burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Nice lamp. The slides fade pretty quickly, though.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

Good point.

agillot

this same lens was sold under 5 or 6 brands , it is just a T mount lens preset , it fit anything with the right adaptor [ $ 5 ] under the right conditions it is not that bad , it suffer from chromatic aberration in bright sunlight , used one for about a year for birds , got some descent result most of the time , just dont crop much , you will loose sharpness fast .worth used about $ 20

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

I think f6.3 would be less limiting now than when it was made, ASA 400 vs ISO 1200, light weight, crop sensor makes it apx 600mm, many long lenses are too heavy to carry for long periods, might be worth a try, almost sorry I got rid of mine, but then I don't do as much long lens stuff anymore, Bob.

PGHphoto Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

I disagree on your assessment of Sigma. I would put their current lenses up against anyone else's glass. The ART series in my experience is as good as the camera makers high end glass and the independent tests support that assertion. There are always people who swear by a brand but I go by proven results and let the manufacturer loyalists pay extra to have a certain name on their lenses.

I am not saying that in every instance there is a better lens from Sigma than a camera manufacturer offers but that I count nobody out until I see actual results rather then blind brand loyalty.

olsonsview

Sigma, Tokina, Tamron, and etc make excellent lenses nowadays. In the old days Sigma was usually the cheapest and helped many amateurs on a budget get their feet wet, enough said? But I would not turn my back on them now, great stuff! I still have an older Sigma zoom stashed in my drawer amongst a dozen Nikkors.
By the way there was also a 500mm f8 version of the same lens we are talking about, also light, but harder to focus with that F8.

Dziadzi Loc: Wilkes-Barre, PA

I thought we were talking about a flash unit, not a lens.

Pochon53

I wouldn't mess with it. 6.3 is VERY slow.

cambriaman Loc: Central CA Coast

Definitely lower quality glass. Back in the day I had a Spiratone 400-mm for my Exakta VXIIa film camera. Not great but if it's all you can afford you can grab some shots you otherwise would miss. I agree, you wouldn't get much money for it.

ORpilot Loc: Prineville, Or

I have one of these. Not that heavy at all. I has a better image than my $99. 500mm mirror lens. It is all metal construction. T-Mount adapter required. I have used it on my sony a6000 without any problems. May not be the greatest quality but it fit into my poor college student budget back in the 1970s. For those skeptics out there,: I have included a "hand Held" shot from my Spiratone 400mm and a6000. Happy Shooting

FLBill

Looks like the twin of the Vivitar 400mm I have from when I was a college student in the early 70s.
It took half decent photos when used on my old Nikormat.
Still have both collecting dust.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

This is a great point. EVERY lens manufacturer I know of makes *some* decent glass. MANY make *some* great glass. MOST also sell some bargain basement lenses that I would not want to own.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

The Store was on northern blvd in Flushing. Still have a spiratone tripod. Still works.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Don't let my moniker fool you, I am not blind brand loyal. Although my Nikon lenses are very very very sharp, all my landscape photo's are taken with Zeiss T* lenses and yes you can put your Sigma lenses up against them if you like, you can even use the ART series, makes no difference, Sigma cannot stand up to Zeiss quality and longevity. It is the same argument Sigma users always have and always will use, "they are just as good as Canon, Nikon or Sony glass". But the real reason MOST folks buy them is because they are CHEAPER than the Canon, Nikon and Sony glass. THAT'S THE MAIN REASON THEY SELL. Make Sigma glass the same price as Canon, Nikon, and Sony and they would not sell nearly as many. Why? You know the answer.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Spiratone gear was out-sourced from various manufacturers... some is okay, but a lot of it is cheap junk.

I've used lenses like that one with limited success. Still have a very similar Vivitar 400mm around somewhere.

They are all "T-mount" lenses.... which means they use interchangeable mounts to be easily and inexpensively adapted for use on almost any SLR/DSLR system, old or new. Just buy the correct T-mount, unscrew whatever is on it (may use set screws to lock it in place and to adjust the center line of the lens to be on top... technically a "T2-mount") and install the new mount. There are no mechanical connections. Some modern cameras can give Focus Confirmation function if a "chipped" T-mount adapter is used. (BTW: the "T" in T-mount stands for "Tamron", who invented the system back in the 1960s or so.)

That lens is manual focus only, of course. It also uses a "Preset" manual aperture. This design uses two aperture rings, one of which you "preset" to the aperture you will be using, although the aperture remains open to allow for easiest manual focusing.Then, just before you take the shot you turn the other ring to actually stop the lens down and the first ring you set stops it at your chosen aperture. This is a bit slower than modern lenses with their automatically stopped down apertures that work in conjunction with auto exposure-capable cameras. You can use the camera's internal meter to determine exposures, with a "match needle" technique.

Notice that the lens has a tripod mounting ring, too.... You're likely to want to use it with a tripod, or at lease a monopod. Without any form of image stabilization, it can be a bit challenging to get a steady shot.

The optics of those lenses are actually pretty simple... usually just 2 or 3 elements in one group. Not terribly high quality, they usually have only minimal coatings, if at all. For that reason I always used a nice, deep lens hood to keep oblique light off the large front element. That helps make for usable images with it. A hood usually was included with them, but if missing a replacement can be found (though it might cost nearly as much as the lens itself!)

If planning to sell it, you might get $30 to $60 for it. They rarely sold brand new for much more than $100.