graybeard

I have a Canon T3 DSLR, and like most digital SLRs it has a part of the body that overhangs the lens attachment area. I am wondering if I bought one of those fat looking mirror telephoto lens if it might not connect to the body because of the overhang. I am thinking when the older lens were made the film SLR's did not have this overhang so mounting was no problem. I wonder if it is now? I am thinking of the M42 screw mount Bower or Opteka 500mm mirror lens. BTW, can you render any opinions on mirror lens in general or these in particular? P.S. Don't recommend some $2K lens to me. They are out of the question. Thanks for your feedback.

ebbote Loc: Hockley, Texas

A mirror lens should have no problem fitting on your camera.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Read this recent thread, it should be helpful: http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-272627-1.html

Also, why the M42 mount? There are Canon EF mount versions available....

http://www.amazon.com/Rokinon-ED500M-B-EOS-500mm-Mirror-Canon/dp/B004JHY5OC

Good luck

nicksr1125 Loc: Mesa, AZ

Most current model mirror lenses (I have a Samyang 500mm f/6.3) hang below the bottom of the body. They are fitted to almost any current DSLR with a T-mount. I've had several mirror lenses over my almost 60 year photographic career. Didn't matter what body they were attached to, they all fit the same way. You will be limited to shooting in manual or aperture priority and manual focus.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

The Bower and Opteka (also Kenko, Rokinon, Samyang and Vivitar) are T-mount lenses (M42x.75, not the M42x1.0 Praktica/Pentax M42 mount), for which you need a T-ring for your Canon. They are generally a bit soft, but are free of CA, and are pretty good as long as you don't make big enlargements. They're better suited for FX cameras. When you nail your focus, and have enough light to keep shutter speeds up, you should be quite pleased with the results. Good luck. :)

nicksr1125 Loc: Mesa, AZ

A good, sturdy tripod is a must.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Right. Those lenses are pretty light, and a good heavy camera doesn't hurt (like an F4s?).

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Or a Canon T90, "The Tank".

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

The T90 weighs 800g, the basic F4 weighs 1100g. Add the MB-21 with 6 AA batteries (the T90 takes 4), the difference is even more.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

That may be true, the T90 is still more than enough of a beast for a mirror lens!

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Agreed. It was a very nice camera, with some great features.

graybeard

Thanks for your feedback. I suppose if I had thought about it I would have realized the width (fatness) of the lens would not be a problem, as some of them are made for DSLR compatability. I am new to digital photography, and it is my ambition to break the UH record for most dumb questions asked. Here is where I am coming from-- I was gifted with a Canon T3, my first digital camera. It came with the 18-55mm lens, and I later bought the 55-250mm lens, and a Vivitar wide angle extender and a Vivitar 2.2x tele extender. My background in film was with various M42 mount cameras (Mamiya/Sekor, Praktica, Pentax) and a wide-angle zoom, a telephoto zoom, and fast F1.4 lenses. I bought a M42-EOS adaptor and can use my old lenses on the Canon. They seem to work fine. All except the Vivitar tele extender, which is more or less useless because of poor focus beyond about half of the zoom length. So I thought why not buy a 500mm screw mount TP lens, which along with my 2X and 3X extenders should really be super TP. But cost is a big factor. After reading about this doughnut thing with mirror lenses I am tempted to stay with refracters, albeit with greater weight and cost (unless I get lucky). Would love to hear all of your opinions on various reflective and refractive low-cost TP lenses. Used are OK, might end up with a better lens for the cost that way. Thanks again.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Glad it's helpful. The dummest questions are the ones that are thought about and not asked!

The donuts are the least of the problem, really an aesthetic thing. The difficulty of focusing one of these is the bigger problem and adding a converter really makes getting decent results challenging.

If you can, take your camera to a store and try one before you buy!

shagbat Loc: London

It should fit ok. You need T2 converter to Canon also.
I have a version of this Samyang made lens, very difficult to focus, even in good light and contrast is disappointing.
For a similar price, from the same people you can get a 500mm preset lens, superior in every way, but obviously bulkier.

ralphc4176 Loc: Conyers, GA

For the T3, an EF-S lens would probably be the best choice. An EF lens should also work, but you probably won't get the image you had in mind. I don't know if
Canon makes any EF-S mirror lenses, but the EF lenses are supposed to fit all Canon DSLRs, including those with APS-C sensors. At least, that's my understanding.