Image

As you know the Canon M body doesn't have image stabilization. I am considering buying an older Pentax body+kit lens ($100-200?) with in-body image stabilization and mount this lens on it instead (with an adaptor). This will allow me to take my pictures at a lower shutter speed and hence reduced ISO. Do you think that will help? A side benefit of this option is I can use the Pentax as a backup camera when I go travelling, not to mention some of the Pentax are weather sealed.

iii) as has been mentioned, many long range shots are destroyed by heat haze, although I suspect that most of your issues are down to camera shake

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Mirror telephoto lenses have a very shallow depth of field and some of your pics look like you missed focus. You can increase depth of field by making an aperture in a lens cap that fits your lens. Using that and at least a monopod might help a lot.

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Mirror telephoto lenses have a very shallow depth of field and some of your pics look like you missed focus. You can increase depth of field by making an aperture in a lens cap that fits your lens. Using that and at least a monopod might help a lot.

Well, the first SLRs to have autofocus were introduced in 1981 or so. It’s strange to me that, other than the Minolta, in almost 40 years, an autofocus 500mm cat lens couldn’t be developed and sold by the likes of Nikon or Canon.

Well, the first SLRs to have autofocus were introduced in 1981 or so. It’s strange to me that, other than the Minolta, in almost 40 years, an autofocus 500mm cat lens couldn’t be developed and sold by the likes of Nikon or Canon.

iii) as has been mentioned, many long range shots are destroyed by heat haze, although I suspect that most of your issues are down to camera shake

Hi. I had been taking photos for about 2 years now with my Canon M1. I use Magic Lantern for Focus Peaking and MagicZoom to help with focus. Recently I bought an Opteka 500mm F6.3 for fun. As you know this lens is manual focus only.

Cassegrain telescope

I am also considering to buy either a used Canon 100-400mm L mk,1 a Sigma 100-400mm OS or a Tamron 100-400 VC. Those are all about $600-700 second hand. Although as some have pointed out the image might be distorted by heat haze. So while these lenses have image stabilization and auto focus, they will still suffer from heat haze and hence maybe won't really increase my image quality by all that much. Thoughts on this?

Either way continuing with this, I read that the Sigma is better than the Tamron, so most likely the Sigma. The Canon mk 1 will probably produce the best quality image, but when buying second hand it can be as old as from the year 1998, not to mention that it is heavier than the Sigma. I will probably buy the Sigma which was only released in 2017. I like this class of lens because their 1100-1300 gram weight will make them more comfortable to carry and use while travelling.

But this is a US$150 lens so results just aren't going to look so good. Your example photos aren't that much worse than the samples in this review or my copy of a Samyang 800mm f/8 mirror lens (another US$150 mirror lens):

There are of course better lens. 150-500mm and 150-600mm (1800 grams). But they are heavy to carry around. I tried my friend's Canon 70-200mm F2.8L mk2 (1490 grams) for 2 weeks and it hurt my wrist.

What’s the best camera for around $1500? These midrange cameras should have capable autofocus systems, lots of direct controls and the latest sensors offering great image quality. We recommend our favorite options.

Fresnellens

Hi. I had been taking photos for about 2 years now with my Canon M1. I use Magic Lantern for Focus Peaking and MagicZoom to help with focus. Recently I bought an Opteka 500mm F6.3 for fun. As you know this lens is manual focus only.

My oldest is a K100d, which has IBIS & it worked reasonably with mirror lenses, when I was using it. Sadlt it's now well behind the times & it's ISO performance is going to be very much behind any Canon M. IIRC mine was £160 10 years ago!

But AF would add quite a bit  to the cost, and the cost/benefit only stacks up if mirror lenses are quite a bit cheaper then 'normal' lens designs. If I was going to spend considerably more money, then I'd want a traditional type of lens, without the image quality problems endemic to mirror lenses.

i) it looks like your camera has a 1.6x focal length multiplier, so I wouldn't even consider using it handheld at any speed under 1/(500x1.6) = 1/800th second. For digital, I normally go one stop up, so 1/1600th second.

ii) the pictures are extremely noisy, which degrades any sharpness that may be there, so a lower ISO would be much better - this could well be a problem as you need faster shutter speeds.

Subject and camera movement. Improve your technique, use a solid tripod or a monopod, use only the fastest shutter speeds.

With the exception of the mirror lens bokeh (giving a double image in the background in the absence of point sources) those look fairly typical results for any long lens.

Have you tried using the setup on a tripod in good light with a delayed release? You might then get a better idea of what the lens is capable of.

What's the best camera for travel? Good travel cameras should be small, versatile, and offer good image quality. In this buying guide we've rounded-up several great cameras for travel and recommended the best.

Mirror lenses can be quite sharp with good technique, but their lack of contrast and doughnut bokeh on highlights puts a lot of people off.

Chromatic aberration

Catadioptric

I found the lens perform OK at close distance, for birds for example. However once the object is further away the image quality degrades very quickly. It could be due to the dust/haze in the air (which can get intense over long distances).I am wondering how I can improve my pictures. Here are some examples of some of the best photos I took with this lens. As I mentioned there is a huge difference between the quality of photos, of close by animals vs of distant objects. For birds, maybe 20% of my shots are keepers. For distant objects, I will say 0% right now. None of my shots at long distance can be considered keepers.

Leica has announced the Q3 43, a variant of its full-frame fixed lens compact with a 43mm F2.0 normal lens. We've had the chance to use and test it, to produce an in-depth review.

We don't usually test a product for ten years before reviewing it, but after a decade of using the Lowepro Photo Sport 300 AW II on an almost daily basis, Managing Editor Dale Baskin tells us why he loves this pack.

I don't think the MF aids are as good on DSLRs as you'll get on mirrorless models which may be enough of a disadvantage to out-way any gains. Note I have no experience with Canon M models, just G1, GF2, G5, NEX & the A7ii all of which beat a DSLR for manual focusing

Dobsonian telescope

Have you tried using the setup on a tripod in good light with a delayed release? You might then get a better idea of what the lens is capable of.

ii) the pictures are extremely noisy, which degrades any sharpness that may be there, so a lower ISO would be much better - this could well be a problem as you need faster shutter speeds.

As you know the Canon M body doesn't have image stabilization. I am considering buying an older Pentax body+kit lens ($100-200?) with in-body image stabilization and mount this lens on it instead (with an adaptor). This will allow me to take my pictures at a lower shutter speed and hence reduced ISO. Do you think that will help? A side benefit of this option is I can use the Pentax as a backup camera when I go travelling, not to mention some of the Pentax are weather sealed.

A faster sensor, improved autofocus and video see Nikon's third-gen mid-range full-framer go toe-to-toe against Canon's EOS R6 II and the Sony a7 IV. We feel its all-round ability lifts it to the top of the pile.

i) it looks like your camera has a 1.6x focal length multiplier, so I wouldn't even consider using it handheld at any speed under 1/(500x1.6) = 1/800th second. For digital, I normally go one stop up, so 1/1600th second.

Concavemirror

What’s the best camera for around $2000? This price point gives you access to some of the most all-round capable cameras available. Excellent image quality, powerful autofocus and great looking video are the least you can expect. We've picked the models that really stand out.

My lens is really really hard to focus because the focus throw is only ~90° and not very smooth at all. This guy also thinks focusing is a PITA but has managed to perform some focus magic with his copy.

Of course, heat haze, dust, humidity (shooting across water) doesn't help. Maybe try again when conditions are better on subjects that don't require such a high shutter speed (lowers required ISO).

Above $2500 cameras tend to become increasingly specialized, making it difficult to select a 'best' option. We case our eye over the options costing more than $2500 but less than $4000, to find the best all-rounder.

The K5ii I have is somewhat newer, and in it's day had excellent ISO performance. It's IBIS is probably a stop or two better than the K100d and it has weather sealing (though this is let down by the mirror lens) I got mine several years ago for £200 so you might just be able to get one in your price range.

Mirror lenses can be quite sharp with good technique, but their lack of contrast and doughnut bokeh on highlights puts a lot of people off.

I found the lens perform OK at close distance, for birds for example. However once the object is further away the image quality degrades very quickly. It could be due to the dust/haze in the air (which can get intense over long distances).I am wondering how I can improve my pictures. Here are some examples of some of the best photos I took with this lens. As I mentioned there is a huge difference between the quality of photos, of close by animals vs of distant objects. For birds, maybe 20% of my shots are keepers. For distant objects, I will say 0% right now. None of my shots at long distance can be considered keepers.

These lens, even second hand, are very expensive to me and I would only consider this option if they would give me huge improvements. Else I believe I am better off buying a Pentax to use with the Opteka and also as a backup camera. (As you can see from my equipment, I am a very budget orientated hobbyist.)