500mm Lens question

GraphyFotoz

I have seen a 500mm Mirror lens around forsale (even since my 35mm days).
Is this a usable lens for someone on a budget?:scratch
It's rated at F8....been buggin me for years.

If I get a EF mount it mount to my 10D and I realize it'll only be manual focus.

Someone shed some light on this for me?:dunno

pathfinder

The 500mm mirror reflex lenses get written up in Pop Photo now and again, as an inexpensive solution to long glass. They are a fixed aperature - usually f8. That means that they will not AF as you mentioned. Look through your camera while you press the preview button so that the lens you are viewing through is stopped down to f8,and see if this is appealing to you. The image will be dim, as f8 admits only 1/8th the light that f2.8 does.

Thus these mirror lenses will only be useful in bright sunlight generally. Some can be fairly sharp since well made mirror lenses do not suffer from chromatic aberration which is a consequence of the light passing through glass lenses, and with mirror lenses the light does not pass through but only reflects. Frequently though, these lenses main advantage is price and that shows in their optical quality.

Despite the low price, mirror lenses command a very small part of the market for long telephotos - fixed aperatures are a significant disadvantage photographically. Also the bokeh is real funky, with a round shape with dark centers in the OOF portions of the frame. I would suggest that you borrow or rent one before deciding to purchase. Since the aperature, the only way to modify exposure is to vary the shutter speed or the ISO. This is a little better than with film where to change ISO you had to change the roll of film.

If you do buy one, post some shots in the Cool Shots thread or soemwhere so we can all see what they are capable of. Once again, if you truly understand what they can do, they can be useful tools. But there is no danger that they will replace a Canon 500mm F4 IS L on the sidelines at the NFL in the hands of Sports Illustrated.

They can be nice for candids sometimes as you get a very long glass that does not look like a big long lens and hence less noticeable to your subjects.

GraphyFotoz

pathfinder wrote:

The 500mm mirror reflex lenses get written up in Pop Photo now and again, as an inexpensive solution to long glass. They are a fixed aperture - usually f8. That means that they will not AF as you mentioned. Look through your camera while you press the preview button so that the lens you are viewing through is stopped down to f8,and see if this is appealing to you. The image will be dim, as f8 admits only 1/8th the light that f2.8 does.

Thus these mirror lenses will only be useful in bright sunlight generally. Some can be fairly sharp since well made mirror lenses do not suffer from chromatic aberration which is a consequence of the light passing through glass lenses, and with mirror lenses the light does not pass through but only reflects. Frequently though, these lenses main advantage is price and that shows in their optical quality.

Despite the low price, mirror lenses command a very small part of the market for long telephotos - fixed apertures are a significant disadvantage photographically. Also the bokeh is real funky, with a round shape with dark centers in the OOF portions of the frame. I would suggest that you borrow or rent one before deciding to purchase. Since the aperture, the only way to modify exposure is to vary the shutter speed or the ISO. This is a little better than with film where to change ISO you had to change the roll of film.

If you do buy one, post some shots in the Cool Shots thread or somewhere so we can all see what they are capable of. Once again, if you truly understand what they can do, they can be useful tools. But there is no danger that they will replace a Canon 500mm F4 IS L on the sidelines at the NFL in the hands of Sports Illustrated.

They can be nice for candids sometimes as you get a very long glass that does not look like a big long lens and hence less noticeable to your subjects.

Thanx for the info. Glad I asked!!
Guess it'll be a long time before I get to 500mm....esp if I hafta go with a L!!
$$$ wise it's way outta my league!

howard

I have one which I paid about US$115 for. It makes a good paper weight . Obviously this is a sample of one but I'd recommend that you try before you buy.