graybeard

I actually have 2 of these, which I tested along with several other cheap telephoto lenses awhile back. I posted the results here. The Spiratones both had fungi on their rear element lens, which I soaked in Hydrogen Piroxide to good, tho not perfect, effect. While they are long, they are not heavy, and are fairly handy for a lens of this focal length. One of them has a long lens hood. They took acceptable pictures, but their minimum focus was rather longer than I liked, I think about 40 feet or so. Because of that I didn't rate them as keepers, altho because of innate laziness on my part I have not yet listed them on ebay. But I rated them a good lens for the price, from $20 to $50 as I recall.

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

Never went to the Flushing store, never needed to, had one on 33rd St, nuf said,

whfowle Loc: Tampa first, now Albuquerque

The worst lens I ever bought was a Spiratone 18mm, f3.5. It put a grungy look on any picture and had severe vignetting. The only redeeming value was the low cost. I should have known better but that was in my early days. (early 70's)

weedhook

It will work with a Canon EOS camera, film or digital as long as you get the proper T-mount. There is an EOS T-mount that works with the lens. I have a 500mm lens I bought way back in the film days. Actually, Modern Photography tested it and found that it was a fairly sharp lens (for its time anyway). I've used mine on my DSLR with so-so results. It can be fun to play with, but it's not a lens for serious or critical work. I don't think I would spend more than $20 if I came across one today.

ELNikkor

It is best used as a T-ball bat...

pendennis

I was always wary of the lens tests performed by Modern Photography. The quality seemed to be somewhat dependent on the amount of advertising dollars spent by the company.

Spiratone had pages of ads in both Pop and Mod Photography mags. In fact, for years they held the honor position of the first vendor in the ad section. I've seen Spiratone lenses that had so much flare, that they could only be used on cloudy days, and a few that had focusing rings that virtually needed a wrench to turn. To be fair, they did have a lot of one-off accessories that others didn't have.

I tried the 400 f6.3 using a Pentax M-42 T-mount, and found that the lens was an absolute dog.

PS - I might take one off someone's hands, if they paid me $20.

Dziadzi Loc: Wilkes-Barre, PA

Nikon

pendennis

That's an insult to T-ball bats!