On Mon, 19 Oct 1998 22:43:58 GMT, highwind@tiac.net (Howie A.) wrote:

> Anyone care to comment on the quality of this reflex lens?

I have one for sale, in really nice shape.....;-)
Compared with an older-style Nikkor 500mm f8
mirror with a TC14 attached (700mm f11...), the
Vivitar 800mm f11 Solid Cat (tiny!) was considerably
longer (maybe 900mm...?), a bit slower, and not quite
as sharp as the Nikkor combo in B&W - but quite nice, and
sharper than most mirrors I have seen. In color, the few
frames I shot with it were not impressively sharp (adequate,
maybe...) - but I have shot more slides with it since, yet
to be processed... The 800 is astonishingly compact for its
FL (or even 1/2 its FL...;-), though it is quite heavy.
About $650 would rest it from my grasp, with original
case, strap, and filters...