I recently picked up a used Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 zoom from our friends at LensRentals.com. ; Back in the film days, I had a couple of lenses with a similar focal length, so I decided to dig them out and line them up for a comparison.
From left to right:
Nikon AF-S VR-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G
Tokina AT-X 80-200mm f/2.8
Minolta RF Rokkor-X 250mm f/5.6 "solid cat" mirror lens.
It's interesting how similar the Tokina and Nikon are. ; Obviously, the older lens has no vibration reduction and is all manual, but it's still about the same size as the more modern lens. ; Zooming was done by moving the focus ring fore and aft.
The 250 was an interesting lens. ; The description "solid cat" refers to the catadioptric design, which means it uses a combination of lenses and mirrors, with no air gaps between the lens elements. ; It was a cool toy, but not a great lens. ; The aperture rating of f/5.6 was fixed and a bit optimistic; it was really 1/2 to 1 stop slower than that. ; Since I shot mostly Kodachrome 25, I could only use it on bright, sunny days; otherwise the necessary shutter speeds would require a tripod. ; For the people who shot faster films like Tri-X (ASA 400), they provided a 4x ND filter that screwed on to the back of the lens, providing a second "aperture". ; It wasn't terribly sharp, either.
Here's another view from a higher angle, showing the relative sizes of the lenses. ; The 250 is smaller even than my Nikon 18-200.
It's amazing how beat up the Minolta bodies are. ; There's no damage, but the paint has been worn off the pentaprism housing due to years of intensive use. ; I can't imagine a modern dSLR standing up to that, or even being used for nearly 30 years like those were.
Anyone else have any unique pieces of equipment in their archives?
From left to right:
Nikon AF-S VR-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G
Tokina AT-X 80-200mm f/2.8
Minolta RF Rokkor-X 250mm f/5.6 "solid cat" mirror lens.
It's interesting how similar the Tokina and Nikon are. ; Obviously, the older lens has no vibration reduction and is all manual, but it's still about the same size as the more modern lens. ; Zooming was done by moving the focus ring fore and aft.
The 250 was an interesting lens. ; The description "solid cat" refers to the catadioptric design, which means it uses a combination of lenses and mirrors, with no air gaps between the lens elements. ; It was a cool toy, but not a great lens. ; The aperture rating of f/5.6 was fixed and a bit optimistic; it was really 1/2 to 1 stop slower than that. ; Since I shot mostly Kodachrome 25, I could only use it on bright, sunny days; otherwise the necessary shutter speeds would require a tripod. ; For the people who shot faster films like Tri-X (ASA 400), they provided a 4x ND filter that screwed on to the back of the lens, providing a second "aperture". ; It wasn't terribly sharp, either.
Here's another view from a higher angle, showing the relative sizes of the lenses. ; The 250 is smaller even than my Nikon 18-200.
It's amazing how beat up the Minolta bodies are. ; There's no damage, but the paint has been worn off the pentaprism housing due to years of intensive use. ; I can't imagine a modern dSLR standing up to that, or even being used for nearly 30 years like those were.
Anyone else have any unique pieces of equipment in their archives?
