Wednesday, February 6, 2008

A Monster Mirror Lens

I was doing a quick web search today when I stumbled upon the 1000mm Carl Zeiss Mirror f/5.6 lens, a pure monster. It fits the Pentacon Six, a medium format camera sold until the early '90s by Pentacon GmbH. The company currently makes digital point and shoots under the brand Praktika.

Anyway, I would have loved to include an image or two here, but the site is pretty clear about copyright issues. So let me paint you a picture instead: 31 lbs (14 kg), a lens cap the size of a dinnerplate, switchable filters actually sealed inside the lens, and amazing images. If you want to waste a little time, click on over and check it out:
  • Overview page with some sample images.
  • Later comparative review consisting of pages: [1] [2] [3] [4]
    • If you look at one page, look at the second -- it includes some great shots (including a full camera sitting inside of the lenscap).
Obviously, this isn't a practical lens since most tripods can't even support it, but it was really cool to see a really good quality 1000mm reflex lens. And, at 1000mm, the f/5.6 aperture is quite amazing.
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 26, 2008 at 3:25 PM

    That's not a monster lens, THIS is a monster lens! (with apologies to Mick Dundee)

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  2. SeanFebruary 29, 2008 at 10:05 AM

    Wow, a 1700mm f/4. That's nuts.

    I love how they qualify that it is the largest NON-MILITARY lens. I wonder if there are any military surplus lenses out there that could be adapted to our needs :)

    ReplyDelete