Check out this huge lens!

Mitchell

Just returned from a boys trip to the Kennedy Space Center with my son. During our "up close" tour of the launch pads we encountered these two men in a white truck with a rotating roof. They told us that they operated the computer guided camera which provides the external photos we all see at launch. When I asked them the maximum focal length of the lens, the looked at me sternly and said "We're not allowed to disclose that information to the public. Why do you want to know that information?" I apologized and quickly guided my son out of the area.:dunno

Here is the lens:

Mitchell

Here is a shot of one of the suspicious looking tourists who inquired about the lens!

Angelo

Gee Mitch, what kind of security defeating terrorist are you and about that mean-looking little runt who was aiding your insurgency... you should both be locked up in solitary, denied outside contact, have your assets confiscated and your family rounded up.






:hide

Mitchell

Angelo,

Yes, another great application of the patriot act!!

I'm just waiting to see if Andy reads this thread and buys one of these.

Angelo wrote:

Gee Mitch, what kind of security defeating terrorist are you and about that mean-looking little runt who was aiding your insurgency... you should both be locked up in solitary, denied outside contact, have your assets confiscated and your family rounded up.






:hide

Angelo

Mitchell wrote:

Angelo,

Yes, another great application of the patriot act!!

I'm just waiting to see if Andy reads this thread and buys one of these.

jwear

Mitchell wrote:

Angelo,

Yes, another great application of the patriot act!!

I'm just waiting to see if Andy reads this thread and buys one of these.

if he does it will be on the forum for sale in 2 days

dragon300zx

Mitchell wrote:

"We're not allowed to disclose that information to the public. Why do you want to know that information?" I apologized and quickly guided my son out of the area.

"Well sir. I have a friend with too much money so I was wondering if that lense came in an EOS mount so he could buy it and then I could buy it off him cheaper a couple of hours after he orders it and get some really great birding photographs."

David_S85

Oversize
Not to worry, if you were able to buy one of those lenses, the tripod needed to hold it would be pretty difficult to find. (but perhaps on eBay...?)

The "OVERSIZE" on the side of the truck says quite a bit right there.

My guess (and Shay Stephens would probably back me up with this) is that besides taking shots of NASA launches, the camera lens truck probably also pulls double duty spotting all the UFO's that arrive and leave the atmosphere on a semi-daily basis.

colourbox

Mitchell wrote:

When I asked them the maximum focal length of the lens, the looked at me sternly and said "We're not allowed to disclose that information to the public. Why do you want to know that information?"

Sounds like one response would have been "Because I'm a photographer!!!"
But I guess if they talk intimidating, you don't play games.

Sheesh, you don't mount that thing on a tripod, you mount it inside its own observatory, it looks like!

How about that camera NASA just sent to Mars? 1200 megapixels!!!

wxwax

A wee bit of Googling:

Distant Object Altitude Measurement System (DOAMS)
Return to Optics
The DOAMS is a high performance, dual focal length (100 inch and 200 inch), large aperture, tracking telescope that provides film recordings at both focal lengths simultaneously. The DOAMS is used to obtain attitude, event, and miss distance data. The DOAMS is used for long ranges where high magnification and light gathering power are needed.

http://www.unexplainable.net/artman/publish/article_324.shtml

It's used for military applications, for example at White Sands, which explains their reticence.

thebigsky

Mitchell wrote:

"We're not allowed to disclose that information to the public. Why do you want to know that information?"

How utterly pathetic.

cabbey

That's actually ATOTS, not DOAMS.

See Return To Flight Ground Camera Ascent Imaging Plan for pictures of both side by side. That's your tax dollars at work (for those of us in the US). There is even less known about ATOTS than DOAMS.

Bendr

I bet that they just didn't know, and so to protect their lack of knowledge, they throw that statement out...

It's to bad you didn't have a 1200mm lens, with a 2x on a 1.6 crop factor with you... Tell em, "My lens is bigger than your lens!" Probably not though...

Bendr

cabbey wrote:

That's actually ATOTS, not DOAMS.

See Return To Flight Ground Camera Ascent Imaging Plan for pictures of both side by side. That's your tax dollars at work (for those of us in the US). There is even less known about ATOTS than DOAMS.

Aha, in that link it answers it, it says the long range tracker has a 400 inch focal length for the 35mm lens, and a 200 inch for film... Not sure how you convert that to terms we are used to... Do you just convert the inches to mm?

Also, This PDF has a little more info than that other one... http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/nasafact/pdf/LaunchImagery06.pdf

And another one with more pics...

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/rtf/page/pao_conf.pdf

jensen photos

Mitchell wrote:

When I asked them the maximum focal length of the lens, the looked at me sternly and said "We're not allowed to disclose that information to the public. Why do you want to know that information?"

Like another person said, they do not know. With a little digging, you could find out about the lens, it is all public information.

I myself would of told them "because I paid for that lens."

henryp

Bendr wrote:

It's to bad you didn't have a 1200mm lens, with a 2x on a 1.6 crop factor with you...

Particularly since one's so readily available. :-)

Mitchell

henryp wrote:

Particularly since one's so readily available. :-)

Thanks, Henry. I should have known I could buy one of those at B&H!!

Mr. 2H2O

henryp wrote:

Particularly since one's so readily available. :-)

Oh yea, a lens so big you need a fisheye to take a piccie of it!:D

- Mike