Reflex-Nikkor 2000mm f/11

The f11 limits this lens quite a bit. Also the bokeh on all reflex lenses produces doughnuts where there are highlights which is not particularly pleasing. Of course it is a fairly cheap way to to get a long reach lens and from the perspective of sharpness, they are not too bad. I had a reflex lens at one time but sold it because of its limitations.

 

Like Gordon said, Vince, it's not creamy, it's Krispy Kreme. The lens has a central obstruction, a mirror to create the folded optical path. It makes the central part dark of any out of focus 'bokey-balls'.

It's a unique look, which, like the fisheye look, has a place that is best if not overused. If you'd like to experiment, google "500mm mirror lens" and you will find quite a few mirror lenses for right around a hundred bucks. Yep that's right. they're cheap.

As a matter of fact, I do. This isn't a Nikkor, but rather a 2670mm f/15 Meade:



Also, Bjørn posted a photo done with the Nikkor you are interested in last week:
https://www.nikoncafe.com//forums/viewtopic.php?t=8797

 

Chris, that is an amazing shot of the moon. Good work.

 

Hi Vince,

I had a 500 f8 mirror lens that I paid $60 for. It took fine photos if you could avoid the donut highlights. Everything is manual. Digital really helps here since you can take a test shot and look at the histogram to get the exposure right.
The major difficulty is that on the D-70 or D-100 the viewfinder image is very dark. This makes it hard to see when it is really in focus. This might be better on the D2 series, but the f11 would probably offset any gain.
I recently got an 80-400VR and that eliminated any real need for the 500 so I sold it.
Bob

 

For those of you interested, here are three images from the 500mm f8 lens that I used to have. It was made in Korea and was all metal. It was about the size and weight of a 70-300ED when that lens was at 70mm, but it was a little larger in diameter. Very interestingly I think it would focus down to about 18 inches, yes that is 500mm at 18 inches away  

Here is a fairly good image with no highlights to create doughnuts.


Here is one with some of the doughnut effect:


Here is one with a lot of the doughnut effect:


All of these were shot at the Columbus Zoo. They are handheld with the ISO at 1600 to get the shutter speed up as high as possible, all manual of course. On the D-70 & D-100 the "green dot" for in focus does work with this lens so you get a little help with the focusing.

Hope this helps you see what we are talking about.
Bob