Advice on Tele lens 500 mm or more

fotgrys · Dec 1, 2012

Hi All
I'm new on forum so if I'm asking a question which was already answer please refer me to the topic, as I did not found it.

I have Canon Full Frame camera and one of my favorite lenses is canon ef 35-350 L special on trips or places where I can not take more equipment. It is also my the longest lens. I also have extender 1.4 (good to have in pocket if I need longer range). But some times it is just to short 490mm f:7.84.

As I just wrote SOMETIMES I need longer lens usually to take shot from stable position (good tripod etc.). Most likely the lens will be in very rare use so I do not what to spend a lot of money but I need lens which will give me good, sharp picture at least good base to digital post-processing. The AF is not important to me but would be nice to have (but I repeat not important).

My question is can you please recommend something 600mm and over, which will not be to "expansive" (as cheep as possible)?

I'm thinking about mirror lenses as they cheep and "small" but I'm not sure about picture quality e.g. samyang 800mm or some old Russian MTO 1000/10.
I never use in the pass mirror lenses so I do not have any idea are they good also I did not found any trustful information in the net.
I'm not sure do I want mirror lens I just want to bay good cheep tele-lens 600mm and over.

Many thanx for help

SCraig · Dec 1, 2012

Asking for good quality and cheap price are contradictory ideals. You can get good image quality but not at a low price. You can get a low price but you give up image quality.

It's been a very long time since I Shot with a mirror lens, probably 20+ years, but at that time the image quality was horrible. They may have improved over the years but until I saw someone I trusted shoot something decent with one I wouldn't waste my money. They are also very slow, most with a fixed aperture of around f/8 as I recall.

Light Guru · Dec 1, 2012

If you only need it sometimes then just rent it.

http://www.borrowlenses.com/
http://www.lensrentals.com/

panblue · Dec 1, 2012

Sharp imaging beyond 500mm, manual (?) ..and on the cheap

lol ok....

Nikon 4/300, 2xTC (Preferably Nikon or MC7 type), F to EF adaptor with focus-confirm chip (?)

That's 600 'f8' but in practical terms, viable DOF at 'f11+'. Hope it's a sunny day!

sean7488 · Dec 1, 2012

sigma 150-500 is a really good lens

SCraig · Dec 1, 2012

sean7488 said:
sigma 150-500 is a really good lens

I agree, I have one. However it's neither small nor inexpensive.

Mully · Dec 1, 2012

500 mirror .... F8 very shallow DOF but nice ......you will need a tripod

panblue · Dec 1, 2012

or over 500mm

SCraig said:
sean7488 said:

sigma 150-500 is a really good lens

Click to expand...

I agree, I have one. However it's neither small nor inexpensive.

BrianV · Dec 1, 2012

These are with a 1970 Reflex-Nikkor 500mm F8, the Yellow-Crown Heron is with film, the second shot is with an old Digital DCS420c, 2.5x crop factor. Heavy tripod used for both shots.
The newer Reflex-Nikkor is both smaller and sharper. I also picked up a Vivitar 600/8 "Solid Cat" that I need to try out. The latter was in the $250 range. The Vivitar lens looks to be better than my old Nikkor, is very short, and has a T-Mount for use on various cameras.

Tony S · Dec 1, 2012

Can you post an example of what you get now so we know "what level of quality" you expect on the cheap?

Long glass over 200mm that gives quality comes with a steep price tag.

480sparky · Dec 1, 2012

Asking for a cheap, quality 500mm+ lens is like asking for a Ferrari under $10k.

fotgrys · Dec 1, 2012

Thank you for advise.

I know that I'm asking for a lot.

sigma 150-500 is to short and also my canon ef 35 350 L + 1.4xTC MC4 DGX (kenko is sharper them canon 1.4xTC) is still better picture quality and AF is faster them Sigma 150-500 Just bit darker.

I do not like borrow lenses as ones in the pass i just drop it and ...

I know that mirror have fixed aperture, and shallow DOF but any lens over 500mm will have shallow DOF.

I'm asking because is very cheep does any one have experience with samyang 800m f:8 or 500 f:5.6 they are just to cheep.

also what you can recommend es long tele 500 and over but please do not come with canon L and similar.

I know that price and picture quality are in different corners but maybe there is something on the middle.

One more time Thank you.

480sparky · Dec 1, 2012

I have both a Tokina 500 and Sigma 600mm old-school mirror lenses. Used with lots of attention, they CAN provide some great shots.

SCraig · Dec 1, 2012

My recommendation would be a crop-sensor body for the times that you need the extra reach. A used high-end crop sensor body will probably cost less than a long lens with good image quality, and will give you a 1.6 effective increase in focal length on a Canon body. Add your 1.4 TC and 350mm lens and you are up to nearly 800mm.

SCraig · Dec 1, 2012

480sparky said:
I have both a Tokina 500 and Sigma 600mm old-school mirror lenses. Used with lots of attention, they CAN provide some great shots.

Good shot. Any idea of the distance? The depth of field is REALLY razor thin!

That's an excellent example of the traditional mirror lens "Doughnut Bokeh" to.