Which 500mm lens
Feb 17, 2019 11:36:13 #
Which 500mm lens is best with a Canon Rebel T3i camera---a mirrored lens or a longer mirrorless lens? Please share opinions and/or idea. Thank you.
Feb 17, 2019 11:49:44 #
Feb 17, 2019 12:00:20 #
imagemeister wrote:
"Best" for what ?? - Mirrored lenses are MANUAL focus
MOST are. Minoltas 500mm was AF.
Feb 17, 2019 12:02:54 #
neh wrote:
Which 500mm lens is best with a Canon Rebel T3i camera---a mirrored lens or a longer mirrorless lens? Please share opinions and/or idea. Thank you.
Standard AF lenses will always be "best" on a Canon Rebel body whose small Penta mirror viewfinder makes manually focusing any lens difficult. Also the available AF refractive lenses available today are wider aperture that mirrored (reflective) lenses, but also more expensive.
Feb 17, 2019 12:08:03 #
MT Shooter wrote:
MOST are. Minoltas 500mm was AF.
Yes, I know - I have one - but the OP has Canon ....
Feb 17, 2019 12:09:29 #
neh wrote:
Which 500mm lens is best with a Canon Rebel T3i camera---a mirrored lens or a longer mirrorless lens? Please share opinions and/or idea. Thank you.
Mirror lenses are just not worth the investment. The DOF is something like 1/8th of an inch, so forget using it handheld. The circular bokeh is nice though.
Feb 17, 2019 12:09:47 #
neh wrote:
Which 500mm lens is best with a Canon Rebel T3i camera---a mirrored lens or a longer mirrorless lens? Please share opinions and/or idea. Thank you.
The best long lens for the money on Canon is the 400mm f5.6 L .
Feb 17, 2019 12:36:13 #
500mm for your Rebel T3i? The same 500mm that applies to all Canon EOS bodies: EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, a $9000, 7 lb monster that works best with a tripod and gimbal for a stable platform, or at least a monopod, although can be hand-held if you have the arms for it.
For more economical lenses, have a look at used and / or older, discontinued models.
For more economical lenses, have a look at used and / or older, discontinued models.
Feb 17, 2019 13:11:41 #
Thanks for all of your replies. Has anyone had any experience with the Bower 500mm F8 mirrorless lens? Was also considering a mirrored lens 500mm F8. I recognize that both are manual focus. With all my earlier photography experience using a Nikorrmat FT2 with manual focus lens using a manual focus lens with my camera does not seem too difficult. I have been doing it with some adapters for my older Nikon lenses. So, that being said, I still welcome opinions relative to my initial question. Mirrored or mirrorless?
Feb 17, 2019 13:15:21 #
Feb 17, 2019 13:15:34 #
EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, a $9000 investment, would be nice but it is outside my budget. So I need to look at some of the less expensive options. Thanks.
Feb 17, 2019 13:45:23 #
neh wrote:
EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, a $9000 investment, would be nice but it is outside my budget. So I need to look at some of the less expensive options. Thanks.
I knew it would be. It's outside my budget too. But I wanted to answer your question as asked.
What's hard to answer about your question is the lack of details about what you want to accomplish and what budget limits exist. The 500mm length typically is used for wildlife. Of course technically, you can manually focus, but is that practical or even realistic for your intended subjects? Deer grazing in a meadow, maybe. Birds in a nest, maybe. Planes / birds flying, not really.
Your image quality expectations also play into the decision. The Bower 500mm f/6.3 manual focus is listed as $120 on B&H. Look at some of the customer's example images. Is that the quality / capability you desire for a $120 investment? The Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD Lens for Canon is listed at $950, also with example customer images. There are several options between these two price points, for both primes and zooms, that retain autofocus on your EOS body.
Feb 17, 2019 14:17:39 #
neh wrote:
Which 500mm lens is best with a Canon Rebel T3i camera---a mirrored lens or a longer mirrorless lens? Please share opinions and/or idea. Thank you.
No mirrored lens, the best would be Canon's own 500/f4L III mirror lenses are basically crap!
Feb 17, 2019 14:21:40 #
neh wrote:
EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, a $9000 investment, would be nice but it is outside my budget. So I need to look at some of the less expensive options. Thanks.
Generally speaking, most refracting lenses will out perform most mirror lenses - but there are a few exceptions. Speaking from experience, The Minolta 500 AF mirror is a great lens ! Other mirrors thought to be quite good are the Nikon 500 f8, the Tamron SP 500 f8, and the Sigma 600 f8 and maybe the Canon FD 500 f8. I also have the Russian Arax/Rubinar for the Pentagon six labeled 500 5.6 which is pretty good - but is much closer to being a 600 f8.....
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Feb 17, 2019 14:29:12 #
imagemeister wrote:
Generally speaking, most refracting lenses will out perform most mirror lenses - but there are a few exceptions. Speaking from experience, The Minolta 500 AF mirror is a great lens ! Other mirrors thought to be quite good are the Nikon 500 f8, the Tamron SP 500 f8, and the Sigma 600 f8 and maybe the Canon FD 500 f8. I also have the Russian Arax/Rubinar for the Pentagon six labeled 500 5.6 which is pretty good - but is much closer to being a 600 f8.....
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Sony A77II and Arax/Rubinar MC 500 F5.6 mirror with 20% CROP......
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