I can’t seem to stop enjoying this lens. While others say that reflex telephoto lenses are a waste of money and challenging to work with, I keep snapping away, exploiting my inexpensive Korean interpretation for the unique qualities it can bring to my photos.
The thing I can’t quite understand is, if no one wants these things, why do they go for so much money used? My Samyang/Phoenix 500mm f/8 cost me a little over $100.00, and was worth every penny. I wouldn’t expect the greatest quality straight-telephoto images out of it. Although I can tell you, it’s tack sharp under the right conditions.
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| Samyang/Phoenix T-Mount Mirror 500mm f/8 About $115.00 new, with T-Mount adapter and 3 filters. |
But at some point I would like to acquire a late-model Reflex-NIKKOR 500mm f/8, whose quality for this type of lens is very good. Even the Adaptall-2 Tamron SP 500mm f/8 would be a worthy pursuit having just slightly lesser image quality than the Nikkor. But these things are expensive!
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| Late-model Reflex-NIKKOR 500mm f/8 About $525.00 used in excellent condition. |
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| Tamron Adaptall-2 Reflex 500mm f/8 SP About $150.00 used in excellent condition. |
But I won’t pine too much for these until I try the Samyang on my new D610 body. It will improve the experience considerably. The combination of higher ISO capability and the fact the focal length is actually 500mm and not 750mm as it is on the D90 will make handheld shooting much more practical. The three-segment focus indicator will allow easier focusing, and the fact that I can use auto exposure will allow me to concentrate more on the focusing process. I’m really excited about the implications of this. Even the larger body of the D610 will make the Samyang Reflex seem smaller by comparison. There is no question it will breath new life into this lens.
But, I digress. Sorry Ellie, I've strayed from the main topic. LEDs. Photographing them is tricky, because in the case of holiday lights, they strobe on and off at sixty times a second. So, you kinda have to shoot at slower shutter speeds. And if your camera is stationary, they make colorful little circles. But if you pan or move the camera around, you get strobing light trails, which is pretty cool.
On the D610, I won’t have to do this from across the room, as the angle of view will be one-third wider. And I’m looking forward to perfecting my technique for straight telephoto images. I'll be able to use a higher ISO with a high shutter speed to keep motion blur to a minimum. I’ll also underexpose by a stop or two in RAW, and recover the exposure in post.
On the D90, using ADR works well too when shooting JPEGs. I underexpose only slightly to keep the shutter speed high, and the ADR opens up the shadows considerably. If I were shooting film, I’d be very frustrated. But even this inexpensive lens can yield very good results when working in the digital space.
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| Nikon D90, Samyang/Pheonix Reflex 500mm f/8. 1/30 s, ISO 3200 |
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| Nikon D90, Samyang/Pheonix Reflex 500mm f/8. 1 s, ISO 400 |
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| Nikon D90, Samyang/Pheonix Reflex 500mm f/8. 1 s, ISO 400 |
On the D90, using ADR works well too when shooting JPEGs. I underexpose only slightly to keep the shutter speed high, and the ADR opens up the shadows considerably. If I were shooting film, I’d be very frustrated. But even this inexpensive lens can yield very good results when working in the digital space.
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