Mirror Lenses Yay or Nay???

[Munky]

Hey i'm seeing this "cheap" mirror lenses on ebay and otehr sites that range from 500-1300mm are these any good...does anyone has one???

 

[ANDS!]

You will get what you pay for. The design that goes into building a GOOD lens in the range of 600 and above is reflected in the cost. If you see something "affordable" you're going to get something like a F/11 minimum aperture and various other "goodies". These things aren't meant to be cheap. If you want something to just play with, by all means go for it, but realize you aren't going to be getting a quality lens. Generally this statement doesn't apply to third party solutions, but at some point the price IS justified for first part lenses.

 

[gsgary]

A big NAY :thumbdown:

 

[Munky]

lol i mena i know a good 500mm lens goses for $1k
but some times cheap alternatives "work" i just wanted to see if anyone heres has one...cuz i've seen really good photos with those mirror ones....

 

[SrBiscuit]

i would call those "novelty lenses"...
fun to see what you can grab at 1300mm, but IQ worth a squat.

 

[Mystwalker]

I think those are "useable" if you have plenty of sunlight, if you are shooting something stationary (like a building), and using a tripod ... probably also need other skills which I lack.

... so I decided to save for lens that I know "works" (100-400, 150-500) - mainly something with IS/OS.

 

[KmH]

lol i mena i know a good 500mm lens goses for $1k
but some times cheap alternatives "work" i just wanted to see if anyone heres has one...cuz i've seen really good photos with those mirror ones....

Actually a good 500mm lens goes for $6000 to $29,000 .

 

[Battou]

lol i mena i know a good 500mm lens goses for $1k
but some times cheap alternatives "work" i just wanted to see if anyone heres has one...cuz i've seen really good photos with those mirror ones....

Mirror lenses are A big NAY :thumbdown:

You would be much better off buying one of those cheap disposable Phoenix or Opteka telephoto lenses than a mirror lens.

The Phoenix and Opteka 500mm telephotos are manual, notoriously slow and known for inconsistant quality but, they are through and through telephotos made for every concievable SLR mount. They can be found new for around $120 (USD).

They are cheap but but unlike the mirror lenses they have variable aperture and won't blow doughnuts all over your photos background.

NEW 500mm / 1000mm LENS KIT Olympus E520 E420 E510 E410 - eBay (item 200345933797 end time Jun-24-09 07:30:33 PDT)

500mm/1000mm Lens for Olympus Evolt E-520 E-420 E-510 - eBay (item 300319478524 end time Jun-08-09 17:09:56 PDT)

 

[epp_b]

Mirror lenses are cheap because they don't require the same optics as refractive (normal) lenses.

However, they have some major pitfalls:

• They have no adjustable diaphragm (only one aperture, usually f/8 or slower)
• The bokeh is in the shape on doughnuts (not usually desirable, but can be a neat effect)
• They are all manual focus. Manually focusing at 500mm or longer would be extremely difficult because the shallow depth of field, even at f/8 or slower.

I consider these novelty or effect lenses in the same light as I do fisheye lenses. If I had money to burn, I'd get it for fun, but otherwise, forget about it.

The Phoenix and Opteka 500mm telephotos are manual, notoriously slow and known for inconsistant quality but, they are through and through telephotos made for every concievable SLR mount. They can be found new for around $120 (USD).

I've seen samples from these. They are horrific. Their technical quality is so poor, I wouldn't even consider these limitations artistic.

Do yourself a favour by finding what it is you really want, waiting for the right deal and jumping on it. Don't waste your money on these garbage lenses. If what you want is reach on a budget, Sigma has a number of XX-500mm and XXX-500mm lenses.

 

[Battou]

The Phoenix and Opteka 500mm telephotos are manual, notoriously slow and known for inconsistant quality but, they are through and through telephotos made for every concievable SLR mount. They can be found new for around $120 (USD).

I've seen samples from these. They are horrific. Their technical quality is so poor, I wouldn't even consider these limitations artistic.

Do yourself a favour by finding what it is you really want, waiting for the right deal and jumping on it. Don't waste your money on these garbage lenses. If what you want is reach on a budget, Sigma has a number of XX-500mm and XXX-500mm lenses.

I never said they where good, just better than the crap you get from mirror lenses.

 

[epp_b]

I never said they where good, just better than the crap you get from mirror lenses.

Based on the samples I've seen, I have to disagree.