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04/24/2008 08:42:08 AM · #1 |
Looking for some advice from people who have used or owned if possible.
I would like to have an ultra long lens, around 500mm or 600mm available for the times when my 28-300mm tamron won't cut it.
Obviously, regular lenses are pretty costly once you start to exceed 300mm.
Mirror lenses seem to go for peanuts, though some of the sample shot I have seen with them are pretty good - Some of those here on DPC...
So - What are the good points (If any) and bad points about mirror lenses?
PS - I don't want one of the cheapo "Opteka" type long lenses as these are just too long (Physically) to carry around.
Thanks,
AL. |
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04/24/2008 08:54:02 AM · #2 |
Good - Lightweight, compact, and relatively inexpensive.
Bad - Donut ring bokeh.
For $100 you could try one and see...if you don't like it, sell it or pass it along. May need a T-mount adapter for your camera mount also... |
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04/24/2008 09:02:12 AM · #3 |
There are so many on Ebay, they often don't reach $100 equivalent (£50) in the UK...
Obviously, some are better than others, and the 600mm's are worth a little more than the 500mm's.
I haven't noticed "Donut ring Bokeh" though ont the shots I have seen?
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04/24/2008 09:02:20 AM · #4 |
Don't know if this is close to what you are looking for. I picked mine up off ebay for £220 and I love it.
Sigma 170-500mmD f/5-6.3 APO DG Aspherical for Canon
Message edited by author 2008-04-24 09:02:43. |
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04/24/2008 09:10:35 AM · #5 |
Here's a couple of related threads with more info for you...
Reflex (Mirror) lense
Anyone Know Anything About Telephoto Mirror Lenses
Used the forum search with Boolean selected, search term 'donut & bokeh'. There's a few more threads but I only opened a couple of the more obvious ones. |
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04/24/2008 09:14:11 AM · #6 |
A friend has just bought one of these - Will get to see it tomorrow, but they do look good for the money they go for... |
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04/24/2008 09:15:02 AM · #7 |
Great - Thanks. I'll have a look.
I did try the search, but did not try the "Boolean" option?!?!?
Thanks,
AL. |
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04/24/2008 09:16:50 AM · #8 |
I've been considering a mirror tele prime. I don't shoot tele very much and I did not want to spend loads of money on a lens I hardly used. After checking some examples, the bokeh scared me away. Instead, I looked for regular primes with M42-mount. I now use a 400/5.6 and a 200/4.5, each costing me about 20 Euros. 2nd hand and manual focus, but optically better than most mirror lenses.
ETA: teleconverters for M42 cost next to nothing as well.
Message edited by author 2008-04-24 09:24:39.
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04/24/2008 09:31:32 AM · #9 |
Originally posted by pix-al:
A friend has just bought one of these - Will get to see it tomorrow, but they do look good for the money they go for... |
I considered one of those. Ended up with the 50-500 'Bigma' as I wanted the full range.
The 170-500 is still fairly heavy (about 48 ounces) and uses a 86C (course thread) filter. $100+ for a CP easy. The lens hood is pretty long, which adds to the length and makes using a filter tricky I've read. May want to read a few reviews (and of course get hands on experience with your friends copy). Test the long end at various apertures to see if you're happy with it since that's the intent on owning one.
Have fun! :-) |
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04/24/2008 09:49:07 AM · #10 |
I'd sell you mine for $50 + S&H.
It's a Vivitar, I don't use it much as my 70-200mm f/2.8 IS takes much better shots. And if I need the range I add on the 2x extender. And it's still much better. But that's why it cost 20x that of the mirror lens. |
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04/24/2008 10:35:07 AM · #11 |
I would be very careful. Many of the ebay mirror lenses are not at all well made, and will give rather poor results. Even a good mirror lens has some performance attributes that aren't all that attractive, such as the "donut-shaped" bokeh, lower contrast compared to refractive optics, fixed and relatively slow aperture, manual focusing (and relatively difficult at that)... you get the picture.
I actually do own a 600mm f/5.6 mirror lens, but it is a rather unique design and manufactured to very tight tolerances. The optical performance is still only "good" and I'd certainly prefer a standard lens in this focal length range, but of course we're talking $$$$. |
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04/24/2008 11:16:34 AM · #12 |
  Nikon 1000mm F11
going to look for the Nikon 500mmF/8 some time
pain to focus & stay steady breath on it it bounces ...
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04/24/2008 11:31:29 AM · #13 |
Originally posted by ralph:
pain to focus & stay steady breath on it it bounces ... |
I agree completely. I have a 500mm f8 (vivitar) and it is slow and really hard to focus - even on objects near infinity. This is the one shot I have taken for DPC using it...
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04/24/2008 01:58:54 PM · #14 |
| I remembered reading a very good review of an old Tamron 500mm mirror lens; it's here for those so inclined. Some good technical depth for those so inclined, but also written to be generally useful. Provides a *lot* of generally good discussion about the trade-offs between mirror lenses and normal lenses. |
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04/25/2008 11:59:54 AM · #15 |
| I have a 750mm f/6 mirror lens by Celestron. It's a pain to use, but it's fun and I've gotten some neat images. I'm actually thinking of getting rid of it, because I've gotten more serious and haven't used it in a while. |
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