mirror lens anyone?

[Manfred M]

Joe,

I would check out the Sigma 150-500mm. It is a great lens for the price and with certain cameras you may add a TC to extend the length. Frankly, I have a TC for my lens and haven't gotten great results. But the Sigma lens on my Nikon D7000 has yielded some very good images and I haven't found it to be as clunky as some of the reviews. I suspect it is about two to three times as much as a 500mm mirror lens but it is worth the money to be sure.

I guess the other option would be a trusty raft! Sometimes one has to do strange things to get the shot they want.... Just a thought.

Our experience with the 150- 500mm Sigma has not been good. We've had it less than 10 months and has been back to Sigma for repairs twice already. The first time both internal focus motor and the controller board had to be replaced and the second time the focus motor had gone again. The second incident happened while we were in Namibia, and in fact the day before we got the shot of the leopard. Needless to say, we were not very happy about that at all...

[krispix]

Hi guys,
I've come into this a bit late (I've been away).
I had a Nikon 500mm f8 mirror (or catadioptric) lens for many years and rather liked it. Sure it has problems, the bokeh is not to everyone's taste and it can be a bit slow at times. It's biggest problem is that it tends to be a bit soft (lacking in contrast), but that's pretty easily fixed with today's software. As for auto-focus - some of us can remember when such a thing never existed and all lenses had to be focused manually. Personally, I don't find auto-focus saves any time and I usually turn it off.