Patent: Is Canon planning to release catadioptric (mirror) super telephoto lenses?
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You would be surprised how short 2000mm can be on a full frame camera when shooting birds in nature for example.
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If the lens is that cheap then dont complain about donuts or speed.
Pay more for no donuts and more speed.
Pay more for no donuts and more speed.
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I love mirror lenses! I still own a 35-year old Canon FD 500/8 lens. I am most excited by the adapter I now have -- an FD to RF. After some test frames with my R5, great lens, very good sharpness and easy to use now that there is focus peaking. So, an RF with IS and even autofocus? Bring it on. As for the doughnuts? Love them too. Something different. People obsess too much about bokeh and not enough about what they are shooting.
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Oh no the world's first $10K mirror lens incoming. Maybe they can surpise us and it has excellent IQ, and is under $5K.
Please just release a 1000 f/8 DO IS coming in at no more than 2.4kg and we are good to go. Yes I do realise that won't be cheap, but neither is a 500/600 f/4 and and this would be very nice for birding.
Please just release a 1000 f/8 DO IS coming in at no more than 2.4kg and we are good to go. Yes I do realise that won't be cheap, but neither is a 500/600 f/4 and and this would be very nice for birding.
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Most catadioptric telescopes are between f/10 and f/15, so these lenses are average to fast for that application, and yes a tracker is a typical requirement. As to everybody already having one, Covid has inspired a large number of folks to take up back yard astro observation and photography, and that has contributed to the shortage of telescopes, so no, not everyone has one. Fast lenses are desirable for short exposure wide angle shots, but very few longer telescopes are fast.
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Sadly, don't quite think it will get that far!
This is Elizabeth Tower (and you can see the Big Ben bell inside) from 4 miles away. Used the R5, 800mm f/11, 2x converter, and the built in 1.6x crop to get it. Can vaguely make out a few of the workers on the scaffolding at that distance too.
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I reckon the new 400/4 will be popular if they can make it even more compact, and no doubt performance is going to improve significantly with the RF converters as well, so it may work with a higher pixel density APS-C body as well.
It could be a more serious alternative to the 400/2.8 with the upcoming mirrorless cameras with more advanced AF systems.
There is also the rumoured 200-500/4 to replace the 200-400/4 + 1.4x, looks like a pretty significant upgrade if they make it.
Strangely, Nikon doesn't seem to at least refresh the 500/5.6 for the Z-mount. There was also a patent for a 600/5.6, I hope their 200-600/5.6-6.3 will be excellent, but it's not nearly the same thing and they have quite a way to go just to release all that's still blacked out on their roadmap.
I kind of like the 800/11 for what it is (great to start with and it can't be any smaller and lighter than it is), but it needs a second body to work because of the MFD and fixed aperture (and the great 100-500/4.5-7.1 + 1.4x may be a straight up replacement, but the zoom limitation with the teleconverters is annoying, especially for the money), and they said they are considering more lenses like this, so I wouldn't mind if they could expand the range and do a 1000/11 as well, although it looks like that 1200/8 is what they are going for instead if that's what they've meant by that statement.
If it minimises the shortcomings with mirror lenses, it could be really good., but it won't be that cheap. and again with a fixed aperture, so I wonder how is the DOF, it is already marginal with the 800/11 at its ideal range of 6-12 meters for birds.
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Very interesting what Canon would make out of this old lens design. As others have stated here, the classic mirror lenses have very special characteristics, in fact you could use them for arts photography, like some people use pinhole or cheap Lomo cameras for their arts prints. Here is a good article, based on those classic mirror design lenses - btw astronomical optical telescops basically use the same principle:
www.bhphotovideo.com
Mirror Lenses: Lightweight Super-Telephotos that Are Affordable
This is a short primer on mirror, or as they are also known - catadioptric lenses, which are long telephoto lenses that are light, small, and do not cost a fortune.
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Actually, you get get some surprisingly GOOD images out of a well made pinhole camera.Very interesting what Canon would make out of this old lens design. As others have stated here, the classic mirror lenses have very special characteristics, in fact you could use them for arts photography, like some people use pinhole or cheap Lomo cameras for their arts prints. Here is a good article, based on those classic mirror design lenses - btw astronomical optical telescops basically use the same principle:
Mirror Lenses: Lightweight Super-Telephotos that Are Affordable
This is a short primer on mirror, or as they are also known - catadioptric lenses, which are long telephoto lenses that are light, small, and do not cost a fortune.
Surprisingly good.
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Cayenne, I have a pinhole, but have only used it once. I have never tried it on the R. Thanks for reminding me of it. Forgot all about it.
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Doesn't diffraction at f/15 spoil the resolution too much? Would it be any sharper than 800mm at f/11?
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