On Wed, 29 Apr 1998 02:35:03 GMT, rueyloon@cyberway.com.sg (Ung Ruey Loon) wrote:

>Just a simple question, will a mirror lens take a 'nice' nature photo
>?
>I know about the donat shaped highlights and out of focus areas, but I
>need views from all, is that nice ? it is different but.......
>
>I also need comments comparing the following lenses
>value for money and performance.
>
>thanks!!
>
>1)russian mirror 500mm (the logo has a 'c' with a circle and a
>triangle around it) usd $130
>2)nikkor 500mm f8 mirror usd$ $330
>3)tokina sd 400mm f5.6 $260
>4)sigma apo 400mm f5.6 old version $260
>5)sigma apo 500mm f7.2 $330

Hmmm, yes, good photos of high technical quality can be taken
with mirrors (just see my web page for several examples, ;-),
;-), ;-). Of the two mirrors above, the older-style Nikkor is
outstandingly good (and good enough to still be good on the
TC-14/14B converter. I was not very impressed with the 1000mm
Russian mirror I had (but the Nikkor 500 is better than the
1000mm Nikkor mirror...). I have not heard much good about the
Sigma 500mm non-mirror above, but if you can stop it down, I
suspect that it would be OK, as "inexpensive" 500's go...
I did not like the older Sigma APO I tried (the newer one
is better...), or the older Tokina 400mm I tried. The Tamron
500mm f8 mirror was not up to the Nikkor, but was useable.
Most cheap 500mm mirrors are really terrible.