Opteka 500mm f/6.3 Mirror Lens

 This Lens I got two weeks ago on Amazon ($52) and this is what it is and what it's not....

    What it is: Opteka 500mm f/6.3 Mirror Lens. This lens has manual focus only that I found to be very smooth. This lens weighs about as much as my 50mm 1.4 prime and feels well in the hand.

    That's It........that's all there is

Image quality on anything you have to crop is lost and hand holding this beast is near impossible even at speeds of 1/4000.

    Let's take a step back for a moment. I purchased this lens for the focal length shooting wildlife. In my opinion you have to have at a minimum of a 400mm lens to get the image size you want (Or close to). The issue is a prime lens or telephoto lens at these focal lengths become very expensive. It's not uncommon to see a 150-450mm lens at the $2000.00 price and up. So with that said, I have been searching for a solution to this problem and took a try on this long Mirror Lens.

    I wont take anything away from this lens based on It's price and amount of fun I've had shooting with it. But It has a market place and maybe in the hands of the right person for the right situation, It might be ok. I had a blast testing this lens but for what I'm shooting, It fell well short. The below image was shot handheld and the sharpness is the best I could get.

     Coming Soon

LUMIX FZ80

    The last few weeks I have dug deep into Wildlife Photography. Walking along the river banks in search of the occasional Blue Heron or Mallard Duck has taken me back to a time when Photography was much more than a snapshot.

    Photographing Birds has become a very peaceful time for me away from all the crazy, but what I have found is the focal length needed to fill the viewfinder is very long. At the moment the longest lens I have is a 500mm Mirror Lens. I purchased this lens a few weeks ago for $52.00 on Amazon and the Image quality let's say is ok from a $52.00 lens. So, going in a different direction....

    During my quest to satisfy my thirst for more Focal Length, I have decided on what they call a "Bridge Camera". From what I gather, a Bridge Camera is like a Very High End Point-n-Shoot camera. Bridge Cameras are like a DSLR but the lens doesn't detach. These cameras are equipped with focal lengths ranging from 24 to 3000mm and that's why I bought one.

    In five days I will receive the LUMIK FZ80. I have high expectations that this will get me closer to subject. As for the quality? we will see. I can't wait to get into the woods and see what she can do. Today's launch of my website (MansfieldFoto.com) has taken me to a new level of inspiration. I have linked this blog to the website as part of the total package. I will post the images and talk a bit about how things went in a few weeks. Until then, cheers!!