There's
a ton of information out there about these lenses. There's also
lots of useful information about bird photography on the following
pages. Most of these guys use Big Honking 500-600mm glass that cost
as much as a new car. Some mention using Mirror lenses with a fair
degree of success though. Here's some of their web sites.
When you get to the bottom, I've stuck in some
prices that seem reasonable for mirror lenses. If you're gonna try
to buy one over the net, you should check the following links:
"rec.photo.marketplace"A
newsgroup for the largest possible market.
"Photo.Net
Classifieds".A Web page created by a Photo nut from MIT.
This site is also a great resource for other photographic stuff.
Midwest Photo Exchange.
A commercial store in Columbus, Ohio. They do a LOT of used equipment
selling mail order. And they're pretty nice about it.
KEH Camera Brokers. Some
say the Largest and Best Used Mail Order camera store. You have
to use Adobe Acrobat to view their used equipment listings online.
(If you don't have it, you can get it through their site.)
Like I said, there is a TON of useful information out there. You
could literally spend all your time just browsing around and researching
a lens. On the other hand, you could just pick up the first lens
you see for sale, and go take some pictures. Welp, Good luck. |
This information is from
the DejaNews Search Engine Database of Usenet Postings.
If you have the time, you should check it out. Just go to the DejaNews
site, type in "500MM Mirror Lens" and see what it comes
up with. That's how I found this information here.The
following are excerpts from different postings to the rec.photo
newsgroup:
> Need a little help, which is the best 500MM Mirror lens to buy
for a Nikon
> mount without going broke. I read they have AF mirror lens?? Are
the
> major companies such as Sigma, Tamron, vivitar all about the quality??
> Looking for recommendations.
> Thanks
> Tom
I read an article in one of the British photo magaizines that conducted
a comparison test of four or five 500mm mirror lenses. The reviewer
concluded that the Nikon was definitely the best of the lot, but
since you are on a budget you may want to consider looking for a
used one. The Tamron seemed to be the lens of choice for value--it
offered a really-good balance between quality and price. As far
as the Vivitar is concerned, people who I have known who have used
it say that it is not very good. They seem to think that the budget
400mm preset lenses, like the ones offered by Cambron and Spiratone
had better optical quality.
Craig Yuill
The older-version (larger, non-macro) 500mm f8 Nikkor is the best
500mm mirror (well, the best mirror, period...) that I have seen.
It is also relatively low-priced, being easy to find (used only
- and I just happen to have a spare one to sell...;-). It is good
enough to produce fine images even when used on a converter (TC14/14B)
- a rare thing. The off-brand ones I have tried varied from barely
adequate to terrible. Even the Nikkor is hardly an optically perfect
lens, but it is good (roughly comparable in image quality [at f8
1/2 working aperture...] to the big, fast, expensive ED lenses used
wide-open). I did not find a couple of samples of the newer compact
Nikkor mirror quite as sharp - and there is no AF Nikkor mirror.
Hope This Helps
There's no AF mirror lens available for or from Nikon. I think your
best option is to look for a good second-hand 500mm f8 Reflex Nikkor,
preferably the older, larger model as this has a better effective
aperture than the later, smaller model and is allegedly less likely
to fall apart. I've tried the 600mm Sigma and it's not bad but the
Nikkor is definitely better. The 500mm Tamron is supposed to be
good but I've got no personal experience of it.
Jonathan
I own and use a pair of Tamrom 500mm cat lenses. Great lenses! I
love to use them at airshows. If you will take the time to learn
to use them you can get sharp results hand held at 250th and faster
( ill get told all about the rule that says you need 500th for a
500mm lens). These lenses are very close to true F8 in speed, the
old F16 and 1/film speed works well giving good slide exposure.
I never use a tripod at airshows, it is far too hard to correctly
pan using one. Skip the cheap mirror lenses, go with good after
market lenses if you do not go all the way with the camera maker's
lenses. Quite a bit of reach for very little money!
Bear in mind that, unless it's rather bright, and you are from the
UK, so it's not often that bright , you will have difficulty
hand holding a mirror lens. With a 500mm focal length and an f/8
fixed aperture (often really as slow as f/11 depending on the model)
you'll have little luck except in sunlight, when it's overcast you'll
be pretty much out of luck: I was shooting a college (grass) hockey
game a few days ago, ISO 800 film with a zoom at 300mm f/5.6, and
was having problems keeping the shutter speeds about 1/350. Therefore,
you'll probably want to take a tripod as well. If you'll already
be carrying a tripod, then by all means consider a mirror lens.
Cheers,
Nick.
I've just bought a Vivitar 500mm f8 mirror lens, and tested it out
around DC on Sunday. I have no problems with sharpness, and in fact
I was pleasantly supprised at the contrast (I've been using a Vivitar
400mm f5.6 before). This lens was $137 (all inclusive) from B&H,
which was ordered on a Tuesday, and delivered on Thursday morning
(UPS standard delivery) - so no complaints here. Okay, the lens
has no aperture control, and is a little odd in that you can focus
past infinity, but otherwise, value for money it's very good.
Chris Kidd
>I recently purchased a 500mm f/8 Mirror lens, made by "Sakar",
for $150. Steve,
I would return it. I recently bought a an old JC PENNY 500mm/f8
at a local flea market for only $35. It is Made in Japan and seems
to be sharp for a mirror lens. I use it on my N70 Nikon body. If
I were you, I would look for a higher quality USED one rather than
a lower quality new one. Greg Katz
Stroudsburg, PA (USA)
Sigma makes a 600m mirror. It's not the best lens in the world,
but it's probably better than most other mirror lenses out there.
Sigma usually makes pretty good stuff. I haven't used any other
mirror lenses, but my results aren't as uniformly bad as others
have reported with other mirror lenses.
I've noticed that it's hard to get a really top notch image with
the mirror lens. Even at 1/1000 or using a big heavy tripod, the
image isn't all that sharp. Colors tend to wash a bit when taking
a picture of something really far away as well - especially here
in (cough), LA.
If you are just looking for a 4x6 enlargement, you'll be pretty
happy. I've never tried to go any larger.
One of the better deals in a 500mm Mirror lens is from Vivitar.This
lens is sharp (as can be for a 500mm Mirror) gives good contrast,will
close focus at five feet and is very well made.Your next best bet
would be a Samyang lens.Now for some inside info.Both lenses are
made in Korea by the Samyang Optical Corp..Samyang is a large optical
manufacturing factory and the only one in Korea. Any lens stamped
Made in Korea comes from Samyang.Samyang lenses have a great reputation
and they make some nice sharp lenses at good prices.They might be
a little hard to find but Samyang is distributed by Phoenix Corp.
out of New York.You Can buy the Vivitar lens from B & H Photo in
N.Y.C. for $124.00.You can get the Samyang lens from Porter's Camera
store in Iowa.Its listed in their catalog under great bargains for
$119.00.The ad doesn't say Samyang but call Porter's and they will
verify it is. Both of these prices are current as of 8-17-96. Good
Luck!!!
Jesse
Saint Petersburg,Florida
There are literally Dozens of used Nikon Mirror lenses on the
market. Unfortunately, a good price for one in Excellent condition
hovers around $500. Fortunately, it's also pretty easy to find an
off-brand lens for much much cheaper. The Nikon lens does have a
reputation for being sharper and contrastier than any other offerings
out there. Ah, but what a price to pay. Still, it's a heckuva lot
cheaper than the $10,500 600 f/4 lens (USED!) that some folks are
using.
But, more realistically, Off-Brands like Tokina, Tamron, Sigma and
Vivitar are typically closer to the $75-$250 range. The ones I would
recommend? Tough choice. I'd definately try to stay with the above-mentioned
five brands. Stay away from stuff like "Kalimar", "Starblitz", "Rokinon"
"Soligor", or "Samyang". Catadioptric lenses can be cheap to make
(like super cheap Tasco telescopes) but... well you know. You get
what you pay for, right?
I've had a couple of Tokina lenses (AT-X series, not the crappy
SZX), and they're pretty nice. Much better build quality than Sigma
and Vivitar. I've never owned a Tamron, but they're reputed to be
the best of the non Brand-name makes. They all make "pro-quality"
and "consumer quality" lenses. With the expected differences in
price.
Well, that's about it for now. I gotta get home now. Good luck,
and feel free to drop a line if you have any other questions. |
