The second smallest and lightest 500mm lens after the new version Reflex-Nikkor 500mm f/8, I mostly use it handheld. The focusing ring is smooth, travelling about 1/2 of the way around the barrel from a close focus of 4m/13ft to beyond infinity. While 1/2 way around the barrel may be a bit short for many lenses, due to this lens’s width you get accurate control. As with almost all manual focus Nikkor lenses, the focusing ring is vastly superior to virtually all AF lenses.

Catadioptric

Easily the most controversial aspect of catadioptric lenses is the donut boke. There are those who detest it in all forms, and reject the use of these lenses for that reason. While I have certainly taken a number of photos where it’s distracting, I find it can also be a positive when used well. It can create a cloudy boke effect which I sometimes find more pleasing than the silky smooth boke of a good non-mirror lens.

I suggest looking at large size for any thumbnail in this review you find to have distracting boke, as there are photos where I find it bad at thumbnail size, but pleasing at large sizes.

The lens is compatible with the TC-200 2x teleconverter, and some newer ones, however I don’t recommend it. I believe it is incompatible with the TC-300 due to the need for a rear filter to be in place.

The Tripod collar is excellent, sturdy, and able to be rotated 90° when holding of a small switch on the side. This design isn’t used nearly enough, and allows for effortless camera rotation when mounted on a tripod or monopod.

Chromatic aberration

By far the cheapest route to a 500mm lens, the catadioptric design of the Reflex-Nikkor C 500mm f/8 is limited in usefulness, but worth the money.

Note, this lens requires a rear filter be attached at all times, and you should make sure you at least get the clear rear filter with it.

I have owned the original single-coated f8 and the f8N during the years I shot film. A few memorable images, but by and large I was not impressed with the results, even though I liked the handling of the lenses. I recently got interested again, and this time bought a 500mm f5. WOW! I love this lens. It is too bulky for easy hand holding IMO, but works well with sandbag rest or sturdy tripod. The f5 aperture makes focusing easier. But the real trick is on a DSLR, you can switch to live view and magnify the image for pinpoint focusing.

The lens is reasonably sharp, and free of chromatic aberration. The biggest downside to the reflex design is that images aren’t as contrasty as traditional lenses. However, I tend not to use the lens outside of bright sunlight, which increases contrast to perfectly acceptable levels. If I had a D3/D700’s high ISO capabilities, I would probably use it in less favorable conditions, in which case the lack of contrast may be of more issue.

Fresnellens

The lens hood as supplied is the HN-27. It is less than 1 inch long. Not surprisingly, way too short to effectively block light sources that cause low contrast or weird light rays on your images.

Concavemirror

Turns out that the Tamron Adaptall 2 500mm F8 reflex lens uses a metal hood that is about 4 inches long and fits, without adapter, into the HN-27, just screw it in. This hood is sometimes available on that auction place.....

C is the older variant of this lens. In the 1980s, Nikon replaced it with a newer version which is labeled N that is smaller and focuses closer.

Cassegrain telescope

If you’re interested, I invite you to visit my review of the C version. It’s quite long, and very tongue-in-cheek in places, with sample photos at the bottom. You can find it on my blog here: http://hoaiphai.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/recumbent-review-the-mighty-reflex-nikkor-c-500mm-f8/

Dobsonian telescope

how do you tell if its a c or n/, my buddy has this lens and i am considering buying it, any idea what its worth, looks in good condition has the rear filter , he bought it years ago

I really enjoy shooting with this lens. Without a mirror lens — or a healthy amount of strength — it’s impossible to handhold most other 500mm lenses for hours, but it’s not a problem with this lens. It is easily the least versatile lens I own, but if you accept the limitations of speed/contrast it’s a fine addition to a collection. I imagine once I upgrade my camera body to something with ISO performance like the D3/D700 this lens will be given new life.

- In 1983 the C version was replaced with the N version, which was smaller, focussed closer, and produced better images.

Max Aperture f/8 Min Aperture f/8 Aperture Blades Fixed/Round Close Focus 4m/13ft Filter Thread 39mm (rear) Hard Infinity Stop? No Built in Hood? Yes*

I’ve owned a C for a few years and use it on my D300. The softness and low contrast don’t bother me at all because these “problems” are so easily corrected in image-editing software.