anyone tried one like this?
Discussion
A decent mirror lens is capable of good results, but does have a few quirks in use. The aperture is fixed at f8 and there is no autofocus obviously (Minolta did make an AF version once upon a time). Highlights in out of focus areas will also tend to form rings instead of blobs. They are much smaller and lighter than a conventional 500mm too, and cheaper obviously. Whether you can live with the quirks of course depends what sort of use you want to put it to. I am often quite tempted to get one for the very rare occasions I need a 500mm. I used to have a Canon 500mm f4.5L but sold it when I realised how long it had been since I last used it (since I gave up doing hard news basically). Even my 300mm gets very little use now.
I have one of these, although not branded Samyang.
It comes with a Telescope mount with a camera adapter, so the lens is not as rigidly mounted to the camera as I would like.
Be aware that it has a small depth of field, and the focus range goes beyond infinity. This means that even for long distance shots you need to get the focus right.
I find that it works fine on my Film SLR which has a nice bright full frame viewfinder with split prism, but on my APS-C Digital it is difficult to get accurate focus.
HTH
It comes with a Telescope mount with a camera adapter, so the lens is not as rigidly mounted to the camera as I would like.
Be aware that it has a small depth of field, and the focus range goes beyond infinity. This means that even for long distance shots you need to get the focus right.
I find that it works fine on my Film SLR which has a nice bright full frame viewfinder with split prism, but on my APS-C Digital it is difficult to get accurate focus.
HTH
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