M8 and 1700mm telephoto

[bab]

After reading this article I'm wondering if the owner of this lens has an adapter to use a M8 so we can see some examples of wildlife photos. Does anybody know the owner personally? I believe they live in Dubai. I have included the link for the picture of the lens in case someone should see it in use.


Carl Zeiss creates telephoto lens with 1700mm focal length

Posted Sep 13th 2006 12:10PM by Cyrus Farivar
Filed under: Digital Cameras
This new telephoto lens comes to us from the: "because we can" department. Lens manufacturer Carl Zeiss has just made one of the world's largest telephoto lenses -- it's so big in fact, that you nearly need a construction crane to lift it up. Weighing in at 256 kg (564 lb.), this monstrosity of a lens has a focal length of 1700mm (over 5.5 feet!), a speed of f/4, and has 21x magnification. You can't miss it if you attend this year's Photokina convention in Cologne, Germany starting September 29. Based on the company's press release, it sounds like it was custom-built for a client who wanted to shoot wildlife at a distance on the very high-end Hasselblad 203 FE using 6 x 6 medium format film -- in other words, she/he has some serious cash to spend. No word on if it will be ever made available to the public, but it sounds like Carl Zeiss is open to ideas if you've got a briefcase full of euros to pay for the project, not to mention the means to get it from wherever you are to wherever you actually want to use it without scaring every living thing in your path.

Welcome to Carl Zeiss Camera and Cine Lenses

[bradreiman]

there's only one and apparently made for some royal type so....doubt it'll be used much. doubt we'll see it. doubt they'll ever make another-its sort-of like a prototype car. not really suited to rangefinder photography-at all. better suited to, well....nothing i'd presume, unless you take photos of angelina jolies babies from distant ridges.....b

[telyt]

In the picture of the lens the little black box at the right side is a Hasselblad. I wonder if the owner considered the effect that heat waves will have on image quality.

[gogopix]

Originally Posted by telyt

In the picture of the lens the little black box at the right side is a Hasselblad. I wonder if the owner considered the effect that heat waves will have on image quality.

You mean he didn't buy the optional optical path air conditioning system?

[farnz]

Originally Posted by bab

... it was custom-built for a client who wanted to shoot wildlife at a distance ...

At 256kg any wildlife in the surrounding area will have gone to ground from the noise of the Mack truck needed to transport the lens!

Then again, if the owner can afford this lens then perhaps he or she can also afford to transport it on the shoulders of 20 tip-toeing employees wearing carpet slippers.

Or perhaps with a lens of that size the intention is to shoot animals in African game reserves from Dubai ...

With all those focussing servos I wonder what the battery life is like?

Pete.

[luigi bertolotti]

Surely I will buy A PAIR of this lens... one for use...another for collecting... I will post my impressions...what makes me dubious is using that at 1/30 freehand...