jeryh Loc: Oxfordshire UK

I have the Sony 500mm F 8, which is superb on my Sony A77 in bright sunlight- put it on a tripod- blow your socks off !

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

I have it's brother, Vivitar 800 F8, agree with your statements. Have mounts for Nikon, Canon and Sony/Min A-mount. I have the most fun with it and get the best performance with either Sony (A37/A58) due to the combination of the In Body Image Stabilization and the Clear Image Zoom (fancy name for variable digital crop - 1X to full 2X, or 800 to 1600 mm perceived reach), they really work surprisingly well together. Works with my Nikon bodies too, but you really miss the stabilization of the Sony bodies.

The other biggy, since the D7100 has the additional 1.3X crop, it, like the Sony Clear Image Zoom, takes away the vignetting that occurs with the lens, at 1.3X on the Nikon it is markedly better, and with the Sony you can dial it out from 1.3X all the way to 2X. With any of the cameras at normal DX sensor setting, fair amount of vignetting, but dial in a bit of crop, and at 1.3-1.4X it goes away. Sharpness - It is same for me, either tack sharp or it isn't, but have learned to get really good shots with it on the Sony bodies, where it stays, tripod mounted w/bungee dampers. Being able to jump to 1600MM crop with the IBIS (in body image stabilization) and a cheap Vello radio trigger make it a usefull tool.

I wouldn't spend a lot of money on one (unless it was the AF Minolta version), but for the $50-60 + an additional T-mount, a fun bargain. The other cool factor with camera bodies that have internal crop capability, no additional light loss (like with a tele-extender) for that extra perceived reach, meaning you can fill the frame from considerable distances, or with small subjects.

Not everyone's cup o tea, but OK for more use than I imagined. My $.02

Jerry Green Loc: Huntsville, AL

I have a nikon 500mm. It works very good, especially with the cameras that have focus peaking. Photos @
https://gofish.smugmug.com/Other/Nikon-500mm-f8-N-Reflex-lens/i-VvdBPnw

DrJ

I've had fun with my Tamron SP 500 f8 mirror lens that I bought used for my aps-c Canon 40D (10MPx) circa 2010. Attached is a hand-held photo of a buck that walked by my deck. I also have some nice moon photos taken at 500mm and with the Tamron SP 2x teleconverter. I like the lens enough that I bought a second one and use it on my Olympus OM-D-E-M5. DrJ

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

I forgot to mention that too (focus peaking), it is also a big help!!

markwilliam1

Hey Bill, I had the Minolta AF 500mm on my Sony a77ii also. I believe it was the first AF mirror lens ever made. Gotta love Minolta AF lenses man! However I couldn’t stand the bokeh! Those little circles drove me nuts! Sold it.

ELNikkor

I have the 1000mm f11 Nikkor. It is capable of some acceptably sharp photos when the focus is right on, and the shutter speed is high enough. I have used it for dramatic sun shots, moon shots, and even some distant wildlife photos. Digital helps make it sharper than I was usually able to get with film, plus, being able to bump up the ISO helps get a faster shutter speed. What is tricky is fine focusing at f11 and a very narrow depth of focus! If you would like, I can send you some examples in a private message.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I have two Nikkor mirror lenses. One is a 500mm f/8. The other is a 1000mm f/11. I use them both from time to time.
--Bob

penndragonn

I have one of those massive Russian 10/1000mm mirror lenses. Did I say massive?? Got it at an acceptable price. Images are fine. Focusing is a challenge, but once you get used to it, it's fine. Focus peaking def helps. Use it on my Fuji X-H1. Images are actually quite nice. Did a lot of research on them. For certain conditions and applications, can't be beat for the price.

redlegfrog

If you are just out for fun, it's a fun lens, I drag mine out every now and then just to play.
Why do people shoot black powder rifles? it fun!

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Having one of those, I found that shooting with mirror lock up and a 5 pound bag of shot placed on the camera helps tremendously.
--Bob

Davethehiker Loc: South West Pennsylvania

That lens is an exception and good in the right hands. Most mirror lenses suck. That old Minolta 500mm f/8 has auto focus ability and works very well indeed when placed on a Sony A99II.

markwilliam1

What about the lousy bokeh? Little annoying circles! The lens is able to take tack sharp images and the AF is a plus.

Davethehiker Loc: South West Pennsylvania

It depends on how distant the subject and background are. I'm going to attach an image where I was about 150 yards from the subject(s) and the background was just beyond the subject so it worked. Had the subject been a lot closer and the background more distant I would have got those circles, just like DrJ got in his photo above.

(Download)

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

I am not aware of any autofocus mirror lens meant for DSLR. Mirrors are fixed-aperture lenses. So a mirror on a DSLR is all manual.

I tried out my 500mm Vivitar Canon-FD-mount on my Canon DSLR, with a Fotodiox adapter. Two points:

As we all know :-), an FD-to-EF adapter requires a lens element to achieve infinity focus. But since mirrors typically focus past the infinity point. they focus TO infinity just fine without the low-quality lens element. Mine was removable, so I took it out. So the mirror lens functioned fine on the DSLR, focuswise and with manual exposure setting.

The thing is, 500mm on my crop-sensor camera gives an 800mm viewpoint (actually more because of the adapter thickness), which is extremely difficult for me to aim, follow movement with, maintain focus and hold steady.
With a stationary subject and a tripod there's no problem.

Image "quality" is a matter of opinion and acceptability level. So if you want to try it, go for it!