All About Photographic Lenses.
Specifications, comparison, reviews, MTF-charts for lenses by Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, Olympus, Sigma, Tamron, Carl Zeiss, etc.

3M-5SA MC 500 mm f/ 8.0 Lens

Do you like a good instrumental music?
Listen to new beautiful music from composer Sergei Borodin. Click HERE...

Pictures

3M-5SA MC 500 mm f/ 8.0 lens

3M-5SA MC 500 mm f/ 8.0 lens

3M-5SA MC 500 mm f/ 8.0 lens

3M-5SA MC 500 mm f/ 8.0 lens

Optical design

3M-5SA MC 500 mm f/ 8.0 optical design

Format: 35mm SLR

Type: Prime lens

Focusing: Manual Focus (MF)

Lens mounts: M39, M42, Nikon F (FX, DX), Pentax K

First year of production: 1983

Last year of production: 1991

Optical design: 5 elements, 2 mirrors

Features: Mirror lens
User reviews (4)

Photos (29)

Tests (0)

Owners (14)

Views (12159)

Average price: $161

Specifications:

Focal lengthMax. apertureMin. apertureBladesMin. Focus (m.)Filter Ø (mm.)Weight (gr/oz)Length (mm/in)
500mmf/8.0f/8.0no472620/21,9139/5,5

Additional information:

 

The 3M-5SA 500 mm f/ 8.0 (Russian: "3М-5СА")  is a mirror lens with an apochromatic multicoating. It features a constant aperture.

The lens is equipped with a mount for interchangeable Type A adapter rings (KP-A/N, KP-A/M42, etc.). It was supplied with M42 and M39 bayonet mounts.

It came in two modifications:

- 3M-5A  from1976 to 1987

-3M-5SA from 1983 to 1991.

The SA variant differs from the former in smaller size and weight.  It is not equipped with a built-in hood and a tripod socket, either.  The lens came complete with a set of  72 mm filters: N-4х, O-2.8х, ZhZ-2х, UF-1х.
The A variant features different parameters: filter diameter - 77 (!) mm, diameter - 94 mm, weight - 1225 gm. It is equipped with a telescopic hood and two 1/4" and 3/8" tripod sockets. The lens came complete with a set of  77 mm filters: NS-8, OS-12, ZhZS-9, ZhS-0.

Angle of view - 5° Resolution: 40 lpmm at the center, 20 lpmm at the edges Coefficient of transparency - 0.7 Scattering coefficient - 0.03

Retail price of both lenses - 200 Soviet rubles (1985)

The 3М-5SA 500 mm f/ 8.0 is one of the lightest, most convenient and compact 500 mm lenses.

Roman Napreyev remarks: "I was very surprised to find  out that the 3М-5SA was not equipped with a tripod socket.
When I purchased the lens, I was so happy and didn't pay attention to that. Besides, the rest of its merits were present. So, no sooner had I mounted the Tourist-FL ocular attachment to test its visual performance than I found out that the lens had no socket. In fact, I had bought this lens to observe the eclipse. Astronomical observations are the first thing that occurs to you when you deal with a focal distance like that, but the absence of tripod ... The lens produced shaky images even when lying still on a balcony railing. To make it suitable for astronomical observations it was necessary to invent and make a dedicated tripod socket collar.
 Nevertheless, its optical performance was equal to that of a good telescope with the same parameters. For example, it covered more details than did my modern German 60 mm
apochromatic telescope of very high quality which was much better than any Tourist telescope produced at the LZOS.  (They both featured a 50x magnification.) In addition, even the apochromatic lens did not manage to produce so crystal-clear image free of any chromatic aberrations as did the mirror optical scheme designed by Maksutov..."
 


Links to online resources:
PDF Files:
Posted by: Sergei Borodin   Date of publication: 02.08.2010

Go to the discussion of this lens on sour forum (messages: 2)


Photos taken with this lens 3M-5SA MC 500 mm f/ 8.0:


The sea crossing
Autor: Sergei Borodin
5 0 2768

On raid
Autor: Sergei Borodin
5 0 2607

***
Autor: Sergei Borodin
5 0 2813

Oca
Autor: Marco Bensi
5 0 1149

Mechanical quality3.758
Optical quality4.128
Usability3.508
Pricing / Value4.758
Bokeh4.138
Overall lens rating
4.05

Embed to Blog (HTML) Embed to Forum (BBcode)


Owner reviews: 3M-5SA MC 500 mm f/ 8.0

Сергей Бородин 1.1.2000 00:00:01
Period of use: 2 years

Strengths:

Good image quality. Compact and lightweight, always traveling with me, does not take up much space. Focusing is very convenient.

Weaknesses:

A noticeable vignetting, but for me it's more like a plus, more than extensionality in images

Comments:

Like the other mirror-lens lens in the area of confusion gives the flares in the form of rings. I like it, can be used as an artistic effect.

500mm as the practice shows a very convenient and frequently used focal length.