When it has to be 800mm and nothing else will do

[DonSchap]

Okay, here is a fun and inexpensive lens to mount.

Pictured: α850 w/ ProOptic 800mm f/8 Relex ø105mm lens

Say you are out hiking ... and it's going to be a long hike ... through some serious brush and foliage. You are also climbing and that pack can be a real ... nasty item after awhile. In fact, you just cannot bring the "old $6000 pipe" of an 800mm f/5.6 (10.5 lbs) with you. Well, drop back to a constant f/8 and enjoy this short guy at only 2 lbs and a smidge over $200. Yeah, just a couple c-notes. Imagine.

With it nearly masking the entire front of the camera, this rather obvious Reflex lens will definitely get you some Q&A as you shoot. Fact is, it does make for a very light tote, compared to almost any other long lens ... other than another reflex, of course.

Just something to consider ... when you want some reach, are not too terribly concerned with precision IQ and do not want to break the budget. I know ... what's new? If you wouldn't spend $300 for your primary DSLR, what makes you think your spending $200 on this thing?

BTW: It is effectively 1200mm f/8 on the APS-C camera. Now, that is definitely getting out there and .. here comes the sun.

[bwflippo]

Do you have any sample shots with this lens. I've seen thses around and kind of wrote them off, but the practicality for a long walking day can't be ignored. How bad is the IQ versus the longer bodied lenses? suppose I could check out reviews across the net, but something makes me trust, and want YOUR opinion, Don.

[SONYNUT]

i got mine for 100 bucks..works fine. but some people whine about the circular boken...ya whatever

[sparkie1263]

It is a MF lens.


Frank

[SONYNUT]

Yes.......

[DonSchap]

Believe me, this baby is smooth for its size. Image wise ... I have to say if you get it focused correctly, it can deliver a decent shot. It is no 17-50 beauty, but it's also seriously longer than much of anything else. It is like having a coffee can on the front of your camera.

I will post later ... we have a snow storm coming that should really play hell with Chicago.

[SONYNUT]

Were is that global warming when you need it?

[Peekayoh]

800mm f8 or 1200mm on APS-C. A nightmare to focus unless you have an M-screened 850/900.
Maybe the A550 with Manual live focus is an alternative.
Either way it won't be quick , so your subject had better be cooperating.

[TenD]

So, my question would be: why would you need that length and so-so image quality? You might answer so I can "get the shot", but if the shot is of dubious quality, what good is it, except as a snap? You might as well carry a Panny ZS3 and crop, it doesn't weigh much at all and will get you 400mm.

[DonSchap]

One of the nice things about adding a lens like this to an a850 is that you have a lot of image control to render a relatively decent shot. The focus is a bit tricky the closer your subject is, as was mentioned ... but if you do happen to get it right, I believe you will be amazed at how reasonable the image is.

Just running a DOF Review provides a bit of understanding about this (using the lens' marked settings on its focus collar:

Subj Dist . . . . . . Near . . . . . . . Far . . . . . Total Focal Plane width
11 ft . . . . . . . . . 9.99 ft . . . . . 10 ft . . . . . . . . 0.01 ft (That's pretty darn tight!)
13 ft . . . . . . . . . 13 ft . . . . . . 13 ft . . . . . . . . 0.03 ft
15 ft . . . . . . . . . 15 ft . . . . . . 15 ft . . . . . . . . 0.04 ft
20 ft . . . . . . . . . 20 ft . . . . . . 20 ft . . . . . . . . 0.04 ft
25 ft . . . . . . . . . 24.9 ft . . . . . 25.1 ft . . . . . . 0.13 ft
35 ft . . . . . . . . . 34.9 ft . . . . . 35.1 ft . . . . . . . 0.26 ft
50 ft . . . . . . . . . 49.7 ft . . . . . 50.3 ft . . . . . . . 0.54 ft
100 ft . . . . . . . . 98,9 ft . . . . . 101.1 ft . . . . . . 2.23 ft
Infinity . . . . . . . NaN ft . . . . . . Infinity . . . . . .. Infinite

So as you can see, tweaking focus is really touchy, up close ... almost sheer luck and requiring absolutely no movement back & forth. Yes, that means a tripod ... camera shake is the least of your problems. You breathe and the focus changes on you. The focal plane loosens up to a whole 6-inches with a subject distance around fifty-feet. You really need to remember this as you complain about the "natural effects" of this length of lens. Understanding its "performance envelope" is absolutely essential to its use.

Also, if you have a laser "range finder" device, it would help determining subject distance quite a bit, because most shorter lenses stop at around 20 to 50 feet on their focus ring graduations ... leaving the longer distances clearly ... unclear!

Nikon (<- click here) has a pretty good and budget-worthy measurement device that can help in these guess-timations, if you want to limit your trial and error shots. AND it still would be a lot lighter to carry than that HUGE 10-lb SIGMA pipe!