Lens Comparisons

EXIT

This page features "progressions" of the same subject using lenses of increasing magnification.

Hawk Nest nearby

Mountain 4.4 miles Featuring the microwave passive reflectors on the mountain.

Pasture and horses nearby

Nikon D700, ISO 320 used for all of the telephoto shots. Contrast and some color adjustment in Photoshop Essentials 6.

Lenses used, one or more of the following:

• 24-70mm f2.8 Nikkor Zoom. This is the big full-frame model.
• 500mm f8 "Five Star" brand el-cheapo long lens. Surprisingly it works quite well but near focus is not "near" (about 25 feet). It is also rather long (half a meter!). It has f-stops up to about 32.
• 500mm f8 "Cambron" brand mirror lens. Very compact and lightweight. Like all mirror lenses, fixed at f8 (not adjustable). It focuses very close (1.7 meters, about 5 feet) for a 1::3 reproduction ratio.
• 1000mm f10 "Celestron" brand Maksutov mirror telescopic lens. Not all that impressive and a bit clunky to use, but it does get in close!.
• 1400mm f14 Swarovski spotting telescope. It's rather dark as you might infer from f14, so a fast camera is a good thing to attach to it. The Nikon D700 is very fast so this is a good combination.