In article <3537df8e.38462348@news.cp-tel.net>, kreg@cp-tel.net says...

>I'm a beginner from Louisiana and have been using a 75-300 AF Nikkor
>on my N70 to take wildlife pictures at places such as my home in
>sabine parish, at the Sabine refuge and also at Kisatchie NF. While I
>really like the 75-300 there are some instances that I'd like to pull
>an animal in even closer. So, I'm looking for information about the
>Nikon 500/8 , mainly picuture quality and the like. [.......]

I may be in the minority, but I really LIKE the older (non-macro)
version of the Nikkor 500mm f8 mirror, and I have gotten a lot of
good images with it. It is also the only mirror I have seen so far
that is good on a converter (the TC14/14B Nikkor). Image quality is
good with this mirror - about as good as the big EDIF teles when they
are used wide-open (which is to say, image quality is excellent, but
the expensive lenses will beat the mirror some when stopped down to
f8 or so... (See the Nikkor evaluation list on my web page, under
"I babble".)
David Ruether
http://www.fcinet.com/ruether