SEE FAR WITH LIGHT GEAR
USHANT, FRANCE (2018)
TROMSØ, NORWAY (2019)
In addition to using modern lenses, I also love jumping back to the days of analogue photography:
Tamron SP 500mm F/8 Mirror Model 55BB
Focal length: 500mm
Fixed Aperture: 8
Weight: 575 grams
I bought this lens in 1985 for my Minolta X-700. Together with the adapter »Fotasy Tamron-NEX« I can use this 500mm telephoto lens now over 35 years later again with my Sony Alpha cameras.
But no autofocus and a fixed aperture of 8 - why would I put myself through that?
1. Unique bokeh
Finally, their most salient characteristic is the annular shape of defocused areas of the image, giving a doughnut-shaped 'iris blur' or bokeh, caused by the shape of the entrance pupil.
[Source: Wikipedia]
[Source: Wikipedia]
2. Distance has never been easier to achieve:
500mm lens with 575 grams!
500mm lens with 575 grams!
[…], but mostly through the telephoto effect of the convex secondary mirror which multiplies the focal length many times (up to 4 to 5 times). This creates lenses with focal lengths from 250 mm up to and beyond 1000 mm that are much shorter and compact than their long-focus or telephoto counterparts.
[Source: Wikipedia]
[Source: Wikipedia]
The lens allows me to take pictures in places that would otherwise be inaccessible.
Landscape photography thrives on moods that often last only a few moments. With a 500mm lens I can capture these moods and enhance the effect by the reduction to a few landscape elements.
