This enormous Jonel 100 Mirror Lens is easily one of the biggest pieces of glass one can shoot with.
“Aim for the stars,” so begins a popular saying. With this huge NASA mirror lens you’ll definitely wonder what your star trails and Milky Way photos would look like. Everyone, say hello to the mammoth Jonel 100, which has a whopping 2540mm focal length and f8 aperture. It can be yours for an equally whopping US $28,000, or your best offer. This isn’t actually the first time this impressive lens has made the rounds in photography blogs and communities. Two years ago, ebay seller aerozeiss2, from Darmstadt, Germany had already listed this very same lens, which is why some of you may find it familiar.
The Jonel 100 mirror lens, as mentioned in the listing, is one of the cool optics NASA used to track and film rockets like the Saturn V (the NASA rocket that launched man to the Moon) as they launched into space. It was even reportedly used to track and film the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. “It is a Schmidt-Cassegrain design with a two element field corrector to produce a 57x57mm image format (80mm image diameter or more),” the listing also describes. How much did it originally cost NASA back in the day? Enough to buy a family home.
So, what camera do you use to shoot with this beast of a lens? You could pair it with a 70mm movie camera like the Photo-Sonics 70mm 10R high-speed camera (capable of up to 125 fps on 6 x 6 frames), just like NASA did. Or, you can shoot with a medium format camera like a Hasselblad, as suggested in the listing photos. Whatever you choose, you’ll need to find all the additional equipment like the tripod, head, and focusing unit to complete the setup.
Ready to start your new astrophotography adventure with this 2540mm lens? Prepare to part with some cash and head to this ebay listing for the Jonel 100 mirror lens.
