Nikon 500mm f5 Nikkor on ebay

To call it a "rangefinder lens" is stretching reality. It's designed to fit on a reflex housing, Nikon's answer to the Leitz Visoflex. It converts the rangefinder body to an SLR. You focus on a ground glass just like you would on any SLR.
 
I had a 500/5 Nikkor mirror lens for about one year after which I sold it. The OOF doghnuts were still there. I never liked the look.
 
Yes, It's been on Trade me for a while, I think it was at Auckland Camera Center before that. The reserve was about NZD 5000 last time I looked. I guess it must have sold. I don't think it was cheap.
 
raid said:
I had a 500/5 Nikkor mirror lens for about one year after which I sold it. The OOF doghnuts were still there. I never liked the look.
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Raid, the 500mm lens linked above is not a mirror lens. Perhaps you mean the Nikkor 500mm f8 mirror lens for SLRs or the earlier 500mm f5 for SLRs instead?

500mmf8N.jpg
 
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Rare item. Well used, I doubt it will bring anything close to 5000 NZ Dollars. How much is the NZ $ compare to USA?

$173.00 shipping to USA :eek:

Kiu
 
The 500/5 Nikkor mirror (Catoptric) was Nikon's first mirror lens from the mid '60's for the Nikon F system and was replaced by the smaller 500/8 version in the late '60's and an even better more compact "N" verion from the '80's. I've used it both versions of the 500/8 and they are the very best of that type except possibly the 500/4.5 Zeiss Mirotar.
 
The 500/5 mirror lens was enormous in size. People would stop me to ask me about it. The Depth of Field was nonexistent.
 
raid said:
The 500/5 mirror lens was enormous in size. People would stop me to ask me about it. The Depth of Field was nonexistent.
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Wait untill you see the 1000mm f6.3...
0550_2_lg.jpg

weighing-in at a mere 22 pounds, the closest focusing distance was 100 feet!!

0550_6_lg.jpg


Kiu
 
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These lenses are a bear to focus, because as Raid says, the dof is almost non-existent. On a SLR the image is also very dark, because of the slowness of the lens. How anyone ever focused these buggers, except accidentally, is beyond me. I own the 500mm f8 mirror lens. Even when it's focused it isn't, and while not one to complain of "bokeh", I, too, am not very fond of the out off focus donuts that the mirror's diffraction pattern creates.

/T
 
I got the Canon 500mm/4.5L instead, and the difference was huge. I had no regrets selling the 500/5 mirror lens.
 
to be perfectly honest i always wanted one of those 500mm mirror nikkors. I love that donut bokeh! haha
 
I've not found the 500/8 THAT difficult to focus critically except in marginal lighting when the sun goes down. This creates two problems for the user, increased chance of focus error and a slow enough shutter speed where even the slghtest shake or vibration will ruin a shot. The second issue can be easily solved with proper mounting. On trick I found that works really well is to find a way to simultaneously mount the lens and body on a single platform which totally elliminates any vibration from the camera even with mirror lockup. What I did was to pemanently piggyback two long "quick release" Gitzo plates end to end so that they were solidly fixed to one another and with a proper arrangement and spacing of tripod extender screws, firmly attach it to the the camera and lens' tripod mounts. This gives you a solid mount that greatly elliminated vibration.
 
ferider said:
On Igor's web-site there is one listed:


Roland.
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Or you can opt for this one for $2000 less:
102247.jpg

Pacific rim camera has been trying to sell it for quite a while now. It's only three examples earlier, if one goes by the serial number.

Kiu
 
The 500mm f5 Nikkor-T is a preset lens in short mount designed for the Nikon reflex housing. Production started in late 1954 or early 1955. It went through at least three series. The first series ran from 640001 to somewhere in the 640090s. These have a simple milling for the stop-down setting ring and "Inf" for the infinity mark. They also have a glossier finish. The second series started around 64009X and ran to at least 640123. These were built after mid-1957 and use the "lazy 8" infinity symbol and have a diamond-grid for the stop-down setting ring. A third series begins around 640223 and runs as high as 640285. Virtually all of these were sold for use on Nikon Fs with the N-F adaptor. So it looks like around 200 plus of these 19 pound beasts were made. They all came in fixed wood boxes with carrying handles and a lock. Early boxes are shorter and will only hold a 500mm in Nikon Housing. Later boxes will take the longer 500mm in Leica Visoflex housing. Only about three of these were made. The three elements are huge. The front element is an inch thick! The focusing helical weighs over seven pounds alone. They are rare, expensive and hard to lug around. Can yield decent pictures. Cheers, WES
 
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