Alan McFaden puts the Sigma 600mm mirror lens through its paces.

SIGMA HAS BEEN quick to supply an in­dependent mirror lens to fit the Canon EOS. The lens will be especially

useful as Canon has yet to release any 'Long Toms'. Canon's longest EF telephoto lens is a 300mm, so anything beyond this focal length is a bonus.

Mirror, or catadioptric, lenses such as the Sigma 600mm tend to have fixed apertures and cannot be stopped down: these lenses are typically designated 300mm f/5.6, 500-600mm f/8 and lOOOmm fIll. A conven­tional telephoto of this focal length, with a range of f-stops, would be of enormous size and weight; mirror lenses are con­veniently smaller and lighter.

The unnerving thing about telephoto and mirror lenses is that there's no room for focusing errors, as there is hardly any depth of field. The camera and lens must be held steady to focus and shoot because the

REPRINTED FROM AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER

I MA mm MIRROR LENS

The lens well on the body 01 the Canon 650. Although hamiheld shots are possible in stronr IlghtinE while us!nr fast film to rive adequately fast shutter speeds, it's advisable to llit;Jch the lens to a tripod using its tripod bush.

tiniest movement can cause unsharpness due to the extreme­ly narrow angle of view-4 deg.

I was glad to have the opportunity to try a 'cat' lens and was keen to use it for unobtrusive candid portrlliture. I

decided to go for a walk around London, a great place to take photographs as there is so much going on that there is almost a picture around every corner. And with so many camera-laden tourists around you don't attract much attention.

The film I used was T-Max 400, which would enable me to use a shutter speed of around

l!10oosec, which is essential to prevent camera shake. Also, if the light levels were to drop the film could easily be pushed to ISO 800 or even 1600. However, I do recommend this as a fair weather lens, bright conditions giving acceptably fast shutter speeds with faster films.

In theory a tripod should be used with this lens. Although the lens has a built-in tripod bush, in practice it is not always practical to use a tripod in busy places. There are other ways and means of keeping the camera steady-thank heaven for lamp­posts and signposts! Most towns are liberally endowed with these, and holding the lens firmly against such supports should give sufficient steadi­ness if a tripod is not available.

For £249.95 you get lens cap, hood, case and five fi1te~e fifth /5 already in position at the rear of the lens.

Telephone junction boxes also provide good platforms, as do walls, but put cloth or paper under the camera to stop it being scratched. A bean bag on any reasonably flat surface is also a great camera support. was very lucky around the Westminster area, the council having obligingly supplied several coin-operated tele­scopes, each providing a flat platform at the right height and well sited for telephoto work.

The Sigma 600mm is sup­plied with filters. These need to be fitted over the rear of the lens because the front of the lens is so wide. The red, yellow and orange filters help to penetrate

Amateur PhotogrophfJ< 'I'Ile September 5 1987

I

The front element is too la"e to make the use of conventional filters pmctical, so rear.mountinllil~rs are supplied.

haze and give more contrast Aperture priority mode can be with monochrome subjects. The used , bot the shutter speed neutral density (NO) filter suggested would give six stops provided helps to reduce ex­overexposure. As there are no posure if there is, say, a light contacts on the lens mount, the reading which calls for camera assumes it has a maxim· 1I4000sec at fl8 (not very um aperture of fll, so this f-stop likely) and the camera's fastest should be dialled in rather than speed is only 1I 1 000~c. flS. Manual mode can be also

There is little point in using be used if fl l is chosen, but this lens to attempt shots which programmed, shutter priority can just as easily be had by and depth modes are of no use wa lking up closer to the subject with this fixed-aperture lens. with a normal lens. The 600mm Versions com patible with the offers a powerful means of Canon EOS and Minolta AF capturing pictures over a great SLRs are available, while those distance, and which have a dis­that link with Pentax SFX and tinc tly different 'look'. Olympus OM707 are in the

The most obvious effect is the pipeline. way subjects can be made to It is an ideal lens for faraway, stand out from their back­inaccessible subjects. Paparazzi grounds. This is helped by the photographers will find it useful! very narrow depth of field, which It's handy for wildlife and is very effective for isolating sporting events too, where there portrait subjects. Another effect are restrictions on getting c lose is exaggerated perspective to the subject. where the distance Detween objects seems dramatically re­DATA PANEl duced. Because the mirror in

lens: Sigma 600mm mirror lensthe lens has the cenire blocked ApeltUre 13Ra:e: fl8 out, out of focus highlights in MinimulA focusinl: 2m

photographs come out shaped Macro ratio; 1:3 like doughnut rings. This is the Filter size; 30.Smm, rear·mounted characteristic which makes it lens Ilood; Supplied easy to spot when a mirror lens AnIle 01 view; 4deg has been used. Elements/a:rouIlS: 7 elements in

Results with the Sigma 4 il:rOUPS Available fitS; Most major fittings in600mm turned out to be very

oon-AF. Currentlysharp and of reasonable con· available in AF: trast. As it's Quite a lighllens for Minolta. Canon EOSits type I did not feel weighted Weilflt (£): 830gdown after a day's shooting. lenilh )( diameter (mm): 122 )( 99 However, it was a shame that Price (approx); £250 the lens did not offer autofocus Distributor: CZ ScientifIC or complete auto exposure Instruments, PO Box 71, operation. Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.

Candid shots can be picked out with this lens and isolated from cDnfusinf backffounds.

This shot of the top Df St Paul's cathedral fives an idea of the tlscl! of Siems's lens; /he picture was taken from fTOuna level!

SoJe UK Distributor C.z. SCIENTIRC INSTRUMENTS LIMITED

PO Box 43, 1 Elstree Way, Borehamwood, Herts. WD61NH Telephone: 01-9531688

•I

mirror ·enses It ' s over a year ago since we look a close look at a batch of mirro r lenses and the market has developed considerably si nce then . The len~cs tested then were the Cannon, T<lmron, RoHor, O ptomax and Vivitar. T ho:: first four were 500mm and l he Vivilar an 800mm lens.

The past year has seen the introduction o f several mirror lenses from the independenl lens rnil Dufaclu rers with a general trend thaI they have become more {.'Ompacl, cheaper and shoner in focal length. One e,'(cept ion was the Sigma, which measured in with a 600mm foca l length . Where it sw red was in ils cheap pr i.:c as it underclH many of the others and gave an e~l ra ­

la rge image size. Lts in troduction and cheap price (approx ima te ly f1 40) led to a spate o f le tte rs 10 the AP o frk es, with co(!uirers asking if we had t es l~ the new beast. We dedd~d 10 wait a fe w months, let PhOLOkina setde down and then check out a group o f the newer mirro rs.

To sim plify the test , we kept the mirro r lenses under scrut iny down to the independents: Ch nar JOOmm, C hnar SOOmm , Pa nagor 500mm, Sunagor 500mrn , Super Paragon SOOmm , Tamron SP SOOmm, To kina 500mm and Sigma 6OOmm .

The eight under scrutiny give a fa ir cross sec tion of the range available - in (erms o f price, foc al length and quality. A l­though two lenses are rrom

C hnar, the smaller o f the (W O ,

only 300mm , was ~ urricien lly

'different ' to deserve d ose inves tigation .

WHAT IS A MIRROR LENS? Strictly speaking, a mirror lens is a ca tadioptric lens, Often sho rtened to 'cal' . Ihis term indio cates [hal the lens employs both refracting tie glass elements) and reflecting (ie mirrors) surfaces. If it was purely a mirror lens, il would ~ known as catoptric.

When in use, the fo llowing principles are applied: Ligh t enters through the front o f the lens, passing th rough a glass e lement. It goes along the length of the lens and hits the outer part of a c ircular concave lens (whir.:h has a hole in its ,:e ntre) at the back o f the le,15. T he mirror re llecu the light back aloog 10

the ffont o f the lens, where it hits a second mirror wh ich bounces the light bad down the lens, through the hole in the concave mirror and onto the fil m.

By the time the light has passed Onto the film , it has travelled the length of the lens th ree limes. For a normal lo ng focus lens, where mirrors are not used, the lighl l raveJs down o nly once and is nOt bounced back ' and forth - hence {he mirror lens is fa r , far shon er than a normal 500mm lens. The mirrors which have taken the place o f some o f the glass elements a lso have (he effect o r making the mirro r lens a lot lighter {han a norma l long fo cus lens.

So what ' s the ca tch? The light bouncing backwards and for­wards prevents an iris diaphragm fro m being fi xed into Ihe lens, which means thai rhe mirror lens

Eight mi" or tenses (rom the inde­pendent tens manufectunus which comprise our Which Cho ice. Focill leng ths rllngtJ from 3 00mm up 600mm, though the 'standard ' focil/length is 5 00mm.

has only one working aperture, which is most o fte n flS in modern mirror lenses . Therefo re if the light is too great, you ca n' t stop down th e lem to gel a correct exposure but must use neutral dens ity fil ters.

AnOlher drawbac k or the mirror lenses is that although they are fa r smalle r and lighter th an the convemiono llong focus lenses , they are not q uite com­pact eno ugh to be hand-held (apart froOi the 300mm), A tr ipod or monopod is really necessary fo r successful use o f the equ ipment.

AllowanCe must be made fo r the brightness o f I h~ viewt1nder image, which with a fix ed ape-r· ture ofaround f/ 8, isn' t going 10 be part icularly sparkl ing fo r Viewing and fOCUSing . Overall , mirror lenses a re light and com­pact, but their applicll1ions are limited .

OHNAR 300mm f/5.6 In use, this lens is a winner. W~ighing in a ( 260g and measur­ing 67mm (less than three incheS) this lern is only frac tionally larger than a typical standard SOmm lens. Indeed . it wou ld be very good fo r candids - no-one would be aware that you' re shoOl ing th rough a 10Jlg: te le­photo lens. It's very good in sporting applicat ions as well , wi th the 300mm size ~ing very useful for th at sore of work.

How it w orks. The diagram iHustrates fhe light pllths through the Tamron 500mm fens. A combinatIon 01 mirrors and gl8ss elem ents (se1/f~n in lour groups) bounce and relrllC t the light onto the fflm plaMJ.

The fixed a~rlurc is 1'/5,6, which will aJlow fo r a raSt~r

shuuer speed lhan 011 a compar­able f1~ \eos, Clos<:st r<xusin~ is just over 2m and there is no macro facililY provided , Fillers are PUI onlO the l en~ in the trad itional screw-in manner on the fro Ol ; these are 67mm in size,

As with ~'Vlc'Ta l o f the mirrors, Ihe lens fixes to lhe camera by means 01 a T2 mount; while these mounlS have largely go ne out 01' I'asnian thes~ days with fu ll apenu re metering, they still have application~ with fixed apenure mirror lenses whae metering is eHectivdy a co m· bination o f both full aperlure a nd stop·down metering at the lens' fixed aperture.

Price of the lens is aro und f.77 , )0 it 's gOt to be taken as a serious in vestment should you ;;:hoose 10 buy ooe, For lhe sports photographer, tho ugh, who doesn' t wa Ol lhe hassle o f a tripod, this I ~m is well nigh ideal,

Optically this was a very good lens and certainly worth beinll given a d ose look if you 're in the market for a 300mm lens. Okay, so you 've o nly gOt o ne aperture, but the lens is so light and compact tha t ii 's a geOl 10 use and light enough that you're not gomg to be Weighed down by il when out takiog p ictures ror a !'ew hour~ .

OHNAR 500mm f18 Ohnar's mirror lens was the IIrst o f three of Ih e SOOmm sizes which were very similar in appearance and specifications" Th ese are solidly built with a two inch wide knurled ring for focusing and gripping. The fil ter thread size at the fr ont o f the lens is 77mm, but three filt ers are provided which screw into the rear of Ihe lens via a metal key, Already in place is a tA skylight fi lter and two neulraJ density filters can be used shou ld the light get too bright.

A tripod mount is al so provided , Focusing is down to fo ur metres and the focusing scales are marked in orange and white; the same style as for the Sunagor and Super Paragon lenses.

Overall. the lens is fairly chunky and weighty, A tripod would be ad visable.

In use, the Oh nar ~OOmm lens proved to be a solid, ir unexcep· tional , performer. It slipped off a bit at the edge, for which is was given an ollf!roge balance of

The till/lind the small, M Ol.lnred ontO camera bod",s. the Olmal 300mm lleft) lfnd Sigm e 600 mm mirrors give lin impression of the size and appeallfnca of these fixed aperture lenses.

Ohnar 's 300mm mirlor /#HIS muscles up IIgttinst II bOil of matches, ThIS 115,6 lens presents no ploblems for hend·held USB.

MOle 01 the same. The Super Plltllgon, 5unllgol and Ohnat 500mm lenses turntld out to btl similllr p6rionnlmce.

aberrations rating, In all other respects, tho ugh , this was a good lens.

PANAGOR 500mm f18 Large a('ld chunky are apt wo rds to describe the Pa nagor mirror lens, Holding this lens is quite a handful and you 'd be very, very lucky to gel away wilh hand­holding it. Perhaps this is the inevitable o utcome' of it being well-made and an up-market mirror lens. II has a re tract able lens hood which is fixed to the lens , A tripod mount is provided which can be rotated lhro ugh 360deg to .:nable the ca mera to be placed horizontally. vert ically or indeed at any angle to the

in app611rance, sjncif icilfkms df'ld

tripod. The tripod mOunt is ho used on a ri ng which rotates round the lens mount; a locking screw tightens and loosens this ring for adjustments,

Contained on the rear of the lens is a filt er drawer, A variety of filter s can be used and these are an iOiegra) part o f the Pa,nagor mirror lens package. Thty are skylight l A filler, a 4X neu tral den sity filter , a deep red 60, a yellow 48 and an orange 56, Fo r general usage the 1 A sh ould be kept in all the time, It can be removed easily enough and others inserted just a ~ simply,

It' s the features of this mirror lens, with the retractable lens hood , fille rs and adjustable tripod mount, that give it a good

I"cd in us..: <J Ill] iudIC ;'! I": t'.:,at ;.) Jillled at the lup end 0.) 1' t!'le." amateur mat!"c!'

l~anag <) r ' s mirror kn~, I'or 11 11 it:. up-ma r ket appearance, couldn 't ~ u pport this with an up­market perfo rmance. Somelhing 01' a disappo intment and al­though image Quality didn't de· teriorate much rrom centre to cdge. it wasn ' t panieularly good al the cenUe 10 slart on wit h,

SUNAGOR 500mm f18 Sunagor' s lens look s to be preuy well the same as Ohoa r's, General specifie<uions are the same (length and width), and Ihe lens elemcols l"Onstru;;: tion is identical - six in rive grou p~ .

Dif'i"erences arise in minor detai l.s. Sunagor's I l! n~ b llgh ter , due to (he fac t that it doesn' t have a tripod moun!. The lens I:ap is also sligfnly d ifr~renl.

The lack of a tripod mount seems to make the lens mort! geared for hand-held work, bu t at SlOg, this is a bit tr ick y. A slight fall -off in de finit ion towards the edge o f the frame while looking through the view­finder was a slightly worrying fac to r, but this wasn't very ..;onsiderable,

A reliable, all· rou nd lens which was good in all the categories under which we judge a !ens, As with the other 500mrn lenses which looked idenlical 10

the Sunagor, the i;6 were all good lenso;:s, AJI three were of a reliable standard , without being exceptional,

SUPER PARAGON 500mm f18 The Su per Paragon is the final Icns o f three very similar SOOmm lenses, the others hav jng been the Ohnar and the Sunago r. Speci ficatio ns a re largely the same, wi th an identical knurled ring on each being used fo r focusing. Once again, the T2 mount system is adopted , These mounlS cost about a couple of pounds and screw mHO the lens, fhe mount is Ihen auached to the camera body - so yo u buy the relevant mOll nt fo r your own particu lar camera model.

A IA filter is housed at Ihe rear o r the lens and this can be unscrewed by a metal key and replaced wit h a neutral denstty filt er, also provided, Other fi lters can be lined 0010 the fronl of the lens; filter [h r",ad size at the front is 77mOl,

Oefinilion on the Super Paragon lens loo ked slightly awkward , for whi;;:h il was giver.

· I~/O ¥roup~ . A lkl:l..:habk k u) hood i ~ provH,J..:U , whid! ..:an b..: slOrw around the k ns wh.:n not in use.

Smail , ..:hunky and li"ht \v itn a good knurleu rin¥ (or rocusinl!; the o nly drawbad. in U~I.! With this lens was lhul the ro..:u~ing

ring rotates SV mu..:h that it couldn ' l be done in one move­menlo A tripod bush is no( provided on lhe camera; il'~ not really necessary a:. the weight o f lhe lens isn't ¥relU enoullh to pose a threat to [he camera mount when lhe C<lm\!ra is placed upon a tripod.

The Tok ina lens performed well in o ur lC!il~, gaining a good rating throughout the range. ll ~ compactness, co mbined wit h its light \Vei ght, ~ives il the edge over other si milar 500mm lenses with similar pcrformanl.:e resu lt ~ bUI whkh are heavier.

SIGMA 600mm f /8 The ultra·long 600mm foca l length marks lhi) lens out as the longest of lhe balch of mirrors under consideratio n, The extra IOOmm focal length has the ostensible effCCI or making i[ II

bil heavier and -.:hunkier lhan Ihe resl - wit h Ihe ex-.:eplion o f the Panagor 500mm, which OUt · weighs all lhe olher lenses. A t ri pod mou nt i~ p rovided which .::an be rOt31cO from a pOSit ion fo r horizontsl shots Iinough to one for \'ertkal shots. The mount dick·stops into posit ion a t these S<! uings.

Focusing is all the way down to 2m, al which d istance a I: J reproduction results. This dose focusing abili ty of the lens gives it an e;>;ce ll en l, profes:.ional quality which ha~ a good feel 10

it. The lens ~omcs with a ki t o f

fi ve ti llers: a IA skylight, ne utral densit y 4X, yellow 52. orange 56 and red 60. These are 22.5m(\l in size a nd screw into the ba.::k of the lens.

10 Ihc inst ruction I.....dfl .:t accompanying the lens, Sigma ad vise thaI Ih~ kns should be used with a filh:f in a ll the time. This is be.;ause the upti..:al dc:.ign o f the lens includes the filler aod wilho ut One in place a focus shift and dro p in resolut ion can be expec ted . They also advise against USing other fi llers on Ihe front of Ihe lens for Ihe same reason.

I n a piece oi equipment where focusi ng and accuracy is oi the absolute essence, it 's gooo to see the cOl11pani~ o ffering this sort o f information and advice; it 's Ihe iII- info rmcd or ignorant us.:r of the equipment who sufkrs the

~

Two hell vies. Sigm.'! 600mm Olferlld the longest loul fllnglh lind Pan.gor's 500mm (right) WIlS nOticlI~bly on the weighty sidll.

Tllmron ·s SOOmm lens fill ft}. proved to be the best of the bunch. Thll Tokinll SOOmm fens consistlld of lin unorthodox lens elemenU­groups con!truction f7-21 but this didn't prevflnt good performance.

Filters for mirror IttnS8S 11(11 inv8ri8b1y sm./lllnd slot into the back of (he Hms. In this casll rhe skylight 1A filter is pvshad into the Pan.gor lenS,

MIRROR LENSES - OUR CHOICE PERFORMANCE TAMRON SP saOmm fl8 VERY GOOD- ­ -­_?HNA_~. 300mm f1S.6 VERY GOOD- .. ---­- -

SIGMA 600mm fl8 GOOO---- -­_._.. - ._.­ - - -­SUNAGOR 500mm fla TOKINA 500mm f /8 GOOD -_. OHNAR 500mm ffS ~yPE!'I-""-~AgON SOOmm f/8 GOOD

PANAGOR 500mm tiS AVERAGE

most from bad ':.:'",: 11$. , With the longest 1'01.111 il!n t!l h,

Sig ma's {em is very com~lili ­vely priced against the ,horler SOOmm lellsc~. Ddlnition was good 31 both centre and edge, for which the balance of aber· ralions was given a '/try good rating. Overall, a good (en~.

HOW THEY FARED AU ill aU, the mirror lenses under scrutiny performed well and there won no obviously poor quality products, Indeed, such a solid group as they turned out to be, there wasn' t much to Idl between them at the end of the day. All will give good u.sage.­

The majo r bugbear of mirror leoses i5 not so much the fixed aperture - neutral densi ty !il­ters are usually provided to com· pensate for exposure problems - but Ihe problem or camera shake, This was such as to rorce us to abandon our normal 'ship' pictures. The next choice was a church [ower near o ur offices which was photographed thrOui h an open window, but once again vibrations were a problem. Eventually the equipment wa:> leSled out in our sludios and a line d rawing of an aero plane was (,..hosel) as the subject. This \Vas shot a t a distance of approxi· mately eight meltcs, but closcr ror the JOOmm mirror lens . Lighting was provided by el«· Itonic n ash - [ 0 completely eli· minate camera shake - and Ihe pi.::tures were shol on Pan F, 50ASA.

t3est of the bunch was un · doubtedly the Tam ron SP 500mm, Good to use, nicely packaged and giving very good oplicai quali ty, il was noticeably belief than the rest. SUI a t £100, you pay fvr il.

Closely behind the;: Tamron Wi.) the O hnar JOOmm lens. Thi!> .:an be hand·hdd and is idea l fo r sponing event~. Recai li ng fo r around £75·£80, it 's easily thr: chcapcSI of the {en scs we checked out. Expecl to see this size mirror ,lens be.::oming an in.;:reasing fe31ure or' new equip· mC'nI trcnds.

Of the good {ensts, the Sigma 600mm was thc ~t. This lens gives [he C'Xlra HXlmm in lo.:a! kng[h and Il)I.:uS<!S all th o:: ....ay down 10 2m ,

Four of the 500111111 lenses were very doS<:' in uveraU perror· man.:.:. These wer.: the Suna!:or, Tokina, Ohn ar and Super Para· ~on '. To dis tinguisll belw~en them requires a very t'in~ margi n of choice , but the Tokin a's light­ness and compactness gives iltile edge over its rivals.

• • • •

LENS PERFORMANCE LENS PERFORMANCE SUNAGOA 500 Poo< F8i, Avttilgfl Good

•• ••

Verv good ExceUemPOO( Fair Aver~ge Good Ve<y goOd EXCilllentPANAGOl15O(1

Ove,.(1 pftrlormanceOveralllWrlOlm3l1ce Oefin; ~onDefinition Imlge. eontrllU Image <;orurut Balance (If abelt.lionsBalance of aberrations

CENTRE

D/l.TA PANEL: PANAGOR 500mm MfUimllm aputure: f / 8 (fh.ed) Ang/e IJ/I'itw; 5dtfl: Closnt jOf:using: 4m t:lemtflfS-CrUups; 6-5 Filter site: Sp«ial filter dr:lwer in lens body Lms hood: Buill-in fIttings: MoS! Weight; 7SOg Llnfth (al infinity); J20.5mm Maximum diameter: ~lmm ~((jng priu (appfOlC): £154 Test {ens number: 10266 DiS/fibulQr: Ako (UK) Ltd . Ak" Ht,luse, FlIl'1IIday Rd. London Rd Ind listrillli Estale, Newbury, Berks..

CENTRE

LENS PERFORMANCE

Weigh:: 465g Llngth ((II in/wily): 88.lmm Mcuimum diamtler: 7Smm Stlling p,kt (approx): £133 Test ItnJ num()lr: 8010538 Distributor: Oplil"llm Marktf­jng Lid. hndllY Ruad. Lon­dun Road Indusfrilll £:itate. Newbury, Berk ~.

LENS PERFORMANCE TOKINA 500

Overall pariormane.

Oflfinitiorl

Image comtast

8atance of "ber,~t;ons

CENTRE

•••• DATA PANEL: TOklNA 500mm Maximum aptrture: fI B (fb:.ed) Angle 0/ vitw: 5dq Cloust /ocu.ring: J.Sm £/emtnts-Croups: 7-2 Filttf Size: J5.5mm Lens hood: Scrtw-in I)·pt. detachable Fit/infs: Most

EDGe

ro tation . Focusing on the lens is down

10 I.7m , but with a 2:< tel¢­converter a macro mode results which has a magnification ratio up 10 a I: 1.5 ratio . The lens has a wo rking aperture of fl8 - as with mOST of the other mirrors - but the image in this lens was somewh at brigh ter, which fac il i­tated focusing. A detachable screw-in lens hood is. provided wit h the lens.

A variety of filters are provided for use wi th the lens, which fit infO their own smart case. Already set into the lens is

a IA fi!tu, but others are provided: a neu tral density 4X fiher, yeUow 52. orange 56 and red. 60. These are JO.5mm in size. They screw into the back of the leos, which is easiest done with the adaplall mount removed. They can be inserted with' the mount altached, but this incurs the risk of getting fi ngerprints on the filters.

Tam(on' 5 lens is considerably more expensive than the other mirror lenses, but thiS price increase is matched by a superior quality. Definition at both centre and edge was very good,

DATA PANEL: SUNAGOR SOOmm M(Uimum apuluu: U8 W"td) Allglt of vie ... : 5deg CloslSt focusing: 4m £lemems-Croups: 6-5 Filtu sin: 17mm, 36mm at rtu via filter key pro~ided

Lens hood: No Fillings: M051 fi lS Wei,hl: 5JOg Length (IU in/lnity): J IOmm Maximum diamtler: B3mm S,lf/ng pric(! ((lpprox): £1:0 Tnl /(!ns number: 5329496 Dlslribulor: Ttansworld Tfliding llnd Finance, I Sel"lice Rd, {IIor thways. Swiss Colta!tf. London, NW3.

SIGMA IlOO ,~ Fai,

Ov~..1t pariormence

Definition

Image contrMt

Bataoce of ~b<lnijlio rlS

A\lefage G_ Very good Exe~tlarl\

••• • .il. , ­~ .. ,~-

- . ,.". ."7 . - - <:~"2Y~:,.,- - --.... , ~.~ .

. 7/~if~?-~ CENTRE

OATA PANEL: SIGMA 600mm Maximum apUfUIl: US Anllt 0/ vitw: 4dei ClostSf /ocl4ing: 2m £Jemenrs-GrQups: 6-6 Filltr site: nmm lit tlie rronl ; Itns accessories u . 22.Smm screw· in Lrns hood: Screw- in typ~,

de laclillbk Flltlnfs: Mosl Weifht: 620t Ltngth (ut infiniIY): 1I1.Smm Maximum diumeu,: 92mm Selling price ((lpp'o~: £14'.95 Tnt lens numbt" 1032 19 Distributor: C.Z. Sclentirl~ Instruments Ltd, 2 [ISlfH' Way, 80rehllmwood. HlI'rl5, WD6 INH .

and indeed this performance was carried on throughout the entire test range.

Tamron's lens stands our as the best of the bunch, but the question remains whether the camera-buying public are pre­pared 10 forlc OUI the eXira £80 or so for this lens - if you can , do, but if not don't worry because the others are preuy good as wtl l.

TO KINA 500mm ffS Of the 500mrn size lenses tesled, the T okina, at 465g, was consi­derably ligh ter than the others.

This was noticeable and the Tokina could be hand-held with greater confidence than the others.

Three filters come with the lens, a lA, a 2X and a 4X neut ral density filter. These are 35.Smm size and screw into the back of the lens with the help of a metal key. Focusing is down to 1.5m and the complet e focusing movement from I.Sm to infinity rOtates the knurled ring th rough almost 36Odeg. The elements· groups configuration is some­whaT unusual in this lens, with a total of seven elements in only

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LENS PERFORMANCE LENS PERFORMANCE ' OMNAR lOG . Poor F. " ""....se Good ! Very good i ucel1....t

O..er.1I perlorm.nee

Oe!iNt,gn

IrnalJe contrast

Ballne. 01 atM!fr,lol)fl' •

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OHNAfII sao POOl Fliit Allerage Good Very good E~eeller"

OvetaM performllnce

l~ conUUI

Salanee of atlolfU!;on. • •••

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OATA PA~EL: OHNAR 300mm Mazimuln DIN"ure: flS.6 1r;J(~)

Angle 0/ ,'1_: Sdeg Clasnor jorlLJing: 2.5m Elements-Croups: &-s Fillt' s":.6: 67mm Lens hood: No fillings; MOSI, via T1 moum Weight: 260g Ltnglh (UI i'lfinily); 67mm Maximum d/Qmerer: 70mm Stffing price (approx): £77 TIS! lms numl>tr: 20403 Disrdbu/or: Bush and MtiSSMT Lid , 136-144 GnlJwille Rd, Lortdon. NW).

LENS PERFORMANCE LENS PERFORMANCE.- Fai, SUPER PARAGON 600 AVIllf{je Good

• Excelltm tAM AON SP 500 Poor Fair Average Good VelV good E;<CtIIeI1lV"'_

Owf.U perlOtm.nce 0-•• pMC)lmaoce

Definition D.finition • I• •

1/TWIge conUUlImil't COnl'Ut •8alilnce of abell'lions B,I.nell of abwrWonI • DATA. PANEL: SUPER PARAGON 500mm Mcuimum ofHnuu; rI ll (I1xi'd) Anglt 0/ view: Sdl'C Ciousl fOCUSing: .:1 m £Itm,nrs-Group,: 6-5 Fill" slu: 71mm 1II1 Ihe front: lens accessories are 22.5mm screw-In L~s hood. No FllllnlS: Must, ,'i, T2 moun t W.ight: SlOi: L.nglh (01 infinity): 1l0mm Maximum aiameler: 8Smm 5.lIIn, price (approx): £120 Tesl JtllS number: 5328439 Olst~/bufor; Phulax (Land un) Lid. BMlmplon Rd. H,mpdtn P-"It. EastOOurne. Sussn.

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EDGE

an averge rating, but in all other respeclS the len5 performed well and was given a good category. II passes the test and will live,cod usage, but s tays in the pack Of good qua.lity equipmem .

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PiClur., ". cenlTe and edge IhOIlJ of a 'ine drawing o f an _ rop'ane. They are wct ioros Irom lOin prints - exactly the same anlargoment as the normal ship plClures. Problems of camer. shaka forced us to shoot tho test plctur., in me confines of a studio. IIford Pan F film. AC\ltol developer. 5min. 20dag C.

TAMRON SP 500mm f/8 This is the longest running of Ihe independents under review. I I (ails under Tamron's top-nighl

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OATA Po\ .'J::L OHNAR S4J0mm Ma.rimum llperture: rt3 IIi.udl .4ngle of ,'ie",: 5d~ e lvsnl focusing: 4111 Eltmf'nts-Croups." 6-S Flirt, size: nmm Lrm "000: No fiuingf: Mos.!, vi. T2 mount Weight: SSSg Lmfth (Ul infinityJ: IIOmrn IHillimum diQmeur; 83mm Selling price (fJpproJ(): £120 Test Itns numbe,; SJ29(}21 Distributor.- Bush and Meissner Lid, 136-144 Gran~lIle Rd, London, NW3.

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SP (Super Performance) range and appearances iodicale thai it is a well-made lens. It has a tripod mount . which can be rotated through 360deg by means of it being housed on a rotating ring surrounding the lens. As with the Panagor a lock­ing screw is used to loosen or tighten this rjng. Two other locking screws are housed on this ring, and loosening these allows the tripod mount 10 be removed from the lens. This enables the user to take pictures with Ihe lens comfortably in the hand· held mode; should he or

DATA PANEL: TAMRON SP 500mm Maximum fJfHrtu~e: (/8 (rind)

Angle of vie,.,: Sdel C/OSf!3f locusing: 1.7m Eltmf!nts·G~oups: 1·4 Filler she; 82mm at the front; lens accesories ~re 30.Smm screw·in l.tns hood: Screw·in I)'pl',

delachable Fiuinls: Most, vi. JdJptall mount system Weight: S1Sg Length (at infinity): I7mm Maximum diomtlu: 84mm Selli. g price (opprfJx): £200 Tesllens numbtr: 931035 DiSlributor: Ellmi& (UK) lid. 14 Priestle)' Way. Eldon","'all T,..dlng ~ale. Londgn NW2 ITN.

she then wish 10 mount the lens and camera on a tripod , the mount is simply screwed back in again . Once again . however, the user would need a steady hand to be able to use this without a tripod.

The tripod mount itself is 'L' shaped and to find the centre of gravity for a corra::t balance, the ' L' must be positioned lowards the camera body. This, however, restric ts {he free movement of the t ripod bush as. on a Pentax· mount camera, the front of the pentaprism blocked the tri pod mount from completely free