vivitar and phoenix lenses

[nikon90s]

On ebay i found there lenses
Vivitar 600mm series 1 f8 for like $200
Phoenix 100mm to 400mm f4.5 - f6.7 for $170

are they worth getting go should I save my pennies to get a better one

 

[photobug]

Jim's 1st rule of photography:

Lenses rule, a camera is just a light-tight box.

Translation:

The lens really makes the picture (may be some argument talking digital SLRs, but that's another subject). Now the question is, what do you intend to do with the pictures you take? An inexpensive lens may well be perfect for touristy "I was there" type pics and then be totally unacceptable for printing 8x10s.

Examine your intended outcome and then determine if a particular lens will fit that need. If you will use a 600mm lens 5 times a year it doesn't make much sense to spend big bucks on a dust collector. OTOH, if you plan to shoot action shots weekly you would be better served buying a good (read that as expensive) lens.

And look beyond your immediate needs as well. Buying an inexpensive lens and then replacing it is more costly than saving for the better lens from the start. It is a two edged sword though. While you're saving for the better lens you could be taking pictures with the inexpensive one.

Now to directly address your question (finally, eh?)- Vivitar has been around for some time. Their lenses run the gamut from so-so to pretty damn good, so it's a crap shoot on what your getting. The Series One lenses were pretty good glass in their day. The one you're looking at is a mirror lens I think, so you need to factor that in as well.

Phoenix is a relatively new maker from Korea (I believe) that also brands for Samyang (and maybe others). Being so new I haven't seen much about them.

hth [/end rambling confusing post] :shock:

Jim

 

[voodoocat]

From what I have heard, it's best to stay away from the cheap mirror lenses. The quality sucks. I'm not sure about the zoom but you do get what you pay for. A zoom that has that high of a range is going to have a lot of elements... As you add elements, the sharpness drops of quickly.

 

[nikon90s]

that is what i thought I was going to hear, I plan on taking sports and nature shopts mostly with a long zoom. I have a sigma 80mm - 200mm f2.8 that I could use a x2 on but have heard bad things about doublers. I also have seen nikon ones that where $500.00 plus new but have had no luck finding one on ebay. I just want a good lens that will give me sharp 8 x 10 with out selling my car to get!! i would like to stay under $500-$800 if at all posible. I will be doing most of my shooting with a sigma 28 - 70 f 2.8 and only a little with the long zoom, but OTOH I don't want a pile of #%$@ eather lol. If I can find a used lens that will do a good job and can live with the sharpness in a 8 x 10 then i don't mind getting a OK lens.

 

[doxx]

I'd say with the 80-200mm Sigma, since it's f2.8, ur better off with a 2x converter (I saw Sigmas for around $200, some others on Ebay for cheaper)
think twice about these super-cheap, slow lenses... Oh, and a mirror lens has a fixed aperture and bad bokeh