Photax T-Mount Preset 400mm f/6.3, Take II

Cameras and Lenses: Images with a Photax T-Mount Preset 400mm f/6.3, a fully manual long-tube vintage telephoto lens with retro accolades for its 4-element design, built-in tripod mount, and nostalgic charm, a 800mm full-frame equivalent on the Olympus Pen E-P5, II.

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The T-Mount Photax 400mm f/6.3 Preset Telephoto Lens, sometimes just referred to simply as a long tube lens, dates back to the 1960s, is a low-cost commonplace lens, and can be found under a variety of brand names such as Astranar, Impakt, Photax, D&N, Prinz-Galaxy, Paragon, Sirius, Ensinor, Quantaray, Optomax, Kenlock, Praotor, Hanimex, and more.

Typically, these are 4 elements of front-end focus T-mount lenses with a two-ring preset aperture and a very convenient built-in tripod mount. The unit I tested weighs 741 grams, minus the soft velvet pouch and the 340mm hard faux leather sheath it comes in.

Olympus E-P5, Photax T-Mount Preset 400mm f/6.3

Images, shot here with the lens mounted on the 2x crop sensor Olympus E-P5, are at the equivalent focal length of an 800 mm lens on a full-frame camera.

Photax T-Mount Preset 400mm f/6.3, Take I

Cameras and Lenses: Images with a Photax T-Mount Preset 400mm f/6.3, a fully manual long-tube vintage telephoto lens with retro accolades for its 4-element design, built-in tripod mount, and nostalgic charm, a 800mm full-frame equivalent on the Olympus Pen E-P5, I.

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What a surprise find!.

I was not too sure what I got into when I placed the order for the low-priced offer T-mount 400mm F6.3, believed to be a Tokina RMC, as sold under the Photax name, and also available as an Astranar, Impakt, D&N, Prinz-Galaxy, and many others.

The 4 elements in a 3-groups dual-ring preset 'long-tube' telescope have their fair share of accolades, with most reviewers commenting on its sharpness, and with the fair amount of fungal infection I found within the elements of the lens, a lower contrast threshold.

Olympus E-P5, Photax T-Mount Preset 400mm f/6.3

Had the camera mounted via a built-in tripod mount for these shots (800mm equivalent on the 2x crop sensor), taken wide-open (@ 6.3 of course). Images were post-processed.