Customer Reviews

Opteka 500mm / 1000mm High Definition Mirror Telephoto 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

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

 

 

This is not a high quality lens,but it has a great magnification on the object.
Don't expect to have even color on the entire frame, it has rainbow spots on it.
You have to know a bit about photography to use it, must use a Tripod and the focus is hard.

For the money you can't get anything better.
We compared it against Nikon 300mm lens with a Kenko 2X adapter. We compare the image and the Nikon/Kenko are more sharp, better colors. Total cost is about $900 - $1,000 vs. $120.00 Opteka 500-1000mm.

It's hard to agree it's a "high definition" lens but again, the cost if very low.

This lens is easy to use and was received quickly and on time.
I do find it less in image quality than I had hoped, but most mirror lenses are not as sharp as a standard optic. I will probably use it for something, but not often.

What do you expect for this price? Like the other reviewers say, you get what you pay for... and you're only paying a hundred bucks. Great magnification, but not razor sharp (Photoshop, PaintShop Pro X3, or other software can help a little). Still, I did probably the nicest photo of the moon that I've taken yet. You need plenty of light and I'd also say that a tripod and remote shuttler release are absolute necessities to get any picture clarity. Nothing automatic about this lense, either...you must set your shutter speed and focus manually...and the aperture is fixed at f/8. But, if you're an amateur or hobbyist (like me) this is probably a fine lens for your extreme telephoto needs. Like one of the other reviewers says, if you find you've stretched the limits of your creativity with this lense, feel free to spend a few thousand bucks.

This lens isn't good, and it isn't bad. So, 3 stars. It's definitely a novelty lens. I bought it to take pictures of the moon, and it takes nice big pictures but the photos from my 250mm Sigma are much sharper.

If I crop the Sigma pictures to the size this lens produces, the Sigma still wins.

So, for the money this is an OK toy, but that's about it.

Photos are not razor sharp. Although not entirely a lemon, its not something you'd like to take with you for shooting an exotic birdie. Depth of field is extremely shallow in all lighting situations and most of my photos appear misty. If you;re on a shoestring, save some $50 more and get yourself a Tamron 70-300mm.

Be forewarned: this lens is not for the faint-hearted photographer.

This manual lens has a fixed aperture and no telemetry with your camera. This means that for most Nikon DSLR cameras, it will only work in manual mode. It will not work in aperture priority mode on most cameras. I have a D50, and I have no way of knowing what shutter speed to set using just the camera.

Second, at 500mm and f8, this lens has a very narrow depth of field. There's obviously no AF. Focusing can be difficult. Really difficult.

Third, at fixed f8, shutter speeds in anything but bright sunlight will be slow. You can try operating handheld, but you really need a tripod.

The image quality is adequate, not great. Softness in the image, color shift, some flare - to be honest, I'm still tinkering, so more on this later.

Finally, the t-mount adapter that ships with the lens comes loosely attached, by which I mean the inner thread ring is loose inside the outer t-mount ring. It ships this way so you can align the focus ring correctly so it shows at the top of the camera. However, you'll need to tighten the ring using the four tiny, recessed nuts around the adapter outer edge. To do this you'll need a set of micro-screwdrivers. I say all this because there are NO INSTRUCTIONS with the lens worth reading.

As other online reviews have noted, you get what you pay for. At about $100, this isn't a bad way to explore long focal length photography without spending a fortune. I'm not greatly impressed, but it works.