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500mm f/8 Reflex-Nikkor (3)
Lenses I've looked through...
Mirror lens in use
In use, the compact 500mm Reflex-Nikkor is very hand-holdable. With the camera firmly gripped in the right hand and ready for exposure, and the tripod-socket part of the built-in tripod ring nestled in the palm of the left hand, the lens can be easily focused with gentle rotation of the broad focusing ring between left thumb and forefinger. The focusing ring is well-dampened, unlike many AF lenses today, and has a travel of approximately 460 degrees (one and a quarter turns) from infinity to closest focusing distance of just under five feet. As is common with telephoto lenses, to allow for discrepancies due to the lens barrel and internals warming up in hot conditions and causing alignment problems, focusing extends beyond the infinity mark.
As with a conventional telephoto lens, to ensure sharp results, hand- holding the 500mm Reflex should be undertaken with a shutter speed of at least 1/500th of a second. However, to achieve this with an aperture of only f/8 requires a substantial amount of light. I have to admit I am a late convert to using a monopod... but having made the move - with a "Gitzo Basalt" model - I feel it is the best photographic investment I have made for many years. It has transformed my photography in three ways... I shoot more under lower light conditions; I get sharper results; and I get more "keepers".
Fixed aperture and filters
Because of the lens' fixed aperture, correct exposure has to be adjusted primarily with the camera's shutter speed controls, or by using Aperture Priority mode on Nikons so equipped. In addition, dedicated filters are supplied with the lens, one of which is an ND4 neutral density which cuts down the amount of light reaching the film by two-stops. When using black-and-white film the supplied orange O56 filter can be used in the same way. Two other bayonet-fitting 39mm Nikon filters can be purchased in yellow (Y48) and red (R60) versions, which are both useful to the creative monochrome photographer as well as the color worker wishing to exaggerate sunrise and sunset colors, as well as other special effects.
The red (R60) filter is also useful for infrared film work, although the lens itself does not have, or need, an infrared focus correction mark because the mirrors in reflex lenses - like Nikon's ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass - do not suffer from the focus shift of ordinary glass elements.
The 500mm Reflex-Nikkor is very easy to focus manually with modern Nikon autofocus cameras because of the brightness and clarity of the newer focusing screens. Manual focus cameras are normally supplied with the traditional split-image focusing screen which blacks-out when used with any lens slower than f/5.6. With manual cameras the Nikon Type B (Matte/Fresnel with Spot) and E (Matte/Fresnel with Spot and Grid) screens are recommended if available.
Conclusion
In conclusion, if you are the type of photographer who looks for something different in your images, then the Reflex-Nikkor is certainly a lens for your bag. You have to learn how to use it to get the best from it, though. Focusing on a nearby subject surrounded by specular highlights will produce the best effect as seen in "Sea Sprite" image, where the highlights on the waves and ripples in front of and behind the young girl took on the pronounced doughnut shape. With subjects further in the distance there is not so much out-of-focus on either side of the main subject so the lens responds more like a normal telephoto without the accompanying visual effects. There are few photographers with undecided opinions on mirror lenses - they either love them or loathe them - but for me I would find photography very uncreative without one!
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