Wow this video gained a lot more attention than I anticipated! 👋 I've been seeing a lot of comments dismissing this lens without even watching the video. Just to be clear, I already mentioned in the video this lens isn't for everyone. I addressed all the limitations of the lens and presented alternatives. The video is just solely me sharing my own personal experience enjoying the lens a lot and noting it works greats for me. It's a bummer to see some comments trample on my excitement but I guess that's the internet for you. Anyway, haters gonna hate. Creators are gonna create. 🔥

Now you can no longer say that you took these photos with a mirrorless though :P

2:38 “Shid, you can’t even tell.” 🤣🤣🤣

For light portable extreme telephoto, I feel like Micro Four Thirds still has a niche. The Olympus 75-300 is similar cost, similar weight, smaller, brighter, has more reach, and probably has better resolving power despite the lower resolution of mft cameras. Plus you get auto focus, exif data, and the ability to zoom back and find your subject before zooming in.

I have an old Soviet 1100mm lens like this. I love it.

I can highly recommend the sigma 100-400 "for funzies"! It's compact enough to easily fit in a backpack, the weight is easy to hold and it's sharp, relatively affordable, stabilized, AF, etc. I actually use it as a walk-around lens! It's just on that edge where that's still decently possible.

I've been using a Tamron 500mm f/8 mirror lens on my A7Rii for years and my tip is to use silent/electric shutter. The shutter movement will cause blur in the images because the lens is so light and the focal length so long.

I have a "legacy" version of this lens on my a850 and I absolutely LOVE it! I'm not a professional, but the photos I can pull out of this lens/camera combo are beyond anything I could have hoped with my skill level.

The Tamron 500mm f/8 mirror lens unit was a gem too, and its Adaptall II mount adapter a brilliant idea. I used it intensely, took it up mountains for vultures and marmots photographs. Only good souvenirs with this great tool ! Thanks Jason for bringing all this back from the dedalus of my memory, same to Tokina for recycling an old (yet efficient) idea. Does this Tokina one have some sort of filter adapter, as a slip-in at the mount ?

I tried one on my Fujifilm XPro3. Too soft...whatever trips your trigger ;) But you are right the size and weight of traditional lenses are hard to lug around. I'm glad you figured out how to get the most out of it via sharpening and stabilization!

I also travel with a mirror lens and it's nice to have it with me. I use my lens on the APS-C and it's 40 years old. It weighs little and is compact. Even if she has her weaknesses, I'm glad to have her there for special shots/moments.

shooting Sony you can use the A-mount AF 500/8 Reflex with the LA-EA5. Light, compact and fun … with autofocus! (centre only)

I bought a Contax/Yashica 500mm f/8 mirror lens a few years back... for $50. It's near mint and photos come out just like you experienced with the new Tokina. Mirror lens were never very popular (they've been around for years) so can usually be found rather cheap. Try to get a name brand lens and it will work decent enough as a carry around 500mm lens.

I use the A7RIV and the Sigma 100-400 on Super 35 giving me a 150 to 600 equivalent at 26MP. Ive used it for bird photography as well as shooting the moon. It would be cool to see Sony release something like a 800 prime at a cheaper price point similar to the Canon 800mm F11.

Super long lenses are really interesting. I used to shoot with a RX10IV; image quality does take a hit with the smaller sensor, but being able to reach 600mm on such a small package was a lot of fun!

Mirror lenses are a lot of fun. I have an MTO 1000A with a focal length of a whopping 1100mm! I even managed to take a few blurry photos of Jupiter with it.

This is a rebrand of a lens that has been around for awhile. The most baffling though is why so many in the photography community who have used this seem to be clueless as to what the donut shaped bokeh is or why it shows like that. These lenses are based on Cassegrain telescopes and the front glass is usually a menses lens to correct for aberrations, though at the price these sell for, i very much doubt that is what it is, rather just being plain glass and the object in the centre is the central obstruction, the other side has a mirror on it (also known as the secondary mirror) that reflects the light back down the centre to an eyepiece in a telescope or camera sensor. The central obstruction is causing the donut shaped bokeh and Cassegrain telescopes are better for night because it hides the central obstruction black spot unless the exit pupil coming from the telescope focuser is higher than the persons pupil and this is what is happening with the lens, the exit pupil coming from this lens is higher than whatever opening you have on your camera and is usually more visible in bright light or on bright objects. This also means that your camera or in astronomy when using an eyepiece, that your eye or sensor is not receiving all of the light coming from the primary objective mirror (the large main mirror at the bottom of the lens, also known as aperture) which has the effect of using a reduced aperture or put another way, having the effect of using a smaller primary mirror which has a knock-on effect of receiving less detail. To benefit from all of the aperture from a telescope or lens, the focal length has to be longer or you need to use a higher power eyepiece if it's a telescope or stop down the aperture of the lens/telescope or have a larger eye pupil or sensor. Cassegrain telescopes usually have very long focal lengths. This is probably why there are few camera lenses using a mirror and lenses that use glass at the front, also a primary objective lens (aperture) are the most common because when the exit pupil is too high, it has the effect of stopping down the aperture but without the black spot. All in all, there is nothing wrong with the lens, what you see is normal for the design which wasn't intended to be used as a camera lens and had they increased the focal length, the donut shaped bokeh wouldn't show. That being said, there is a 900mm version of this with mixed opinions.

Get an a-mount adapter and try the old Minolta reflex with autofocus :)

This lens reminds me of why I was into photography...as a hobby

You should try the Sony adapter LA-EA5 and Sony 500mm f/8. So much fun with a lightweight telephoto, but with AUTOFOCUS. The downside? It's a mirror lens. Can't call your camera a "mirrorless" with the lens anymore.

Also a very flattering portrait lens. (I've been shooting the Nikon version of this lens since the 90's. - very fond of it)

tbh Jason I`d rather rely on my Canon-mount Tamron 75-300mm in crop mode on the A7iii. Then I`m only about 50mm short of 500mm

I use an EF 18-300, a metabones EF to e adapter and a 1.4x or 2x (Sony) teleconverter You need to file the inside of the metabones a bit to fit the teleconverter, but once filed it works fantastic in full frame mode (the sigma adapter doesn't support teleconverters)

The Minolta Reflex AF 500mm f/8 ( SAL-500F80 )is MUCH sharper (and cheaper) and adapts to e-mount w/ the LA-EA4/LA-EA5 ( which will give you AutoFocus). However... ensuring that you get a prime copy requires a little more effort for A-mount lenses this old.

Jason's reviews got me dying every time 😂😅

I actually think the donut shaped bokeh is kinda gnarly haha. The rings honestly remind me of those little handheld games where you'd push a button to shoot water pressure and try getting the rings onto the bars haha

cool.. the Mirror lives! I've been using the Sigma 600/8Mirror on my Canon 5D2 and older 350D/XT for 15 years... Mirrors are a great tool, so long as you pay attention to their limitations. In good light, the results CAN be indistinguishable from those of much more expensive lenses... Cheers!

This is simply the re-release of the Tokina RMC 500mm f/8 Reflex. I have a perfect copy of that lens. Yes it's bloody small, but it's soft. All the cheap Samyang 500mm f/8 trash reflex lenses out there is based on this design. Looks like they added a T2 lens mount to it and a offering lens mount adapters. For a sharper yielding alternative that's only slightly larger....Tamron SP 500mm f/8 55BB. Uses a better mirror design, brighter and sharper. Or pick up a Russian ZM-5A 500mm f/8 Maksutov reflex lens. Built like a Russian tank, and the sharpest of them all. A lot of shots from my collection of reflex lenses in my flickr.

If you had THIS much fun with a 500mm, you should REALLY try the 600mm f4, even the super old ones are 10/10!

I bought a 500 mm f8 Opteka mirror lens and 2x converter just to play with (it was a low price on ebay). I had low expectations for the lens and I was not disappointed. Calling the images that I get from this "soft" would be way too generous. It's an interesting exercise to try the combinations I can get out of this coupled with my A7iii and A6600. Hand holding at 1500 mm is out of the question. If you're thinking about a mirror lens try borrowing one first if you can, that should calibrate your expectations. I should add that I'm sure that much of my disappointment is due to this lens and this manufacturer. I bet that a better manufactured version of this reflex lens would have produced much better results and left me with a completely different impression. I'm not sorry I got it, I consider it part of the learning continuum.

I can’t wait to put this lens in my arsenal

One bonus of this lens is that it caused me to learn the word "catadioptric."

Personally, I would just go with LA-EA adapter plus Minolta AF 500m f/8 instead. Infact I use that combo.

I have a Nikkor 500mm f5.6 from the 60's. Such a cool rendering. I actually like the Donut Bokeh.

Great video, to solve the AF problem I got an old reflex lens Tamron 500mm 55BB put it on a M42 adapter then a M42 to LM adapter and then put it on the techart lm-ea7 and then my Sony A73 or A6500 body. Then you can get all the AF in the sony body working!

I love my NIKON 500mm Mirror lens Also the old Nikon 500 Reflex lens is a great buy at $250 used its a bit heavier but its cheaper and better optics (IMO) And if you get the 2X's teliconverter you get 1000 MM

Might as well get the sigma 100-400mm? It's not that big for a super telephoto lens. Also has OSS and autofocus while still fullframe

Outstanding review as always 💯

Wow. What a unique lens. I clicked because of the unique specs on this lens. I shoot on an a7 iii. I have the 70-200 f4 from sony, but even that relatively small telephoto lens is pretty large. Thanks for sharing! Much appreciated.

To soft. I tried old soviet lens 500 and 600, and their was sharper from camera than in video. I think Opteka 500mm f/8 for 100$ will be on same scale for quality pic. Thanks for review.

i use Tamron SP 500mm f/8 reflex，although it's heavier (526g approx) but it's so so sharp！ More importantly, it only cost $180

You could adapt an Minolta Reflex APO autofocus 500mm (A Mount) mirror lens. I love the bokeh quality and it has autofocus.

Are you going to be reviewing the Toikina 900? I know it's an APS-C lens, but you can use clear image zoom or the APS-C crop mode to get rid of the black vignette.

This lens is looks interesting!

I have an old Sigma 600mm f/8 mirror lens that I still play around with from time to time.

2:38 you are me, I am you 😂

i mean.. for the price of the lens you could buy a used nikon P950 or 1000 and get even more zoom with stabilization. it has 24-2000mm range (P900 and P950) and 24-3000mm for the P1000 even.

When I first got my A7ii I found a similar tamron 500/8 at a flea market for $60. Cleaned it up and spent $20 on an adapter. Yeah it’s soft at the long range but down inside 50’ it gets Sharp!

Nice pictures and a really affordable and compact lens. I don't mind also having to focus manually. But the donut bokeh is a no go for me 😱😂

Sounds interesting!

If you are looking for such a lens with autofocus and contacts, there is only one you can get: the Minolta/Sony AF 500mm/f8 Reflex. Unfortunately, it is no longer manufactured, so you can only find it used. And it's only available with A-Mount, so if you want to use it on an E-Mount camera, you have to use the LA-EA4 adapter. And allthought it came on market 40 years ago it is a great lens I love to use.

I bought a clean copy of the Canon FD version of this lens (from the 1980s) for 50 bucks, and it does seem to be the exact same optics as the new version. In fact I have a couple of super tack sharp photos with this particular lens. One advantage to having the canon FD version is that I can adapt it on the Techart LM EA7 or LM EA9 adapter and enjoy limited autofocus capabilities. It came in really handy at a wild animal park. I was actually shocked how my favorite pictures from that day were made with that lens. As a matter of fact my favorite photo of all time was made with it. But it is a difficult lens to get good photos with, even with the autofocus adapter. Though with practice it gets easier. I use it only when I am doing astro or animal photography. Lucky it is so small and light to carry around.

You are right. is good for Instagram, that's all that is good for. By the way, try to use that lens hood on since you have it, will help a bit with diffusion. Overall, better to have some than none.

You really have to watch your backgrounds with these lenses. The donut bokeh is pretty obvious with highlights but it also can make things like grass and tree branches look really trippy. Obviously, it is a lot of bang for the buck if you need a really long focal length but the drawbacks can be pretty harsh.

If you're going to get donut bokeh, you might as well get it with NY traffic. Looks neat!

i have a Tamron from the 70's that does the same thing , its a mirror lens they have been around for a long time , there is one from Opteka that is f6.3, even sony had a more recent one

That is basically a tiny telescope. Nice! I've recently gotten around to adapting my a6300 to my 1400mm telescope. I can get pictures of Saturn and its rings, or Jupiter and its moons! Now, if only I could get that thing anywhere other than my backyard... hahahha

My Tokina 8/500mm and minolta 5.6/250mm mirror lenses from the 1980s are still working fine with an adaptor on my Sony A77ii... thx to crop factor up to 750mm... it's amazing to shoot with 40 years old lenses 😀

NICE. this might do great on a gimbal with focus wheel.

This should be great for astrophotography, considering the lack of CA.

I want one! Just looks fun to play around with!

Great Video Brother. Iv been looking for something that won’t break the bank to take pictures in Yellowstone National Park from the back of my horse & you just sold me. When I see something at a distance I will be getting off the horse😂🤠 Once again Thank You

Absolutely love your reviews, best on KZfaq

Finally a review for this lens! I've been curious about the picture quality for a general use a lil bit soft is fine since it can be corrected in post

It looks like a mini newtonian!

there is brother to this lens, a 400 f8, and a couple bucks cheaper... Thanks for your review, this is on my short lense list!

Great job buddy! Love those bokeh rings BTW! XD

Been using the Nikkor 500mm f8 N reflex attached to a Fotodiox Pronto AF adaptor for some years now. The old Nikkor reflex is actually quite sharp and very compact although the contrast is a bit low, it produces notably better IQ than the new Chinese lenses being produced today. I also have a tiny little 300mm f5.6 reflex for stealth photog. Using these lenses on my Sony A7RIII and now the the new a1 with IBS, it is hand hold able, has AF, very compact and produces good quality images. Much of the doughnut bokeh can be managed while shooting by minding your background and in post by using the Lr subject masking tools, clarity and texture sliders moved to blur the background. Ps also has easy background blur tools.

I just found a Minolta RF lens! Manual f8! I love it!!! $200

If one already owns an LA-EAn adapter, it makes a lot of sense to get a Sony/Minolta with AF.

Thinking about this unit but dont know if 400 would be better choice on my A6500... ?

I have the Sigma 150-600 and was wondering why you'd get this over that. And then I saw the price difference. Obviously, I wouldn't sell my lens for this, but considering mine is 4x the cost, I can certainly see why this would still be a consideration..

I think you'd have a fun time if you compare this to the Tamron 18-400 megazoom. That one is, assuredly, an APS-C lens. But it's in the budget ballpark, and might have similar or slightly better IQ than this Tokina. For me, I love my GH5 with the 100-400 zoom lens. The results from that combo is just incredible

Wow, now I want to have one.

This is fun! I'm not a Sony but a Fuji shooter, so with crop factor 1.5 it makes it even more fun. But I'm ahead. For many years now I've been using a Canon FDn 500/8.0 on my Fuji. Free hand it's a challenge to focus, especially on flying birds, but still it's a lot of fun for no money. I bought my Canon 500 for approx $150.

Hey Jason. Thanks for this video. Just placed an order for this lense at B&H. Going by what you show in his video. Hopefully the size and weight are worth the quality compromise. But I like the fact that you noticed this lense and saw something that no other has. At least no one else has reviewed it

Bully Maguire cameo = instant like

I wonder how it was built that it could be that small. Maybe it utilizes a micro 4:3 system?

I'm more interested in your tripod skills/technics. Did you use a sandbag (if necessary), the brand of the tripod, etc? Also post-production workflow. I haven't seen this much sharpest images from a mirror lens.

Do you think it can be used with an older sony model, like the A6400? Or it's not worth it. Let me know if you get a chance. Great video as usual ;)

Cool video, you should drop a little LUT that compliments the lens for the interwebs...

Looks awesome! Thanks for another good review. What's the deal with that dot in the middle of the glass element? How the heck does that work and not get in the way??

If it can be adapted to M mount it is light enough to put on a fotodiox pronto pro and used with sony a7 cameras giving autofocus.

Hello.I' loved your video.I ' would like to ask if l ' can use AF system( auto focus) on this lens.Thank you very much.Many greetings from Greece.😊

These mirror lenses have been around for quite a long time. Canon made one for their FD mount system and Nikon made one to fit all F mount camera bodies. Yashica made one in the m42 universal screw mount that could easily be adapted to any camera, film, digital, cinema. Tamron made one in its adaptall 2 mount that can, with the purchase of an inexpensive adapter, be mounted on just about any camera. All are, of course, manual focus. You can find them used on ebay for S100 to $200. some come with a complete set of filters. Most are in excellent condition as they have been used little. The quality ones were expensive in their day but fell out of favor when digital cameras came along. All have the ring bokeh. Not as sharp as high quality non-mirrored lenses, and images tend to be flat. They are all f8, no aperture to set. You can get a usable image with editing. They're cheap very light and highly portable. I've not tried the new Tokina but from your description, it performs about the same as the older mirror lenses. Don't expect to get amazing wildlife photos with a mirror lens, the images are too soft and even with sharpening, details are lost.

Manual Lens FTW!

what about comparing this to some old russian reflector lenses?

great photos, I tried using a manual lens before its a big pain to focus, never ever used again!

Great topic! I have a number of mirror lenses of various focal lengths. One of them is a real stinker! It's heavy and soft. I do have a few that are very sharp. Folks into astrophotography would refer to them as "diffraction limited". I'd recommend trying to look up reviews and opinions by people who have the particular model you may be looking at on eBay. Your right about needing a tripod or monopod to get the sharpest image even on a bright day. One downside I'll mention if it isn't obvious is that at closer distances, the depth of field is ridiculously shallow.

Thanks!

How does it even work with the circular block in the middle?

Omg... I want one now holy crap!

So is this lens not compatible with the compact mirror less cameras?

Hi Jason. Always I've tempted for this catadioptric lenses, by the same reasons as you. But many people reported so bad results with other brands. I read something of an old Canon FD mirror lens, and I decided to find one of them at eBay. Finally I got the Sony SAL500F8 REFLEX, that I use with my LA-EA4 in my A7R, the AF is fast but noisy, AF works only with a small center point... But anyway, I found it a great lens, really amazing to have 500mm in this so small form factor. Pretty happy with it. Enjoy it and Thx for the video.

Is it good for bird photography? As I am currently using canon 55-250 mm and want to upgrade.

I shoot a lot with a manual 800mm remember this rule: “use the infinite mark”

I have to wonder how it compares to the $140 Optica of the same 500mm.

You can buy an old Minolta 500mm reflex or the newer Sony one for the same price as this (a little bit more with the A-mount adapter) and have auto focus. Or you can get a 500mm reflex (new or vintage) for like 80-120$. No need to buy this one for 400$ just cause it's smaller

What is that center circle on front of lens ? Thanks

Did you just used sony phone as a field monitor? Sick!