500mm mirror lens
 

Hi. I have used a 500mm mirror lens before on a film camera, so am familiar with some of the limitations of such lenses, but never fully tried it out due to cost of film etc..

My question is, in the digital world, is a mirror lens still useful / worth buying for grabbing quite far away distances? Certainly can't afford £5000 for a Nikon prime 500mm, and would be considerably smaller which is useful when going on holiday. Is a x2 adaptor worth bothering with to get double everything (1000mm f16)?

The camera I use is Nikon D700, so it should be capable of good images, but also show weaknesses of a lens.

Well, the 500mm prime will be an f/2.8, and the reflector an f/8 to start. I find that they are quite useful, though if you need a 500mm or a 1,000mm there are few other cost effective ways to take photos. If you really need it...

[QUOTE=D700guy;74086]Hi. I have used a 500mm mirror lens before on a film camera, so am familiar with some of the limitations of such lenses, but never fully tried it out due to cost of film etc..

My question is, in the digital world, is a mirror lens still useful / worth buying for grabbing quite far away distances? Certainly can't afford £5000 for a Nikon prime 500mm, and would be considerably smaller which is useful when going on holiday. Is a x2 adaptor worth bothering with to get double everything (1000mm f16)?

The camera I use is Nikon D700, so it should be capable of good images, but also show weaknesses of a lens.[/QUOTE]

I think, if 500mm was important to you, you'd have done better to buy a DX camera and a zoom with 300mm or 400mm at the long end. But that's not taking any other uses of the camera into account, and it's probably just my opinion anyway.

Chris

They never really caught on due to their limitations.

[QUOTE=canoman;75646]They never really caught on due to their limitations.[/QUOTE]

Not sure I'd agree with that. As long as you accept their limitations (i.e. speed and slight softness) and you like the 'doughnut' bokeh, they're fine, and a damn sight lighter/smaller to lug about.

I was out with a club a few weeks back and one of the guys was using a sony and a 500mm mirror lens and the results werent actually too bad not really cutting sharp and a bit dull but as long as you were prepared for this then you could save a small fortune also they are reasonably compact compared to a prime lens . have you considered the sigma 100-400 the non os models can be picked up second hand for not a lot of cash and they have the tripod collar for ballance on the mono pod / tripod . hope this helps :)

[QUOTE=jet_kit;75672]Not sure I'd agree with that. As long as you accept their limitations (i.e. speed and slight softness) and you like the 'doughnut' bokeh, they're fine, and a damn sight lighter/smaller to lug about.[/QUOTE]
You mention 3 limitions but but still think its a good lens what a strange man [url]http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif[/url]

[QUOTE=canoman;75881]You mention 3 limitions but but still think its a good lens what a strange man [url]http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif[/url][/QUOTE]

f8 is only a limitation is you don't have enough light; softness is only a limitation if you're after ultra-crisp detail (which you probably wouldn't expect on long-range stuff) and finally, the bokeh is only a limitation if you don't like it.
I don't believe I said it was a good lens, merely that it was fine [U]within[/U] the limitations I set out, none of which may be important to the potential buyer. Consider the alternative of a f2.8 500mm - it might weigh a ton,be 8 foot long and cost my photographic budget for the next 20 years - all of which I would list as pretty serious limitations, but if you're a Millionaire and it's permanently bolted to the floor of your studio, there's no problem. But, try sitting in the back of a Land Rover while bouncing around the Serengeti Plain and you'll quickly appreciate something small and light even if it's not the sharpest lens in the world.

Limitations are not a block to quality or satisfaction.

I have a 600mm f4 prime, it's one of the best lenses in the world, I can't hand hold it, it's great for some sports but rubbish for others, and it costs over £7,000. All pretty big limitations.