field of view as the tele shot. Then there would be no difference except off course the resolution of the image.
I like how much cheaper this mirror lens in compared to the one you reviewed a few weeks ago. This lens would be perfectly suited for saul leiter inspired abstract street photography
The zero chromatic aberration thing is a characteristic of mirror lenses in general, mirrors don't refract, and refraction is what causes chromatic aberration, they reflect. so in general mirror lenses have none or almost none.
I've been using the panagor 300mm f5.6 reflex lens and it turned out to be some kind of a disaster. First and for all you need a LOT of light or a rock steady hand or tripod as any shot below 1/250 sec will have motion blur. The lens is to light to be able to use its weight as a stabilising factor. With all this in mind i will have a look at the tt artisan and hope it'll overcome the problems of the panagor. These lenses are indeed tempting to use for street photography, but in my experience the "keeper" rate is very low.
I'm not a big fan of mirror lenses, but now probably is the best time to own one since modern mirrorless digital cameras negate many of the traditional drawbacks - contrast can easily be boosted in post, IBIS helps with hand holding longer focal lengths, focus peaking makes focusing them MUCH easier, and the fairly dim view (wouldn't be surprised if this was a T/8 or smaller) simply can me amplified electronically. What I'm really hyped about is TTartisan releasing another lens in M42 mount! As an avid analogue photographer it's a dream come true, modern lenses on vintage cameras.
Great review, Background Blur seems to give me Vertigo 2:17 . Perhaps an excellent choice for Raves, Dance Clubs, Live Bands or on a Boat...Polished enough for discerned clientele? maybe, we all know a 69 Charger can outshine C8 Corvette, can a 69 Pinto?
Hello Mark Do you think that you will do video Comparisons with the new Kase reflex 200mm , and with this new reflex 250mm 5.6 lens from the T Artisans ? Looking to get one of these lens ! I hope that either lens can be adopted to a medium format camera ! Thank you !
I would really like it if they would release more of these, and with AF. I do animals, and they don't give you second takes or time to focus and compose - what you get is what you get. I would pay a bit more for one of these with AF than I would for a normal AF prime by the same company, despite the lower optical performance.
Neat video, I'm interested in this lens. I don't mind the donut out of focus areas, kinda like it. I have a Russian MTO 500/8 lens I enjoy using for astro on my Olympus cameras.
3:24 Bit of a common misconception, but focal length has little to do with compression. Only distance between the subject and background to the camera. Focal length is just changing the angle of view. Take a landscape shot and crop in. The compression is the same for each image.
Yes, correct. I do over simplify this for my core audience of new users. At 250mm you have no choice to get further back, at 35mm you could crop the same as the 250mm, but probably don't have the resolution. So it's distance for sure, but as a practical consideration the focal length does dictate the distance, at least to a large extent.
It would be workable for widefield astrophotography, but a bit slow (in astronomy, the f-ratio is referred to as speed with lower numbers being faster and allowing you to capture more stars more quickly).
This is the first time I've actually wanted to get a lens like this because I hate the bokeh in some circumstances. If you're not a salesman, maybe you should become one.
I like the look of that, I do like the interesting bokeh it gives to, it's a marmite thing, you either love it or hate it. Have experience with using a lens that has a fixed aperture (sol45) which I have used for Motorsport panning that is tricky with it's F3.5 aperture if it's a rare sunny day in the UK as you want slow shutter speeds for motion blur. Will definitely consider this lens as I think it could be a fun little lens to play around with for a few different genres of photography.
GREAT review - thank you (i subbed). i love mirror lenses but couldn't stand that lower contrast and muted colors. this would be awesome on a close focusing adapter (Nikon Z to Lieca M close focusing adapter to 250mm m42?). seems the remake has just the right coatings and 250mm is probably a perfect length. tree leaves will be too busy for birding, but its probably a lot smaller than carrying a 70-300mm or my usual 300mm f4 (cheap quality vintage nikon).
@@williamaungleyraud oh I know there are more, I am asking specifically about these two that were just released. But to your point, what a cool comparison it would be to include the old ones in a video comparison!
@@FoTomgraphy I was going to ask the same question ,,,, the Kase 200mm vs. the TT Artisan 250mm is much more expensive and doesn't seem to be too available but I'd like to know Mark's opinion on which of these new lenes he would recommend.
I’m on the same boat, Kase 200 or TTA 250. I’m leaning more towards the case as mirror lens tend to be more demanding with stabilization as they become longer.
@@FoTomgraphy the Tokina ones were released in 2022, so not that old. With the catch that is F8 at 400mm. And the price is still very competitive with these newly released ones.
Unfortunately most of them provide terrible image quality. That’s why the 1979 Minolta was selling for so much, and we are now seeing some new releases that are far ahead of those old cheap mirror lenses. Just like normal lenses, there are good ones and there are bad ones, most of the old mirror lenses are bad ones.
The most of them are 500 for and had a extreme bad image quality. I own a copy of the Minolta 500 mm This thing is really sharp. There is a lens from China in the 250 mm range but it is horrible I the tt artisan is near the Minolta I is worth the price
Does anyone have any idea if the range markings are accurate? I got to use another TTArtisan lens some time back which was wonderful, but the range markers were off enough to warrant some tape and handwritten markings.
Hey i watch your videos about zve10 I’m planning to buy zve10 and I’m shoot my workouts videos indoors with tripod so can you please guide me which lens should i buy or should i shoot with kit lens ❤
It works, I tested my m42 speedbooster on my Tokina 400mm f8 mirror lens and I've gained 1 stop of light. I didn't notice if depth of field got any shallower, but you do gain more light 😎👍
It would be the same size without the adapter too. You need the adapter to set the distance between the lens and your camera sensor, so its the same basically
@@ssscsaba So if I have a vintage camera that was designed for M42 mount lenses, do I need an extension tube? I doubt it. If anything when you adapt it to a modern camera it slightly changes the lens as if you added that extension tube. Unless they designed it with the adapter in mind but I doubt it. Hopefully someone has some information so we don't speculate any further. I wouldn't care if it slightly changes the lens though, I would definitely not make it unusable.
@@DanielLeivaCardozo There is no point at all in offering versions for different mounts as this is a manual lens. (It would only add complexity and cost, and create big supply headaches.) Any M42 adapter you can buy for your mount should have the correct dimension for M42 lenses to work with your camera. The only issue would be if you had a camera with a longer sensor distance than this can accommodate, in which case there would not be an M42 mount adapter available.
It's f5.6 but will be more like f8 in terms of light transmission. Panasonic makes an excellent 40-100 for M4/3 (80-200 ff equivalent) which is similar size wise and will AF.
I like the the TT M Adapters, this is an M42 mount (different from just M), which I have not used a TT one of those yet, but It's likely very good too.
0:45 they probably did it wrong, mirrors are normally free of most optical issues with some being nearly perfect like the RC design, that telescope (yes it's effectively a telescope) looks like a RC or a cassegrain. With a extra element at the rear, it's a bit expensive for its aperture.
Probably a Houghton-Cassegrain variant, based on the convex outer surface of the corrector lens. Schmidt-Cassegrain and Ritchey-Chretien have a flat outer surface on the corrector (and plain ol' Cassegrain uses no corrector lens).
It’s a great question, and I was wondering the same. I suspect not, it may be limited by the bouncing the image around design. I would love to be able to dial it down to f8 or f11.
I've actually changed the apertures of a few longer focal length mirror lenses. The lens must be of a simple enough design where you have free access from the back of the lens, up through the light baffle tube. I carefully cut out black paper rings and inserted them as close as possible to the thinnest point using very long forceps - very tedious!!!. I got improved contrast and images on both lenses I modified. Of course you lose a few F stops. One of my modified lenses then suffered from extreme vignetting. I suspect these smaller "non-astronomy" lenses have correction lenses even up to the rear, thus blocking this technique. You could mount neutral density filters on the front to cut down the light, but as a practical matter, you're not going to be able to change the depth of field. Honestly, I wouldn't bother putting in the effort that I did again.
Might be interesting to do a comparison with the original Minolta lens, and one around the $1000 mark, like the Pentax 500mm or 1000mm versions. The bokeh is, perhaps not 'intertesting', and certainly can be unpleasant. It certainly suits Stills much more then Video.
Mirror lenses, newtonian's, cassegrains and other reflectors don't have any chromatic aberrations. Since they don't refract light through glass, they reflect.
Most of those optical formula need to have an additionnal corrector, to help with various aberrations. Since those correctors are made of glass, they can introduce some CA. It is rare to have a purely reflective system.
I have a 300mm mirror lens from Itorex and a Soviet 500 mirror. But quality is, so to say, questionable. I am curious if this one is a little bit better.
I'm sure it is, for me the images look very similar to a standard lens, better than most cheap or kit lenses too, but not on par with the Sony G master or Canon L lens.
@@JoeCastellon I owned the Minolta 500mm f/8 “Reflex” in the late 80s. But with the manual focus (at that time with the X-700), no stabilization, I did not try any serious indoor shooting. Outdoors it was fun!
@@billr3053 yeah the more I think about it the more I realize it wouldn’t be useable indoors (in a church) mainly because I would need to carry around a monopod and that would likely still prove challenging to hold it stable enough for a sharp photo
That's good to know, and makes sense. There is some optical glass that makes me think it's still possible for one to have CA, but I don't know for sure. The two I have tested so far have none, so you are probably right.
I remember the lens coming out back in the day. It was not popular then. The mount also can cost extra. I was impressed with some of your shoots… but the bokeh was never really popular back in the day because of the sharpness was never really consistent. Today I think there are better options more so if you have fx camera body cropped doughnut rings never took off . My biggest worry is the lenses mount it makes it longer and adds to the weight. I understand your points but street photography would require constant changes . If I had paid 1000 usd. For the older lenses i would feel uncomfortable about the price I had paid now a newer version is cheaper. Like you say it’s a personal choice but it is limited in my view . For the price there are some great 35 to 50 mm primes for new comers.
Great review of this new 200mm 5.6 lens ! You mention Adopting this lens this lens to a APS-C and to a Full frame camera . But do you think that this lens could be adopted to a Medium format camera ? Thanks !
pretty much unavailable atm for fuji... disappointed to learn about a perfect lens for a situation and then have availability issues. Hopefully we will see stock catch up soon.
Nothing much different apart from older reflex lenses from the 70s, 80, 90s having very low contrast, and this one having better contrast than the "vintage" items because of the modern multi coatings used. Anyone who has used an older reflex lens in the past will notice the difference.
I got couple mirror lenses from 300mm to 650mm, they do not perform as good as refract lenses due to the nature of the design, mirror lenses primarily used as telescope not for general photography. Mirror lenses are cheap to produce compared to traditional refract lenses, and special good for casual wildlife without breaking your shoulder and bank, the good thing about mirror lens is virtually absent of CA due to reduced use of glasses. But as other mentioned, for that size, range and aperture I would go with a refract lens instead and I can get better image quality, so I will stick with my Ohnar 300mm/f5.6 that only slightly larger than this one.
I find it really funny that people rave about the "character" of vintage lenses with swirly bokeh, flaring and contrast issues, low sharpness, and then will sit there and be just unable to stomach having dougnut bokeh in their images. Wild to me.
I don't really see the point. Is this any less conspicuous than, say, the Nikon 50-250 DX lens? And you must lose at least half a stop of light to that enormous central obstruction.
Get the Lens Here (affiliate link) - geni.us/iUjSWQe or bit.ly/3X7GNRo
Camera Used for Sample Photos and Video (affiliate links) - geni.us/Bz5PT OR geni.us/Lc7VGn
ADPATERS REQUIRED (affiliate links)
Sony E - geni.us/t0qnqR0
Canon RF - geni.us/mJd50
Canon EF- geni.us/bIUb2X
L Mount - geni.us/KFven
Nikon Z - geni.us/wPtfRu3
Fuji X - geni.us/bC9MNMN
I have a dumb question you may or may not know an answer to; is there a way to include an f/stop ring on an adapter for those fixed f/5 or other type of lenses?
@@SIBIRIAKcom Yes.
I realise it's not of interest to most consumers, but it would be great if lens manufacturers started publishing the image circle of their lenses again... Like for example, I can't really know if it would cover Fuji's GFX sensor size.
Uhhh.... Nikon F? (It is only the oldest surviving mount besides M42.....)
Using it on a mirrorless camera makes it mirrored camera
Underrated comment 😂
and you no longer can photograph vampires
😂
😂😂😂
Mind equals blown!!!
I’m very surprised and very pleased that there is a company putting out new M42 lenses. Been adapting old glass for years.
I'm not a big fan of mirror lenses, but they have their place and I think street photography like you describe is the best one. I'm glad for shooters of many formats that there is a resurgence of mirror lenses. However, as a Micro Four Thirds shooter I have to point out that the OM System 14-150mm f4-5.6 lens gives a 35mm equivalent view of 28-300mm in a proper zoom lens that is about the same width, and a couple of inches *shorter* than this TTArtisan mirror lens. It is also auto focus, weather proof, and has excellent image quality. However, if you use this TTArtisian 250mm lens on an Olympus, OM System, or Lumix MFT camera it will give a 500mm equivalent field of view which would be some fun for really long range photography. Overall, I think the Micro Four Thirds system is just stellar for street photography because of it's small size, and amazing number of high quality lenses. Worth a look if you've never checked it out.
"and a couple of inches shorter than this TTArtisan mirror lens"
OM 14 - 150 is 83 mm long. TT 250 is 67 mm long, so about 17 mm shorter (slightly less after you adapt it, but M42 adapters are very thin, usually few mm tops)
I love how TT Artisan mounted the mirror to a front element providing a good sealed lens and avoiding the mirror mounts inside.❤
They’re starting to nail the aesthetics. Remember it’s singular for TTArtisan, and plural for 7Artisans 😂
TTArtisan was too low in the alphabet, so they added a 7 xD (See BYD)
I know, I do it every time! ug.
Tokina 500mm F/8 is a nice vintage one too. You can even get macro like pictures with it, because of the enormous focal length. Although it's quite small and light comapred to other 500mm lenses, a tripod or IBS would come in handy when it is less than broad daylight.
I use by Minolta RF 250 on a Fuji X-T30 mark 2.
Such a great pairing.
The 250mm equals about 375mm.
Great video Mark, have a great week.
Thanks.
Great review. Thorough n delivered in a distinct and clear voice. No rambling.! 👌
So kind of you, thanks.
What a cool little lens! :0 I'm gonna throw this on my old Zenit-E analog camera, I think the uniqueness will work well with film!
M42 mount is a very clever decision too. Nice work.
Yes, can even be adapted to Canon EF and Nikon F. So works on all mirrorless and SLR, super smart.
@@markwiemels I use m42 mount vintage lenses so I'm already there with adaptors. That's on Fuji X and very niche Sigma SD Quattro. It'll be fun. 🎉
Nice review with some great samples. I've never been a fan of the donut bokeh but when it's not obvious, it gives good foreground/background separation. The crowd shots when it's just people works well. And from what i can tell on my phone screen, it appears pretty sharp too. Looks like a fun lens!
Yes, it is an incredibly fun lens to use, and it's plenty sharp.
@8:38 reflex lenses by design have effectively no chromatic aberration
As someone who has shot a lot with a mirror reflex lens, be prepared to stabilize your camera and use fast shutter speeds. There is a TON of shake that is translated from your hands to the lens. Get read to GIT GUD and hand holding
To be fair, it's not any worse than other lenses of similar focal length. You're just not automatically bracing it like you would with the longer body and different balance of a typical long focal length lens.
@@davidg5898 it is worse , thats the whole thing about shapes and sizes, we're humans and not robot - so things will be worse or better since we correlate it to how we handle stuff
I got a Vivitar 500mm f8 exclusively because of the beautiful ring bokeh it gives but the useful distance to use it is a nightmare. This one sounds like a purchase I gotta make soon...
It is not the lens that changes the compression, it is your change of viewpoint. If you use a wideangle from the same standpoint as the mirror lens the relation between subjects would be the same, you would just have to crop in to see it. Moving closer in on your subject, that changes the perspective.
True, but in practical use you can't really get the same look out of a 35mm lens. i.e. you must move back to use the 250mm and there is not enough resolution to crop at 35mm. I always find this a hard topic to cover in the videos, because it can confuse people. I do cover this in an over simplified way, but that is by intention. I also try not to say it is the "lens", but I do in this video, I should just say, at 250mm you get compression, which you do because you have to move away. You are right, it's the distance not the lens.
Exactly. We should be careful to not perpetuate this misconception with new photographers. Easy way to get the concept across is the action of a wide range zoom lens. Does the apparent perspective/compression change as you zoom from wide to tele at any given position?
@@FixerFingers I could say, with the same framing a 250mm lens gets more compression than a 35mm lens, and this will be correct, but the new photographer will still will not understand the concept. After doing this for many years, I know you can get beginners lost really quickly. In the video I say you get more compression out of a 250mm lens than a 35mm lens, the "reason" is the distance you move from the subject. Which I don't go into, as to not over complicate the video. I should cover this in its own video.
@@FixerFingers Yes, and so many of the people at that event where micro 4/3 lovers or shot the GH5 at some stage. It would have made so much sense to have a few days on the S9 and a few on the GH7.
@@FixerFingers True, but you will probably only really experience it, if you cropped into the wideangle shot to exactly the same field of view as the tele shot. Then there would be no difference except off course the resolution of the image.
Really like your reviews. Detailed and easy to understand.
So kind, thanks.
I love how this video showed up during the embargo of that sigma lens. Way to stand out!
Haha…Yeah, I had no idea that lens was coming out. I’m just doing my own thing, I find covering the budget stuff more interesting and fun.
I like how much cheaper this mirror lens in compared to the one you reviewed a few weeks ago. This lens would be perfectly suited for saul leiter inspired abstract street photography
The zero chromatic aberration thing is a characteristic of mirror lenses in general, mirrors don't refract, and refraction is what causes chromatic aberration, they reflect. so in general mirror lenses have none or almost none.
I've been using the panagor 300mm f5.6 reflex lens and it turned out to be some kind of a disaster. First and for all you need a LOT of light or a rock steady hand or tripod as any shot below 1/250 sec will have motion blur. The lens is to light to be able to use its weight as a stabilising factor. With all this in mind i will have a look at the tt artisan and hope it'll overcome the problems of the panagor. These lenses are indeed tempting to use for street photography, but in my experience the "keeper" rate is very low.
I'm not a big fan of mirror lenses, but now probably is the best time to own one since modern mirrorless digital cameras negate many of the traditional drawbacks - contrast can easily be boosted in post, IBIS helps with hand holding longer focal lengths, focus peaking makes focusing them MUCH easier, and the fairly dim view (wouldn't be surprised if this was a T/8 or smaller) simply can me amplified electronically.
What I'm really hyped about is TTartisan releasing another lens in M42 mount! As an avid analogue photographer it's a dream come true, modern lenses on vintage cameras.
Some great points!
Great review, Background Blur seems to give me Vertigo 2:17 . Perhaps an excellent choice for Raves, Dance Clubs, Live Bands or on a Boat...Polished enough for discerned clientele? maybe, we all know a 69 Charger can outshine C8 Corvette, can a 69 Pinto?
Yeah, when you get close to the subject the background can get crazy! This is all personal preference obviously, so no wrong answers.
Hello Mark
Do you think that you will do video Comparisons with the new Kase reflex 200mm , and with this new reflex 250mm 5.6 lens from the T Artisans ? Looking to get one of these lens ! I hope that either lens can be adopted to a medium format camera !
Thank you !
I may, I'm not sure just yet.
I would really like it if they would release more of these, and with AF. I do animals, and they don't give you second takes or time to focus and compose - what you get is what you get.
I would pay a bit more for one of these with AF than I would for a normal AF prime by the same company, despite the lower optical performance.
Neat video, I'm interested in this lens. I don't mind the donut out of focus areas, kinda like it. I have a Russian MTO 500/8 lens I enjoy using for astro on my Olympus cameras.
3:24 Bit of a common misconception, but focal length has little to do with compression. Only distance between the subject and background to the camera. Focal length is just changing the angle of view. Take a landscape shot and crop in. The compression is the same for each image.
Yes, correct. I do over simplify this for my core audience of new users. At 250mm you have no choice to get further back, at 35mm you could crop the same as the 250mm, but probably don't have the resolution. So it's distance for sure, but as a practical consideration the focal length does dictate the distance, at least to a large extent.
Just bought a centon 500 mm mirror 73 uk pounds featured on my RUclips yesterday Called Motorcycles And Things , cheers shane uk 🇬🇧
Nice, unique lens. Over on the dark side (m43) we have something like this for stealthy street photography - it's the olympus 75/1.8.
I had no interest in this lens until you started talking about the street photography application of it. Fascinating idea to use this lens.
Is the 250mm f/5.6 mirror lens suitable for astrophotography?
Last April, I used a 1000mm f/11 mirror lens to shoot the total solar eclipse.
It would be workable for widefield astrophotography, but a bit slow (in astronomy, the f-ratio is referred to as speed with lower numbers being faster and allowing you to capture more stars more quickly).
I doubt that it would be sharp enough for AP. An Askar 200 or 230 with triplet construction and ED glass would be a better investment.
Honnestly, those are pretty bad specs for AP. I also doubt that the field flatness will be good.
This is the first time I've actually wanted to get a lens like this because I hate the bokeh in some circumstances. If you're not a salesman, maybe you should become one.
Crazy lens, I love it!
I like the look of that, I do like the interesting bokeh it gives to, it's a marmite thing, you either love it or hate it. Have experience with using a lens that has a fixed aperture (sol45) which I have used for Motorsport panning that is tricky with it's F3.5 aperture if it's a rare sunny day in the UK as you want slow shutter speeds for motion blur. Will definitely consider this lens as I think it could be a fun little lens to play around with for a few different genres of photography.
I had a Nikkor 500mm reflex lens. Fun to use but it opened at f11...
GREAT review - thank you (i subbed). i love mirror lenses but couldn't stand that lower contrast and muted colors. this would be awesome on a close focusing adapter (Nikon Z to Lieca M close focusing adapter to 250mm m42?). seems the remake has just the right coatings and 250mm is probably a perfect length. tree leaves will be too busy for birding, but its probably a lot smaller than carrying a 70-300mm or my usual 300mm f4 (cheap quality vintage nikon).
Which one do you prefer, the Kase vs TTArtisan mirrors? Or is it mainly a matter of 200 vs 250mm?
There are so many more, I've got a Tokina, but there is Rokinon, Tamron and more. Then all the vintage ones.
@@williamaungleyraud oh I know there are more, I am asking specifically about these two that were just released. But to your point, what a cool comparison it would be to include the old ones in a video comparison!
@@FoTomgraphy I was going to ask the same question ,,,, the Kase 200mm vs. the TT Artisan 250mm is much more expensive and doesn't seem to be too available but I'd like to know Mark's opinion on which of these new lenes he would recommend.
I’m on the same boat, Kase 200 or TTA 250. I’m leaning more towards the case as mirror lens tend to be more demanding with stabilization as they become longer.
@@FoTomgraphy the Tokina ones were released in 2022, so not that old. With the catch that is F8 at 400mm. And the price is still very competitive with these newly released ones.
There are thousands of used mirror lenses on Ebay etc, and Rokinon have had mirror lenses on their lineup for years.
Unfortunately most of them provide terrible image quality. That’s why the 1979 Minolta was selling for so much, and we are now seeing some new releases that are far ahead of those old cheap mirror lenses. Just like normal lenses, there are good ones and there are bad ones, most of the old mirror lenses are bad ones.
The most of them are 500 for and had a extreme bad image quality.
I own a copy of the Minolta 500 mm
This thing is really sharp.
There is a lens from China in the 250 mm range but it is horrible
I the tt artisan is near the Minolta I is worth the price
Love your analysis of this lens, Mark!
Thanks!
Can you use an aperture disc with it?
ive been using a 135mm f2 L lens on micro four thirds for years for street photography no one ever bothers :)
Smart moves by Tt artisan
I think so.
Does anyone have any idea if the range markings are accurate? I got to use another TTArtisan lens some time back which was wonderful, but the range markers were off enough to warrant some tape and handwritten markings.
Like your work 👌🏆
Hey i watch your videos about zve10 I’m planning to buy zve10 and I’m shoot my workouts videos indoors with tripod so can you please guide me which lens should i buy or should i shoot with kit lens ❤
So, between this one and the Kase mirror lens you recently did a video of... If you have ONLY budget for one, which one would you recommend and why?
I love lenses that transform reality.
I got this lens because I shoot music videos and I like unusual bokeh in my videos.
That's cool!
Will this work on a full frame camera?
Yes, it's a full frame lens.
@@markwiemels awesome! Thanks for the info. I think with the LUMIX S9, it can be a killer combo
As a M43 lenses is there any difference in bokeh or image quality for apsc vs ff?
I really need to test this to speak conclusively, I have ordered a M42 to Micro 4/3 Adapter to test this.
Guess its a good think I have an m42 screw mount camera! That rules, I hope ttartisans makes more m42 lenses.
Great video.😀
Would it be unusable without IBIS? I have an xt30
No micro four thirds adapter?
I just added one! I'm can't believe I forgot. I have a bunch of Micro 4/3 stuff coming. I have only just started using micro 4/3, but love it.
I own a 500mm and a 1000mm mirror lens, there's something special about donut bokeh but it won't be for everyone.
Agree.
How would the lens behave with a speed booster?
It works, I tested my m42 speedbooster on my Tokina 400mm f8 mirror lens and I've gained 1 stop of light. I didn't notice if depth of field got any shallower, but you do gain more light 😎👍
The adapter to use it just makes it bigger, I wish it came for the popular mounts without an adapter.
It would be the same size without the adapter too. You need the adapter to set the distance between the lens and your camera sensor, so its the same basically
@@mostlymessingabout that's what I'm asking them to do 🤷 offer it with popular mount options, I don't care what they have to do to achieve it.
@@ssscsaba So if I have a vintage camera that was designed for M42 mount lenses, do I need an extension tube? I doubt it. If anything when you adapt it to a modern camera it slightly changes the lens as if you added that extension tube. Unless they designed it with the adapter in mind but I doubt it. Hopefully someone has some information so we don't speculate any further. I wouldn't care if it slightly changes the lens though, I would definitely not make it unusable.
NISI is making their own version and it will have dedicated mounts.
@@DanielLeivaCardozo
There is no point at all in offering versions for different mounts as this is a manual lens. (It would only add complexity and cost, and create big supply headaches.)
Any M42 adapter you can buy for your mount should have the correct dimension for M42 lenses to work with your camera. The only issue would be if you had a camera with a longer sensor distance than this can accommodate, in which case there would not be an M42 mount adapter available.
Thanks, is it for full frame only?
Full frame lens, but will work on smaller sensors too, APS-C, Micro 4/3.
It's f5.6 but will be more like f8 in terms of light transmission. Panasonic makes an excellent 40-100 for M4/3 (80-200 ff equivalent) which is similar size wise and will AF.
They should use this lens to make cover art for the next sonic the hedgehog video game or movie.
Wow its actually a beautiful mirror lens for once
It’s genuinely so good, and so enjoyable to shoot with.
Which type of M42 thread? 0.85mm or 1.0mm?
Is the TTArtisan adapter M to X no as good as the KF adapters?
I like the the TT M Adapters, this is an M42 mount (different from just M), which I have not used a TT one of those yet, but It's likely very good too.
Does anyone know if this lens works on APS-C Cameras? Not sure if it being a mirror reflex lens would cause issues
Yes, it works no problems.
@@markwiemels Thanks so much for the reply!
Oh no! Thanks to this lens the American word “Meer” has come to Australia!
Oh please no… mih-rah, mih-roar, anything but meer!
Does this lens cover a full frame sensor?
Yes.
How is it adapted to the fuji crop sensor? Does the field of view still get the 1.5 crop factor?
Yes, still the crop, but image is still good. Just zoomed in a bit.
Use a M42 to Fuji adapter. Crop factor is a property of the sensor, not the lens. The 1.5 crop factor applies to any lens.
0:45 they probably did it wrong, mirrors are normally free of most optical issues with some being nearly perfect like the RC design, that telescope (yes it's effectively a telescope) looks like a RC or a cassegrain. With a extra element at the rear, it's a bit expensive for its aperture.
Probably a Houghton-Cassegrain variant, based on the convex outer surface of the corrector lens. Schmidt-Cassegrain and Ritchey-Chretien have a flat outer surface on the corrector (and plain ol' Cassegrain uses no corrector lens).
@@davidg5898 many RC don't have a corrector at all atleast for telescopes, but I think you may be right.
Thank you for this video
Does anyone know if/how you can hack a smaller aperture in?
It’s a great question, and I was wondering the same. I suspect not, it may be limited by the bouncing the image around design. I would love to be able to dial it down to f8 or f11.
I've actually changed the apertures of a few longer focal length mirror lenses. The lens must be of a simple enough design where you have free access from the back of the lens, up through the light baffle tube. I carefully cut out black paper rings and inserted them as close as possible to the thinnest point using very long forceps - very tedious!!!. I got improved contrast and images on both lenses I modified. Of course you lose a few F stops. One of my modified lenses then suffered from extreme vignetting. I suspect these smaller "non-astronomy" lenses have correction lenses even up to the rear, thus blocking this technique. You could mount neutral density filters on the front to cut down the light, but as a practical matter, you're not going to be able to change the depth of field. Honestly, I wouldn't bother putting in the effort that I did again.
Please give me a 200mm, f4 mirror lens for aps-c/mft with a M mount and I am all in...
Might be interesting to do a comparison with the original Minolta lens, and one around the $1000 mark, like the Pentax 500mm or 1000mm versions.
The bokeh is, perhaps not 'intertesting', and certainly can be unpleasant. It certainly suits Stills much more then Video.
Mirror lenses, newtonian's, cassegrains and other reflectors don't have any chromatic aberrations. Since they don't refract light through glass, they reflect.
Most of those optical formula need to have an additionnal corrector, to help with various aberrations. Since those correctors are made of glass, they can introduce some CA.
It is rare to have a purely reflective system.
New lens for my Spotmatic!
I just lost a full page (over 25 lines)on the Minolta 250 Rokkor Reflex I lost in Sept 2018.
not me, u tube did that again!
But like can I get it in f3.5?
You shouldn't be surprised that there's little chromatic aberration, mirrors don't suffer from chromatic aberration in the same way that lenses do.
Please do not forget PENTAX. There are adapters from M42 to PENTAX K mount. PENTAX is alive.
I have a 300mm mirror lens from Itorex and a Soviet 500 mirror. But quality is, so to say, questionable. I am curious if this one is a little bit better.
I'm sure it is, for me the images look very similar to a standard lens, better than most cheap or kit lenses too, but not on par with the Sony G master or Canon L lens.
@@markwiemels Obvious.
the only mount that is not possible to theoretically attach to without a correction glass is the nikon F mount.
I know this is not meant for low light but I'm so curious to try it out inside a church 😲
No real issue - might have to go ISO 800 or more. It will be fantastic on how it can isolate people.
@@billr3053right!? I’m really tempted to buy this.
@@JoeCastellon I owned the Minolta 500mm f/8 “Reflex” in the late 80s. But with the manual focus (at that time with the X-700), no stabilization, I did not try any serious indoor shooting. Outdoors it was fun!
Just like anything, higher ISO or long shutter speed, if either of those is ok, then yes.
@@billr3053 yeah the more I think about it the more I realize it wouldn’t be useable indoors (in a church) mainly because I would need to carry around a monopod and that would likely still prove challenging to hold it stable enough for a sharp photo
If I remember correctly, mirror lenses don't have CA or distortion by design.
Correct. Author was surprised at no CA. That was one of its selling points.
That's good to know, and makes sense. There is some optical glass that makes me think it's still possible for one to have CA, but I don't know for sure. The two I have tested so far have none, so you are probably right.
It's basically a telescope this is how my Celestron works...
Yes, it is.
The donut bokeh puts me off though
What if every time you took a photo, the donut bokeh tuned into real donuts?
I remember the lens coming out back in the day. It was not popular then. The mount also can cost extra. I was impressed with some of your shoots… but the bokeh was never really popular back in the day because of the sharpness was never really consistent. Today I think there are better options more so if you have fx camera body cropped doughnut rings never took off . My biggest worry is the lenses mount it makes it longer and adds to the weight. I understand your points but street photography would require constant changes . If I had paid 1000 usd. For the older lenses i would feel uncomfortable about the price I had paid now a newer version is cheaper. Like you say it’s a personal choice but it is limited in my view . For the price there are some great 35 to 50 mm primes for new comers.
Great review of this new 200mm 5.6 lens ! You mention Adopting this lens this lens to a APS-C and to a Full frame camera . But do you think that this lens could be adopted to a Medium format camera ? Thanks !
I suspect they will cover, the 200mm case can be purchased in G mount. If you email the manufactures they should be able to tell you.
Think about using this one with mft 😮😅
pretty much unavailable atm for fuji... disappointed to learn about a perfect lens for a situation and then have availability issues. Hopefully we will see stock catch up soon.
It’s M42 screw mount only, it’s made to be adapted to any camera. You just need an M42 to X adapter.
Ttartisan. Singular. No -s at the end. (But I bet you get this comment on most videos lol)
It’s so bad, I actually know, but keep doing it. Every time.
Any available software you know of that fixes the bokeh rings in post-processing?
Nothing much different apart from older reflex lenses from the 70s, 80, 90s having very low contrast, and this one having better contrast than the "vintage" items because of the modern multi coatings used. Anyone who has used an older reflex lens in the past will notice the difference.
Craziest bokeh ever
They cheated us to believe mirrorless is better. Now they cheat to believe us mirror is better ;-)
haha...
You don't have a link for a Micro 4/3 mount. Will this lens not work with MFT?
Sorry! It will, I will add one.
Not just a Lens review but also Educational !
Thanks, that is what I try to do. So I appreciate the comment.
I got couple mirror lenses from 300mm to 650mm, they do not perform as good as refract lenses due to the nature of the design, mirror lenses primarily used as telescope not for general photography. Mirror lenses are cheap to produce compared to traditional refract lenses, and special good for casual wildlife without breaking your shoulder and bank, the good thing about mirror lens is virtually absent of CA due to reduced use of glasses. But as other mentioned, for that size, range and aperture I would go with a refract lens instead and I can get better image quality, so I will stick with my Ohnar 300mm/f5.6 that only slightly larger than this one.
I find it really funny that people rave about the "character" of vintage lenses with swirly bokeh, flaring and contrast issues, low sharpness, and then will sit there and be just unable to stomach having dougnut bokeh in their images. Wild to me.
I don't really see the point. Is this any less conspicuous than, say, the Nikon 50-250 DX lens? And you must lose at least half a stop of light to that enormous central obstruction.
Another entertaining and informative video, thank you. Sorry, I'm in the hate it camp for ring bokeh, otherwise I like the size and reach for sure.
Thanks. Haha…Yes, it’s polarising!
Be nice if Sony would re-release their 500mm f/8 AF mirror in E mount. Now that...I would consider. Still...the bokeh is a mess.