Has anybody used one of these lenses?
Http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140711364147
Here's a link to it. I'm curious to know if anybody has used any of these cheap telephotos, just to mess about with & possibly for a little bit of wildlife.
Added (1). Taylor & Judas - I already have Nikon's 70-300mm VR & my telephoto shots are as good as I'm able to make them. I just thought the extra reach would be fun to play around with but if the optics are useless I'll look into Nikon's teleconverters.
fhotoace - I shoot everything, bar portraits, fully manually & love it.
Camera Guy - Do you have any sample shots I could see?
Added (2). Fhotoace - I just read your comment properly… Sounds like a bit of a chore. I'm sure that'd take some getting used to
Junk. Save your pennies for a 70-300 VR.
Given that a typical lens that size sells for around 80, 000 quid, and that one is 300, I'm guessing it is complete rubbish.
There are lots of those lenses which seem to be identical but sold under different names. They are all poor. No autofocus or auto-aperture and pretty poor image quality. They are called "preset lenses" (because the aperture is preset, and doesn't automatically stop down when you take the photo). Doing a little bit of reading online will soon let you see the negative reviews for yourself!
It's a shame that good telephoto lenses are expensive. If you're on a budget, the best you can do is buy a Nikon 70-300mm (or go Sigma or Tamron, if you like) and either add a teleconverter, or make do with cropping the image.
I know it's a "boring" suggestion compared to buying a fun lens, but a good tripod or monopod will also go a huge way to improve your telephoto shots.
Do you know what a preset aperture is?
After you have focused the lens, you have to manually change the aperture to what your light meter may or may not tell you it needs to be to get a correct exposure. This lens will be very frustrating when shooting wildlife. You have to manually focus and set the aperture before shooting. Since the aperture closes as you adjust it, you have to first focus with the aperture wide open and then manually close it down to the indicated aperture.
My guess is that if you buy it, it will end up sitting in your closet after just a few attempts of using for shooting wildlife.
Trash…
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Look into one of these -
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http://www.kenrockwell.com/...n/5008.htm.
I have one, had if for a number of years. This guy claims their not sharp but I think he's nuts.
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Small, 6" long. Light weight… Bright. Leave camera on A and you focus and shoot. Or, go to M and get serious…
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Hand held shooting straight up -
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http://lensmen2.smugmug.com/Photography/Forever-Wild/5537690_fkVTLZ#!i=339146757&k=ePYLn&lb=1&s=A.
On a tripod -
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http://lensmen2.smugmug.com/Photography/Fur-Fin-Feather/5537709_vTqcjX#!i=429953870&k=6xC2U&lb=1&s=A.
500mm f/8 mirror lens.
It's only real application is the reproduction of documents, but since photocopiers are readily available, this lens has lost it's only use. It's really a useless wast of money.