Just a heads up on a rare lens

[charles_reid]

I'm not the guy selling this and frankly if i had 1300 id be bidding on it right

now. On ebay theres a zuiko 600/6.5 for sale

http://cgi.ebay.com/Olympus-OM-600-6-5-Zuiko-Huge-PRO-telephoto-lens_W0QQitemZ290218601762QQcmdZViewItem

 

I realise this is probably inappropriate but these are Extremely rare lenses and

we've all missed that rare lens we watched for forever. Talk about a killer

birding lens.

[tim_huggins]

It is certainly a rare lens and would be perfect for someone with a lot of money who was looking to round out their zuiko collection. However, the 500mm mirror lens would be more practical for actual use. The Tamron focuses much closer than the 500mm zuiko, is known for its exceptional image quality, and is really inexpensive

- it's the only non zuiko lens I own.

 

One word of warning about that evilbay auction listing. Beware buying anything from that seller! He doesn't seem to understand that it's supposed to be a AUCTION. Everything he posts has a "Buy it now" price at least twice what the thing would go for in an honest auction. More folks seem to recognize the scheme, as his stuff is constantly being reposted.

[ted_rees]

I fully agree with Tim when he praises the Tamron 500 Mirror lens. I once owned a Zuiko 500 Mirror lens and was never really happy with the images it produced.

 

During the past winter, I have adopted a very casual, non professional approach to my "nature photography", using the Tamron 500 mirror. I attach the lens to my beloved OM4 and slide in a Fuji 1600 ASA film. Then, me and my old Jack Russell terrier set off on our morning "nature ramble".

 

The results? The photos may not appear in "National Geographic" but they more than satisfy me as an average, non publishing, amateur. The 1600 ASA film inevitably means that there is some grain evident in 16x20 prints but it is not excessive. (Modern fast films have made massive advances in recent years!)

 

During the winter evenings, I have looked at the resulting photos -"eyeball to eyeball" shots of robins, blue tits, blackbirds etc, which usually fill at least half the frame. Surprisingly sharp! With the 1600 ASA film, there was no need to lug around a tripod - the average shutter speed was approx 1/550-700.

 

The Tamron 500 mirror lens is essentially a "fun lens" which can still give you extremely pleasing results. Long live the simple "fun" in photography!

[ted_rees]

Slight correction to the above - it should read "some grain evident in A4 prints", not "16x20"!

[harold_gough]

There are two versions of the Tamron 500mm lens, Model 55B and Model 55BB. The latter is the optically improved version, a recognition feature being the lack of the tripod mount of the 55B.

 

Actually "it's supposed to be a AUCTION" is misrepresentation. There are, legitimately, the two types of sale, auctions and Buy It Now Sales, the former often having the latter option but the latter not having the former (auction) option. Anyone who is unaware of the market value of a listed item should keep away from eBay and suchlike.

[charles_reid]

Heh. When i shot film 1600 wasnt even worth touching. I usually kept 400 or 200 midgrade film in the camera and the results were ok. At the time though the only 1600's i tried seemed to result in more snow than a tv with no signal.

 

Mirrors are probably great. With digital though we of course have a 2x conversion factor for oly so a 250 on a 510 is equiv to the 500 on your film body. You should really give the 510/e3 a shot if you like nature photography. The 150mm kit lens is equiv to 300/5.6 and nearly tack sharp.

Not to mention all the fun you can have with manual lenses.