Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)The Skinny:
This lens is cheap. It is well built, feels smooth, but is really a telescope adapted to a camera. This is BAD JUJU (With a twist, read on!)
The Long:
When I first opened the box I was really impressed by the build quality. The machining of the barrel was perfect, as was the paint job. The objective lens was beautiful, and the secondary mirror mounting element was perfectly centered and machined. Everything reeked of professionalism and excellent quality control. The second thing to strike me is that the thing is really massive. It has an extremely large front element, and that strangeness is exacerbated by the secondary mirror mount smack dab in the middle. Upon investigating further I discovered 3 tiny screw in filters that were a .2 and .6 neutral density with a Skylight filter (color warming) These tiny filters screw into the back of the lens where it mounts to the camera, which can make it a real pain if you choose to change or remove one because you have to take off the T adapter first in order fit your fingers in there.
Why all these talk of primary and secondary mirrors? This lens is a Cassegrain reflector telescope. The light enters the front where it is bounced off a concave primary mirror at the rear to a secondary convex mirror at the front, which then travels through the hole in the center of the primary mirror in the rear into the cameras mirror box. Sounds fantastic right? Depends on your application. This configuration yields an incredibly small depth of field when dealing with things inside the hyperfocal distance. Basically anything inside the "infinity" setting has a small depth of field. Were talking almost macro small. 1 to 3 inches maximum. Very depressing unless you consider its true design, a telescope. More on that later.
My first "wildlife" trial shots were taken on a nice steady tripod with the 2 second shutter delay on. I consistently got blurred images due to "Mirror Slap" (The vibration of the mirror raising to expose the shutter) and this was only alleviated by using the mirror lock up and Live View, which is a pain for shooting wildlife to say the least. Secondly the tiny depth of field ruined all shots as the farther part of the subject rapidly blurred in a very unpleasant manner. So wildlife and sports photography are out for this lens.
However considering this lenses telescope construction prompted me to wait for nightfall and try taking some astronomical photos. I was incredibly pleased! At 500mm the moon fills most of the frame, and being beyond the hyperfocal distance the entire thing stayed crisp and sharp, again provided I used the mirror lock up.
Pros: Cheap, Well Constructed, Lightweight for 500mm, Short for 500mm
Cons: Limited Uses, f/8, Tripod (Must), Cable Release (Optional)
Notes: I would give it 2 stars were it not for its incredible build quality. I wish all my lenses were built to this standard!
Click Here to see more reviews about: Opteka 500mm f/8 High Definition Telephoto Mirror Lens for Canon EOS 1D, 5D, 7D, 10D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, 60D, Rebel XT, XTi, XS, XSi, T1i, T2i, T3i & T3 Digital SLR Cameras
The Opteka manual focus mirror lens is incredibly compact and lightweight. Using an advanced reflex design, this is a mirror lens that is ideally suited for wildlife and sports photography. It has a fixed aperture of f8. It comes complete with a soft pouch and three (3) rear mounted, 30.5mm filters, (ND-2X, ND-4X & Skylight). Opteka mirror lenses incorporates advanced computer designed optics and the latest in multi-coating techniques.รก The process of multi-coating assures virtually flare free photographs even under adverse lighting conditions resulting in crisp high contrast pictures with full color fidelity.SpecificationsFilter Size: 72mm front, 30.5mm rearf/Stop Range: f/8.0 (fixed) Minimum Focus Distance: 5.6' (1.7 m)Magnification: 1:3Angle of View: 5°Groups/Elements: 6/7Length: 3.4" (8.6 cm)Maximum Diameter: 3.0" (7.6 cm)Weight: 0.79 lb (360 g)Included Items~ Opteka 500mm f/8 Telephoto Mirror Lens~ 3 Filters (Skylight, Nd 2x, Nd 4x)~ T-Mount Lens Adapter~ Lens Caps~ Lens Pouch~ 10 Year Warranty
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