The 400mm F5.6 was intentionally lengthened to mitigate the power of the first lens group and keep the chromatic aberrations at an absolute minimum. With minimal changes like an improved minimum focusing distance and the new name ULTRA-TELE 400mm F5.6, the lens remained available in stores up until 1980. The internal focusing mechanism allowed for smooth and easy focusing, and together with its reasonable price the lens became a hit product for SIGMA. But I am simply amazed by the courage and hard work of the lens designers who realized an internal focus with a lens design consisting of only four groups with four elements. Unfortunately, the SLR era’s first product of inner focus was Canon’s FD 400mm f / 4.5. SIGMA demonstrated its unique personality here as well and became pioneers when, in 1976, they released a lens with internal focus: the SIGMA XQ 400mm F5.6. While the first ultra telephoto lens featured a mirror-lens design, SIGMA was simultaneously developing ultra telephoto lenses with the orthodox refractor-type design. SIGMA’s refractor-type ultra telephoto lenses SIGMA has already been a defiant manufacturer in those early days. In a way, the lens may be called the predecessor of the beloved SIGMA APO 200-500 F2.8 / 400-1000mm EX DG lenses. The lens worked very well with teleconverters, partly because of its low chromatic aberrations as a result of the mirror-lens design. The lens came bundled with a 2x teleconverter, which meant it could also be as a 1000mm F8 lens. Even the maximum aperture of normal refractor-type lenses was only F4.5. In the first half of the 1970s, there was no other mirror-lens ultra telephoto lens on the market with such brightness. SIGMA had one more ultra telephoto lens to its lineup, the large MIRROR-ULTRATELEPHOTO 500mm F4. With a compact size, a low price and taking advantage of the strengths of the mirror-lens design, the lens was received very favorably by the market. ![]() The result was, the ultra telephoto lens MIRROR-ULTRATELEPHOTO 500mm F8. SIGMA did not want to accept lower resolutions caused by chromatic aberrations, and so they decided to go ahead with the mirror lens design. Roughly speaking, a 500mm lens has ten times the focal length of a 50mm lens, and ten times the chromatic aberrations. But compared to normal, refractor-type lenses, the chromatic aberrations are almost nonexistent. Strictly speaking, chromatic aberrations still exist, as the lens is still built with lenses and a mirror. Mirror lenses have no chromatic aberrations caused by refraction. Despite the unavoidable issues such as “the aperture mechanism cannot be designed optically” and “bokeh becomes ring-shaped”, there is a reason that we chose the reflective type for the ultra telephoto lens. SIGMA, however, decided to create a lens with a reflector lens (mirror lens). In 1965 they released a 200-400mm F6.9, and demonstrated their technical prowess with a 200-500mm F6.9 lens in 1969, breaking the 500mm barrier.Īll of these lens were normal lenses with a refractor-type design. TAMRON has a high development capability of zoom lens since that time. ![]() ![]() Their lineup included a 400mm F6.3, a 450mm F6.5, a 600mm F8 and a 800mm F8, four prime lenses, and a 180-410mm F5.6 zoom lens. Tokina were among the first to start development of ultra telephoto lenses. And with this ultra-telephoto lens, the independent lens makers were surprisingly showing their originality. If the camera manufacturer’s ultra-telephoto lens is expensive, then it’s time for independent lens makers. SIGMA’s first ultra telephoto: a mirror lens At 30.000 Yen, SLR cameras were expensive luxury items – not to mention ultra telephoto lenses, at unattainable prizes of about 100.000 Yen (c. In 1961, my father’s monthly wage amounted to about 10.000 Japanese Yen (about $100, the starting salary for university graduates in Japan). Finally, the dream of photography enthusiasts had become reality: it was now possible to photograph things far away in the distance. The beginning of the SLR camera era is, in other words, also the advent of the telephoto lens. SLR cameras are far more suitable for telephoto lenses than the rangefinder camera could hope to be. SLR pioneer PENTAX, for example, had two wide-angle lenses in their lineup, two standard lenses, and eight telephoto lenses – and two of these even were ultra telephoto lenses, with focal lengths of 500mm and 1000mm respectively. ![]() Particular interesting is the fact that many of the available lenses were telephoto lenses. The era of SLRs and ultra telephoto lensesįounded in 1961, SIGMA will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2021.ġ961, the year SIGMA was founded, was a time when the 35mm camera market switched from rangefinder cameras to single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras.īrowsing the comprehensive camera catalogue “JAPAN CAMERA SHOW” from 1961, I learn that nine companies were already selling SLR cameras and exchangeable lenses that year.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |