Cheapest way to longest lens

Skyline On Fire

Skyline On Fire

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Luke
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After recently selling my 100-400, and deciding to go for short primes since it's mostly those focal lengths I use nowadays, I've been browsing the buy and sell etc looking at the prices of various long lenses.

Which made me curious, as to what's the cheapest way to say... 800mm focal length? Or 600, 400, 1000? Image quality not a huge deal, just sheer focal length. Very curious as to what comes up. Those big baseball bat sized 100 quid primes from Amazon?

Anyway, interested in seeing your answers! And I just may buy the cheapest, longest lens, to see just how bad my 7D makes it look.
 
I'd agree with above. For example Here
An 800mm mirror lens with a 2x converter to make a 1600mm lens. for about £130 from USA.
 
Yeah I've been looking at some on Amazon,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Opteka-500-...UZXQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300210613&sr=8-1

Some of the reviews on youtube seem to state this isn't too awful... The sample shots look pretty rubbish, but its still made me curious, might be a fun way to spend 130 quid, see what a 1000mm f16 mirror lens for 130 pounds is like! Worst case scenario I can throw it up on here, I'm sure some other masochist would be curious enough to buy it off me.


Then you've got this beast...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Opteka-650-...RY/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1300210613&sr=8-11

I love the review that states the entire lens bends when it's at its longest length.
 
How much light do you think will get to your sensor with f64? :lol: :D

I'm looking forward to the shots in the critique section! ;)

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DeeJay said:
How much light do you think will get to your sensor with f64? :lol: :D

I'm looking forward to the shots in the critique section! ;)

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7D does 12,800 ISO, if I shoot on a very very bright day, on the beach or snow, I might just see something!
 
Mirror lenses are rubbish!!!:nono::nono:

Bet that stirs it up!!:lol:
 
I think that 500mm f8 mirror lens on Amazon, that comes with the 2x extender to make it f16 is going to be brought, awfully curious to see what it does.
 
Or maybe shooting directly at the sun, or maybe even an explosion :D

Plenty of scenarios and locations, l say go for it! :p

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DeeJay said:
Or maybe shooting directly at the sun, or maybe even an explosion :D

Plenty of scenarios and locations, l say go for it! :p

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The sun, I forgot all about that! I'd be a little concerned about possibly damaging my sensor shooting it at 2600mm though!
 
And your retinas through the viewfinder ;)

So is it in your Amazon basket yet then? :p

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A 2X Teleconvertor on a decent 400mm is the cheapest, relatively effective way, but IQ will take a hit, whether it's too much of a hit is subjective.

2X on a Sigma 150-500 manual focused

http://SPAM/c3whur/Img_1928.jpg
 
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DeeJay said:
And your retinas through the viewfinder ;)

So is it in your Amazon basket yet then? :p

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It's there, I'm not going to checkout just yet, looking for longer, cheaper alternatives, 1000mm for 130 pounds can't be the best!
 
Hairyduck said:
Save your cash... Really
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Quite. Why would you want to do this? :shrug:

There is a very cheap way of getting blurry, very noisey high magnification images, known as a 100% crop.
 
....so the consensus is....don't waste your money on a mirror lens!!
 
George said:
....so the consensus is....don't waste your money on a mirror lens!!
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TBH, and being more helpful ;) this time, if all you want is a very long lens, then a mirror is the cheapest way of doing it.

Mirrors don't suffer from chromatic aberration like glass optics do, so pound for pound they are sharper. Mirror lenses used to be quite popular for this reason, before low-dispersion glass came on the scene but that stuff is very costly. Today, astronomers would be be a bit stuck without mirror telescopes.

Another cheap way of doing it is with a compact mounted to the end of a birding scope, known as digiscoping. But again don't expect great quality. There is just no cheap or easy way of doing high quality long lens photography.
 
Well, Richard, I think telling someone not to waste their hard earned wonga is being pretty helpful!!:lol::lol:

I tried one years ago and it was cr4p!!......but as you so correctly say, there's no cheap way!!
 
I've just sold a 100-400 L so I'm used to high quality longer glass, I'm merely buying this as an experiment, rather than for serious use. I don't intend to replace my 100-400 with it I assure you!
 
Skyline On Fire said:
Which made me curious, as to what's the cheapest way to say... 800mm focal length? Or 600, 400, 1000? Image quality not a huge deal, just sheer focal length. Very curious as to what comes up. Those big baseball bat sized 100 quid primes from Amazon?
Click to expand...
A refracting telescope and mount adapter. You can get darned good images from them at under £200 for a second hand well corrected f7.5 600mm ED scope. Downside is fixed aperture and manual focus (a decent focuser can be half the price of the telescope!!).
 
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