Opteka 650-1300mm High Definition Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon EOS 1D, 5D, 7D, 10D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, 60D, Rebel XT, XTi, XS, XSi, T1i, T2i, T3 and T3i Digital SLR Cameras

by Opteka

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B000IMRTFO
• Item model number: Opt-650-1300-30D
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 14, 2006

Product Description

The Opteka 650-1300mm high definition super telephoto zoom lens is perfect for the professional and amateur photographer alike. There is a built-in, rotating tripod mount for easily attaching to your tripod or monopod. It's an extremely powerful telephoto zoom lens with the versatility that you need. This lens is great for the wildlife or nature photographer who wants to be hidden while taking photos of the subject. Advances in ultra high-index / low-dispersion optical glasses, new barrel materials, and exotic anti-reflection coatings, along with the latest in computer-aided-design / computer-aided-manufacturing), are combined to produce lenses of unprecedented quality. Diamond-cut from crystal-clear, water-white optical glass, Opteka lenses are ground and polished to a precise precision.

Specifications
Zoom Type: Push/Pull (Two-touch)
Focus Modes: Manual Focus
Minimum Focus Distance: 16' (4.9 m)
Angle of View: 3.8 to 2 Degrees
Aperture: f/8-16
Filter Size: 95mm
Max Diameter: 4.1" (105mm)
Length: 18.5" (23.3" at full zoom)
Weight: 4.4 lb (2 kg)

Included Items
~ Opteka High Definition 650-1300mm Super Telephoto Zoom Lens
~ T-Mount Lens Adapter
~ Lens Hood
~ Padded Pouch with Shoulder Strap
~ Front and Rear Lens Caps

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

86 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good starter lens., May 28, 2009

By 

Harold N. Moore - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Opteka 650-1300mm High Definition Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon EOS 1D, 5D, 7D, 10D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, 60D, Rebel XT, XTi, XS, XSi, T1i, T2i, T3 and T3i Digital SLR Cameras (Electronics)

I used this lens quite a lot before I purchased a Canon 400mm prime lens. Although the Opteka lens is somewhat soft and has some chromatic abberation, the images are quite good if the subject has good contrast. I've used this lens with a 1.4X tele extender as well. The resolving power at 1200mm is about 85-90% that of the Canon 400mm used with a 3X tele extender(giving the same 1200mm). I used a test chart similar to the ISO12233 chart to check the resolving power. Where the Canon shines is that it has next to no color shifts in the shadows or on the edges of images. Small black areas will go deep blue and small bright areas (like an egret against a dark background) will have a litttle blue edge on one side and orange edge on the other with the Opteka, but this not normally noticeable unless the image is blown up. Normal subjects will not usually show the chromatic abberation, except on the edges of an image WHEN BLOWN UP.

The focusing on the Opteka is CRITICAL and gets difficult past 900mm, since the light gets prettty low. I made and put a Vernier scale on my lens and got pretty good focus by splitting the slightly out of focus near and far focus distances. I have some excellent hawk and egret images taken with the Opteka 650-1300 mm lens (email me at
[e-mail] for some images if you like). I also made some cardboard STOPS for this lens which work well. It is not practical to go much beyond F22 because of diffraction. A 2X tele is NOT recommended--F32 at max focal length--because diffraction is becoming significant and will blur the image AND, of course, the focus is very difficult. A high quality 1.4X teleconverter will give you 1800mm at f22 with fair images--but the focus is critical and DIFFICULT. If you learn to focus this lens--gets much more difficult past 650mm--then you can get some
pretty good images.

The Opteka is a good starter lens IF you cannot afford the Canon or long focal length Tamrons etc. The main advantage of this lens is its very low cost. The Tamron 200-500mm is close to $1000 and the resolving power is similar. I had fun with Opteka lens and now I don't need it since I have
purchased the Canon 400mm (I can stack 3X and 1.4X teles on the canon to get around 1700mm--again the focus is MANUAL and very difficult past 1000mm since the light levels are so very low (on both lenses). I have also put a Vernier scale on my canon, and it is handy for distant birds that are very far away and must be, therefore, shot at 1700mm. This works well IF THEY WILL JUST STAY STILL.

The Opteka is about 4 1/2 pounds and takes a litle time setting up on a medium sized tripod--this sized tripod will work satisfactory--although I like my heavier duty tripod with Cullmann ball head. Again the
lens is not as sharp as a canon, but similar to that of the Tamron. I compared test chart images of the Opteka at 650mm and my Tamron 70-300mm zoom with a 2X Tamron teleconverter at distances where
the image was the same size. The Opteka resolved as well as the Tamron, but I had to really get it in focus, which I did with the Vernier scale.

124 of 132 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Big lens, Big zoom., October 3, 2006

By 

Kyle Cain "Bookaholic" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Opteka 650-1300mm High Definition Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon EOS 1D, 5D, 7D, 10D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, 60D, Rebel XT, XTi, XS, XSi, T1i, T2i, T3 and T3i Digital SLR Cameras (Electronics)

There are many positive features about this lens and there are a few negative this too. I have used this lens on Canon and Nikon cameras, it can be adapted to any mount with the correct t-adapter.

-This lens produces very sharp pictures only if you have your camera on a tripod. With all lenses, the more zoom, the less area of view. Do not think you will be holding this lens in your hands shooting.
-This lens needs light. It works great outdoors. I have taken many shots of birds, houses, trees, ect)

Overall, it is the only lens under $600 that can zoom as far as it can. You just need to understand want it can and cannot do. I am happy with it.

107 of 117 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A realistic review, August 25, 2008

By 

Ken Sayers (Hollis, OK United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Opteka 650-1300mm High Definition Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon EOS 1D, 5D, 7D, 10D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, 60D, Rebel XT, XTi, XS, XSi, T1i, T2i, T3 and T3i Digital SLR Cameras (Electronics)

If considering this lense, it is important to be realistic. You can't by a high quality telephoto lense of this size for such a low price. For a good lense of this size a couple of zeroes would need to be added to the price. You will also a need substantial tripod and that will be fairly expensive. You will not be able to get by with the 30 dollar ones, so don't fool yourself. Everything on this lense is manuel. If you are using it on a digital camera as I have on a Canon XTi, none of your automatic features will work. You will have to manuelly zoom, manually focus, and you cannot set the apature at all. The longer you extend the lense the more light will be need, of course, and the poorer the quality. The 2X converter that comes with the package is a nice gesture, but it is really obsolete because the picture quality will be so bad that it is not worth using.
Even with all this in mind, the picture quality is my biggest concern. You will be able to zoom in from a far distrance, but picures will be full of noise and muted colors. I can easily tell if pictures have been taken by this lense as opposed to others.
Having said all this, I am reasonably happy with the lense because I did not expect perfection at such a low price. The simple fact is, I don't have thousands of dollars to spend on a lense and I do believe the lense is worth the money that it cost.