Nikon Reflex lenses

How do the 500 mm reflex lenses work on say a Nikon D80. I am shooting a Sigma 170-500mm but am not too impressed with it. Thanks.

I haven't specifically used that lens, but I respond anyway for reflex lenses, with reference to your last post.

These lenses are an okay budget alternative. They are reasonably sharp, lightweight and inexpensive.

However, they have a number of drawbacks. First, they are fixed aperature, usually around f8, but with actually light transmission around f9-f10. They work by bouncing the light around several internal mirrors, which causes light loss. This will greatly restrict when you can shoot, as you will have the choice of either a very slow shutter speed or very high ISO to get a faster shutter speed. Attaching a teleconvertor to this lens, assuming that it will mount, will make this problem worse. Early models of reflex lenses were fairly fragile, but I don't know about current ones. Last, out of focus highlight areas will be doughnut shaped. Some people light this effect, but to me, it looks odd, unnatural and distracting.

I think what you are looking for is a fast, high quality and inexpensive 500+mm lens. Unfortunately, only two of the three are possible.

I haven't shot the Sigma 170-500 before, but I imagine it's a better choice than the Nikkor 500 f/8. I have the Nikkor and it really suitable in only a small percentage of the situations I shoot. It's non-AF, it's pitifully slow, and hard to focus (because it's so dim and has such a long focus arc). I've gotten a handful of good, really sharp images from it, but many, many more than have been totally unusable because of it not being in focus. The lens itself is plenty sharp, but it's just hard to focus on what you can't see!!!! If you still want the reflex, I'll be happy to sell you mine!

Thanks for the info. As I read up on it more I figured this would be the case.

There is a quest, especially by beginners, for a really cheap long lens. It doesn't exist. Or, more precisely, it goes something like this: cheap, long, quality. You can have any two of the three in one lens, but never all three. You can have "long" and "quality," but it won't be cheap. You can have Cheap and Long, but it won't be quality. You can have cheap and quality, but it won't be long.


Kent in SD

I've owned a Nikon 500 f/8 reflex for over 30 years, and my experience with it pretty much reflect Dan's points. It does give you a long lens, but the results are often limiting, as are the conditions in which it works well.

Your post made me realize that I loaned it to a friend 8 or 9 years ago. He has never managed to return it and I haven't missed it till now. And I doubt I'll even bother to track it down.