Picked up mine without reading any reviews beforehand & regretted it :( The only nice thing that I can say about it is its very light weight. What I didn't like was:
1.Very awkward to focus. There is a lot of focus movement past infinity.
2.Very poor contrast.
3.Images blurred & washed out.
4.Very susceptible to lens flare.
5.Very slow. Is closer to F11 than F8. (Confirmed by pointing a 400mm Sigma lens at the same subject & checking the meter reading at F11)
6.Viewfinder can get very dim at times, again not helping focusing.
Have replaced mine with a used Tamron 500mm SP, which is rated as being one of the better mirror lenses, & cost about the same used as the Vivitar did new.
Out of curiosity, I took a comparison shot using a tripod & release of something on a bright sunny day. Where the Tamron image was bright & sharp, the Vivitar looked like it had been taken through a net curtain. The Tamron was also a stop faster.
Vivitar 500mm f/8.0 SERIES 1 Multi-Coated Mirror Lens Outfit for Sony Alpha Mount SLR Cameras All Brand New Factory Sealed Complete Package with ALL M...More at eBay
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.