MR TELYT R 500mm
Telephoto mirror (reflection type) lens for the Leica R.
A review and Photo example of the MR-TELYT-R 500mm F8
Table of Contents
Gallery
- The sample photos were taken with the EOS-1Ds MK-III
Review
1．Overview
The MR-TELYT 500 is a telephoto reflector lens designed by Walter Mandler of Germany and manufactured by Minolta of Japan. According to information on the Wiki of the overseas Leica-Forum, 3,800 were made between 1980 and 1996.
Although it is sold under the Leica brand, there is no particular difference between its performance and image quality from other mirror lenses. Because of its long focal length of 500mm, if you use this lens on a body without image stabilization, the image in the viewfinder will shake so much that you will feel dizzy.
A mirror lens with a focal length of 500mm weighing 750g is easy to carry, but opinions differ on the doughnut bokeh that occurs with mirror lenses. I’m sure you will get tired of it after taking a few pictures.
Accessories include a leather case, a hood, and a filter.
The hood is screw-on, and compared to the hood of the TAMRON 500mm, which is the same mirror lens, the hood of the Terito 500mm feels very short, being only about 1/3 the length of the TAMRON hood.
The filter is screwed onto the rear of the lens, and a colorless protective filter is usually attached. In addition, yellow, orange, and blue color filters are included in the leather case. These color filters will probably never be used with a digital camera.
2．Usage
I have seen the used market price of this lens in the range of 80,000 to 150,000 yen.
The market price for 500mm mirror lenses from other companies is 10,000 to 50,000 yen, so unless you are planning to complete your R lens collection, this lens is not one that you would actively choose.
The lens I have is a 3-cam lens, and can be used with R-type Leicas except for Leicaflex/SL/SL2 (film cameras). I have never seen a lens other than a 3-cam lens on the used market, and I would like to know if this lens could be ROM-modified, but I cannot find any information. I have never seen a ROM-type mirror lens on eBay.
The photo of the camera attached is attached to an R8 equipped with a DMR, but when I took this photo, the DMR was already broken and it was not possible to use the Terito 500mm with the DMR. It is a shame that I was unable to record an actual shot of 500*1.38=690mm.
3．Add info.
Konica Minolta, the successor to Minolta which manufactured this lens, still appears to have business dealings with Leica and is said to be supplying lenses to the L-Mount Alliance. One might imagine that Minolta might release the autofocus mirror lenses that it previously supplied for α SLRs to the L-Mount Alliance, but given the lack of demand for mirror lenses, this is highly unlikely.
Specification
| Items | Value | Note |
| Focal length(mm) | 500 | |
| Max aperture | 8 | |
| Min aperture | 8 | Fixed Aperture |
| Lens Construction | 5elements in 5groups | |
| Min distance(m) | 4 | |
| Lens length(mm) | 121 | |
| Max diameter(mm) | 87 | |
| Filter Size(mm) | 77 | |
| Weight(g) | 750 | |
| Release date | 1980 | |
| Production numbers | 3,800 |
Reference links
Update history
- 2025.1.6
- 2024.02.11:Update article
- 2022.02.01:First draft
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