The lenses on this page are extremely rare, and are no longer manufactured. Each represents different milestone achievements in design of photographic optics. These lenses are "collectible" in that devotees of advanced photographic optics purchase them because they are rarely seen on the market and generally increase in value over time. Each of the lenses listed is in outstanding condition, almost like new. Please refer to the descriptions for details.
Canon 1200mm f/11 S.S.C. Ultra-Telephoto lens
This is the longest lens ever manufactured. It is extremely rare, and in superb condition. 3600mm focal length with included with converter! (12" ruler shown below for scale - this lens is enormous and powerful).
Includes lens, rack and pinion focusing unit, drop in UV filter, 3X Teleplusconverter, C-mount to Canon FD converter, Sanyo color C-mount camera (please contact us if you want to purchase the lens separately which is a standard Canon FD mount).
Focal length: 1200mm (3600mm with included Teleplus teleconverter) Aperture Ratio: 1 :11 Lens Construction: 5 groups, 7 elements (including a 1-group, 2-element in the focusing unit) Coating: S.S.C (super spectra coating) Angles of view: Diagonal: 2° 05'; Vertical: 1°10'; Horizontal: 1°40' Distance scale: (m) 40 (magnification 0.04X) to 300 OO ((ft) 130 to 1000 OO) Focusing: Rack and pinion type by focusing unit, with lock Minimum aperture: f/64 Aperture type: Manual Filter type: Focusing unit filter holder drop-in type (includes B+W 48mm UV) Hood: Built-in type Tripod holder: Built-in type Length x max. diameter: 567.5mm x 126mm Weight: 3100g. Focusing unit length x max. diameter: 285.5mm x 108mm Length when focusing unit is attached: 853mm Lens mount: Canon FD; C-mount with included adapter Weight: 6,200g Camera: Sanyo VCC-6574A with 1/3" CCD, 811 (H) x 508 (V) picture elements, 520 lines TV horizontal resolution, 24V AC power supply included.
This lens is truly extraordinary. From the precision rack and pinion focus mechanism to the minimum f/64 aperture to the beautiful aberration corrected glass to the enormous focal length - it is truly one of a kind. When used with the included color c-mount camera (which has a 1/3" CCD sensor) the effective system focal length in 35mm terms is 8640mm. Use the 3X teleconverter in the set-up and the effective focal length is 25,920mm! Yes, you read it right - over 25,000mm (over 500X magnification - and all optical magnification).
As you can see in the photos above, the condition of the lens is flawless. No fungus or discoloration of any kind on the lens, smooth aperture and focus - only a few very minor marks on the exterior lens barrel.
Canon 1200mm Lens, 3X converter and
C-Mount Camera System
Price: $ 3,999
Zoomar Reflectar 1000mm F/8 Lens
This extremely rare lens was designed by Dr. Back, who made the first production zoom lens under the "Zoomar" brand name. It is essentially in "like new" condition, without a mark on it. This lens is rarely seen on the market, and never in this condition. It includes both a t-mount and a c-mount adapter, both of which have removable filter holders.
The sturdy metal foam-lined trunk also looks like new and the lens includes front and rear caps. The front element measures 7.75 inches, the lens is 14" long and it weighs about 17 pounds! A domino is shown in the above photo for size comparison
The focus lever on this lens is super smooth (shown in the photo below). The optics are pristine and the lens barrel is free of any marks (shown in the second photo below).
The lens was made in Germany, and very few were produced since their cost was almost $1400 in 1972 and they have steadily appreciated in value ever since. After 1975, the founder of the Zoom lens became a government contractor and left the civilian market to work mostly for Nasa. Own an huge (literally) piece of photographic history.
Zoomar Reflectar 1000mm F/8 Lens
Price: $ 2,999
Modified Meade ETX125 with Infrared Filter Wheel and
High Resolution 1/3" Near-Infrared Sensitive Camera
Lens Type: Maksutov-Cassegrain Focal Length: 1900mm F15 Focus: Manual (15' to infinity) Aperture: Primary diameter is 138 mm (5.4 inches) and clear aperture is 127 mm (5 Inches) Diameter: Outer Diameter is 146mm (5.75 inches) Length: 330mm (13 inches) without wheel and hood Rear Mount: Meade Mount w/ Mirror Diagonal Tripod Mount: Custom rings and tripod mounting bar threaded for 1/4" FIlter Wheel: Wheel contains 760nm IR pass, 850nm IR pass, IR/UV block and red filters Camera: New Watec-535EX 1/3" CCD C-mount Camera with AD-901 power supply. Resolution: 570TVL with minimum illumination: 0.003 lx. F1.4 Gain control: AGC(HI:5-32dB, LO:5-20dB), MGC(5-32dB) : Lens hood and caps, red-dot finder, tripod rings and mount, Meade 1 1/4" mirror diagonal, Watec 535-EX camera and power supply, filter wheel with 4 filters, C-mount eyepiece adapter. Lens Condition: New and Unused
About this lens: This Meade Catadioptric Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope OTA was originally designed and built by Meade for a special Free Space Optical laser
telecommunications application. This is a new unit in and has never been used. Although similar to Meade’s commercial telescope, this OTA includes several quality and functionality upgrades including:
Black anodized adapter that allows for the use of Meade / Celestron / Televue
Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope accessories.
Focusing adjustment resolution 4 times greater than with standard ETX-125
Extended rear baffle for better stray light rejection
Larger focus knob for more comfortable grip
Wavelength range is 400 nm to 1.6 microns
Resolving power is 0.9 arc seconds
Infrared Applications: The included IR filter wheel in conjunction with the highly IR sensitive Watec camera and extraordinary optics of this modified scope enable you to do long distance imaging with the full visible spectrum, visible red light only, invisible near infrared light at 760nm only and IR at 850nm only. Infrared light penetrates atmospheric haze to an amazing degree and so you get outstanding ultra-telephoto terrestrial imaging with this lens / filter / camera set-up. The sensitivity control on the camera lets you adjust gain as needed to perfect the image. Because the image circle is projected on a 1/3" CCD, the apparent focal length is considerably greater (approximately 7X greater) than 1900mm.
Modified Meade ETX125 with Infrared Filter Wheel and High Resolution 1/3" Near-Infrared Sensitive Camera
Price: $1900
Vivitar 800mm Solid Cat Lens with 5 Rare Filters
Lens Type: Solid Catadioptric Telephoto
Focal Length: 800mm F/11
Focus: Manual
Mount: Standard T-mount
Length: Lens: 3 5/16"
Diameter: 4 3/16" (front)
Weight: 3 lb.
Accessories: Four Vivitar Series 1 35.5mm filters made specifically for this lens (Red 29, UV Haze, NDX4 and Yellow #2) plus extremely rare B+W 35.5mm 486 UVIR Cut filter
Condition: Excellent optics, smooth focus and near perfect condition cosmetically.
This lens represents the most significant achievement in US manufactured optics ever seen. Working in conjunction with Perkin-Elmer (of NASA telescope fame) Vivitar incorporated the finest characteristics of astronomical optics into this solid catadioptric lens. This lens uses technology previously applied only in space exploration. It is extremely rare, and no longer manufactured.
Its incredibly compact size is achieved using spherically shaped lens elements that are pieced together to form a single solid lens element. Incredibly, as you look into the lens in the photo you are seeing what appears to be a mirror lens but in fact the entire lens is solid glass with no air space at all between lens elements.
This solid glass construction results in three benefits to the photographer: 1) the lens maintains precise optical alignment throughout extreme temperature variations allowing you to move from freezing to blistering climates without losing maximum sharpness, 2) the amazingly short physical length of the lens reduces the horizontal and vertical travel of the front of the lens in relation to the focal plane, thus increasing the sharpness of hand-held shots and 3) the solid glass construction results in extremely high resistance to damage by shock and all aspects of intrusion by dust, moisture, etc. Bright, fast mirror-lens for super-telephoto imaging.
This extremely rare lens is a true mirror lens, and the only lens of its kind. It uses two mirrors in an off-axis optical path and has an iris diaphragm to control exposure and depth of field (aperture slider shown in above photo). The drawing below shows the light path in the Makowsky Katoptaron, which requires the user to point the lens downward below the subject, due to its unusual light path. The lens has two very precisely made ceramic aspherical mirrors and is capable of exceptionally high resolution and contrast, and has no focus shift rom UV up through 4000nm infrared.
The focus wheel (shown in the photo above) on this lens is extremely precise and sensitive, as it has a built-in clutch mechanism. If you turn too hard, there is no response. If you turn gently, the response is very precise.
The photo above shows the interior of the front of the lens, and the mirror at the back. Note the bellows type of focus mechanism. You are seeing correctly, there is no glass on the front of this remarkable lens. The optics are handled solely by the mirrors.
Lens Type: Off-Axis Makowsky - Cassegrain, patented design Focal Length: 500 mm Aperture: F8 - F32 Chromatic Aberration Corrected: UV up to IR IR Range: max. 4000 nm Mirror Elements: Type: 2 / ZEISS Schott ZERODUR, quartz sealed Diaphragm Type: manual, stepless Angle of View: 5° prime focus Spherical Aberration: none Chromatic Aberration: none, lateral and longitudinal Coma On Axis: below diffraction limit Diffraction Limit: < 4 micrometers Curvature of Field: none Image Lighting Fall Off: constant eveness over full field Mirror Surface Precision: < 0.1 Lambda Vignetting: none Minimum Focus Distance: 4.9 m Filter Size: 67 mm Lens Hood: built in and external included Length: 210 mm Weight: 991 grams
The lens is in outstanding condition, and comes with a Nikon mount and a c-mount adapter. It has a built-in tripod mount. Due to its extreme infrared response, it is exceptionally well suited to infrared photography, IR video or night-vision applications.
