Quantaray 500mm f8 Mirror
Most Quantaray lenses were made by Sigma and some were made by Tamron and Tokina. This lens performs like a Sigma Mirror lens. It is reasonably sharp if you can hold it steady. It has the typical ringed bokeh we see from mirror lenses. Contrast is surprisingly high. While it is not a Zeiss or even a Tamron in quality, it is still far better than any of the off-brands flooding the market.




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Miranda 35mm f2.8 Auto
Filter Size:
Lens mount:
Aperture Range:
Close Focus:
Macro Ratio
Year Introduced:
Tested with...
49mm
Miranda Bayonet
f2.8-f16
.5 meters
n/a
1975
Eos M3 - APS-C

Miranda made camera eqipment from 1955 to 1978. Most of their lenses were Soligor branded because Miranda and Soligor shared a distributorship.. This lens does not say Soligor but it most likely is a Soligor, My copy required a partial CLA. I have tested it with my Eos M3. It is a relatively light lens, considering it is all metal, so it balances well. Focus dampening is somewhat firm but smooth. The aperture is controlled by a connecting lever to the camera body (see pic). This makes it awkward to use with an adapter. This particular lens has a 'dual mount'. Miranda used a 44mm screw mount on their early model cameras. Later cameras used a bayonet mount. So, this lens will mount to any Miranda body, both early and late models. My adapter attaches with the bayonet mount.
I'll get right to the nitty gritty. This lens is best at f5.6-f8. It is quite soft at f2.8. Diffraction causes a loss of contrast and diffusion of detail at f11 and f16. F4 is not a compromise. The best results are always at f5.6 and f8.
Fringing is noticeable at all apertures. Contrast is soft wide open, good at f5.6, but decreases up until f16. Color rendition is inconsistent. F5.6 gives the most accurate color and it's a bit blue/magenta.
Edge sharpness is quite soft. F8 gives the best result. My test lens may be de-centered.
Bokeh is soft wide open, but so are the in focus areas. At f5.6 it tends to ghost.
Black and white performance is average.
Flare is actually not bad. You'll see haze and a color shift but it isn't an image destroyer.
This lens can produce a decent image if you stay in mid aperture range.

ISO 200 - f5.6

ISO 200 - f5.6 - simple b/w conversion

ISO 200 - f4

ISO 400 - f5.6

ISO 1000 - f5.6 - closest focus - 50% crop

ISO 400 - f5.6

ISO 1000 - f5.6

ISO 800 - f5.6

ISO 640 - f5.6 - 100% crop

ISO 200 - f5.6 - simple b/w conversion

ISO 200 - f5.6

ISO 400 - f2.8, f5.6 & f16

ISO 200 - f5.6 - 100% crop

ISO 400 - f2.8 & f5.6

ISO 200 - f16

ISO 1000 - f2.8 & f5.6 (fringing)