Mirror lens for bird photographs.

killwilly

killwilly

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Alan
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I have been viewing this part of the forum for some time and have been very impressed with most of the photographs posted.

Does anyone use a mirror lens as an alternative to some of the more expensive fixed focal, or super telephoto lenses? I have noticed that a mirror lens can be purchased for a fraction of the cost of the ones mentioned.

I have seen some great shots of the moon using a mirror lens, but bird photography is a different subject completely. My currant longest lens is a Canon 55-250 IS.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.
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The problem with mirror lens is that they are fixed aperture, usually around the f8 mark and bar the Minolta / Sony 500 mirror (not sure about the Tamron one) all of them are manual focus.

The other thing people either like or dislike about them is the 'doughnut' style bokeh.

The main reason I think people use the expensive prime telephotos for bird photography it that they are far more flexible than the mirror lens and will out perform them when the light starts to fade.

You could look at the Canon 100 - 400 zoom as I have seen some great shots with them but I am sure some one will be along to offer other advice :)
 
My advice would be : Don't be lured in by the silly low price of these cheap and nasty lenses, they are more than liely fixed apeture at f8 or so, so LOTS of light needed, or high ISO.

They also have a disgusting bokeh of little circles dues to the mirror makeup inside. Not a good lens to use at all. I'd stay clear and save up for something more like a 400mm for your setup.
 
Hya Alan, all of us that are not affluent, and want to get into bird photography have wrestled with the question of balancing lens quality against lens price. I don't know what your budget is, but i wouldn't go for a mirror either (for all of the reasons previously stated). A prime will offer you good quality, and give you the option of adding a tele-converter, and you can always go second-hand to get one. That said, i am now going to sing the praises of Sigma's 150-500mm OS zoom, one of which i own, and used sensibly can render excellent results for the cash paid. Below is an un-cropped shot of a Stonechat, followed by an immense final crop of the same pic. I think the detail captured in the first is very good, and is retained in the second.
B10_2326.JPG


Stonechat%20%28fem%29%20003.jpg


The three golden rules with bird photography of course, are-
1 Get close
2 Get close
3 Get close
Well,,,, as close as humanly possible.
 
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Alan, a couple of other things to consider... They appear to be made up to the Maksutov Cassegrain design, this means they also have a fairly large central obstruction, which reduces contrast, and if they get knocked are quite easy to shift collimation on. If that happens the IQ degrades until the collimation is fixed. I've got a Mak telescope and collimating it is actually harder than I thought it would be, and my scope is designed to be collimated. As for the light, I've used my 80mm Telescope as a 1200mm prime at F/15 (it's fixed) for bird photography, and as long as your in bright sunlight and willing to go to something like ISO400 it works quite nicely. (at least I got some shots of birds instead of pinpoints in the distance).
 
Once again guys, many thanks for your help. Frank, that last photograph of the Stonechat is superb. A photograph half as good as that would make me very happy.
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