Customer Reviews

Opteka High Definition 500mm f/8 Preset Telephoto Lens for Nikon Digital & Film SLR Cameras

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this lens too take pictures of primates in Kenya, and it works great in well lit outdoor conditions with a tripod. This lens is way to large for indoor use, and does not render photos well with out ample light. This is not an auto focus lens so get good at focusing it. Also you will have to set your DSLR to full manual to use it. My biggest problem is that all of the fstop numbers and focal lengths are at the bottom of the lens, but then again I'm looking through a viewfinder so it doesn't really matter.

Not for beginners, but its a steal if you are willing to work with it.

Also fast shipping was a plus.

After adjusting the aperature of the camera for varying light conditions, this lens will produce very good pictures, when mounted on a stable tripod. The construction is excellent and impressive. The price of this lens, for what it will do, makes it a good purchase and will give some versatility and fun to picture taking, and as stated before, adjusting the camera for varible light conditions is necessary as the camera will have to be set to manual mode. Also, the vendor, 47th Street Photo, provides very good service.

I don't really agree with the other review. I did sell my lens but I did not have problems with the picture quality at all. You have to really be careful though how you set all of the settings to get pictures really far away to come in clear. This is a professional lens, and it does take some knowledge to use. As far as cheap, I do not for one minute think that this lens is cheap. It is built very well. As far as not being able to take pictures in the dark like the other review said, my God you are shooting so far away you would have to have football stadium lights for a flash if you wanted to light up the place in the dark. I really liked the lens pretty good. My only complaint is that it is heavy and you need a good tripod not some cheap piece of junk.

Before I review the lens, I want to lay down a disclaimer: You really need to know what you're buying before you buy this lens. This is a fully manual lens. To use the lens with your Nikon DSLR, you'll have to put the camera in Manual mode. Aperture and focus are controlled manually. The light metering on your camera will not work either, so you've got to take some time figuring out the right settings for your exposure. If you've never used your camera on full manual mode, you might want to practice a bit before buying this lens, because it does require some patience and effort.

With that out of the way, the Opteka 500mm f/8 telephoto lens is a great cheap alternative to dropping a lot of cash on a fully automatic super telephoto lens. For a hobbyist nature/birding photographer on a budget (a recent college grad like me), getting 500mm of reach (or 750mm equivalent with the Nikon DX format) for $90 is fantastic. I have had the lens for about 10 days now and I have taken ~500 exposures with it on 4 different outings. You can see the best of my results from the photos I posted on the amazon product page. I think the results can be terrific, especially considering that I wouldn't have been able to get the shots I got without a super telephoto lens.

When well-focused, images appear more than acceptably sharp. But the depth of field is fairly shallow, so there is little forgiveness if you are a little off. Most of my frustration with the lens comes from not being able to manually focus precisely enough. Still, a little practice makes perfect. It took me about 8 attempts to get the image of the moon that I posted on Amazon's product page, but I did get a good one in the end. That brings up an important point: you'll have the best success with stationary objects. I had some luck with flying birds and speeding boats, but those shots were again the result of multiple attempts.

The image quality of this lens can be great but occasionally has some problems. The contrast is a little low, but some digital post processing easily takes care of that. The big issue that I don't know how to easily get around is the purple fringing that can occur around bright white objects in my photos. The purple outline can be extremely pronounced, ruining an otherwise great shot.

The lens is heavy and sturdy, though the aperture ring on my lens is a little loose. I like the feel of the focusing ring, the rotation is smooth and secure. The T-mount that attaches the lens to the camera body has very fine threading, so be careful when you screw it on to the lens. Also, the plastic rear lens cap that comes with the lens does not fit when the T-mount is attached. I did find, however, that a Nikon rear lens cap works perfectly well on the lens, so you can use one of those when this lens is not in use.

When considering this lens, I wasn't sure if I wanted to buy this refractive lens (just glass elements in the lens) or if I wanted to buy the similarly priced Opteka 500mm f/8 High Definition Telephoto Mirror Lens for Nikon D3, D3S, D3X, D40, D40x, D50, D60, D70, D80, D90, D100, D200, D300, D300S, D700, D3000, D3100, D5000, D7000 Digital SLR Cameras. The mirror lens is MUCH more compact and lightweight. However, after looking at some photos posted online from both of these lenses, I was less impressed with the mirror lens. I didn't like the donut bokeh effect produced by the mirror lens. Plus, it seems that the mirror lens has more issues with chromatic aberration. If you're more concerned with lugging this heavy, long lens around, you might prefer the mirror lens.

Yes, you will need a well-lit day to get really good results. Yes, you will want to mount this 12" monster on a tripod or monopod. Yes, you will need to practice focusing and take multiple shots to get one that is sharp. These are the limitations you need to be aware of before you buy this lens. But if you accept these conditions and are willing to practice, I think you can get very pleasing results. I am quite pleased with the results, especially considering the affordability of this lens.

This lens has serious purple and green fringe problems under contrasty situations, it is difficult to focus due to the minimum f/8 aperture, the images are soft and all of this gets worse when fitted with the 2X tele extender. However, the Opteka 500 can provide some reasonable results under optimum conditions. The lens barrel and tripod collar are well made and the lens has a nice weight without being heavy. While it is not a professional lens by any stretch it is a pretty good deal for $79.95.
I doubt that I will keep this lens for long because I need more quality than this lens can deliver for my work, but then I was not expecting it to.

This lens is awesome, best for taking close up picture of wild life and you must use tripod during daylight.

Although it is listed as compatible to Nikon D5000, it doesn't work with the camera. You will get missing lens message. In full manual mode, you cannot change aperture ( +/- button + dial ), resulting in blurry pictures in broad daylight, using a tripod.

About the product:

Lens is nicely constructed and T-Mount provided with it, is totally flimsy.

While ordered as new, lens and ring had signs of wear and tear. Minor cosmetic scratches on lens and a bad T-mount.

About the seller:

To return INCOMPATIBLE product with false claims, YOU NEED TO PAY minimum 15% restocking fees and return postage.

If it was EBAY, buyers protection would have saved me from buying a wrongly portrayed product. Not on Amazon.

You get what you pay for. For $70 I think it is very cheap. The bad thing is picture quality is not of professional quality and you can not take pictures at night or in low lit areas. But again for $70 it is reasonable.