Used Bower 500mm f/8 T Mount Preset Telephoto Lens

2014-06-26T21:00:00

Okay... 4 stars for a sub $150 500mm lens? I must be nuts, right? Wrong. My star rating factors in the price. There is not a better lens longer than 300mm available anywhere (new or used) for under $500. So if you are really desperate to try and capture that distant image, but $1500 for a Canon L series lens is even more distant than your subject, buy this lens. It has better contrast than any of the mirror lenses (at any price). If you use a tripod (which you should) AND you compose your shot well, AND if you have decent available light, you actually may wind up with a sharper and more interesting image than the guy next to you who has more money than brains. On a good day, with the wind at your back (and more importantly, the sun at your back), with some skill and a sturdy tripod, there is no reason that you couldn't shoot an award-winning photo with this lens. Now, if you don't take the time to master the skill needed to use this tool properly, and if you fail to use a sturdy tripod, or if you are fighting poor lighting, well... Not so much. I own a Canon 100-400 L, but there are times this lens goes out with me on a shoot. If I am not anticipating needing a long lens, and it is likely to sit all day in the trunk of my car, I take this one just in case the need arises. It is extremely sharp with excellent contrast when stopped down to f11 (for a cheap long lens). It totally blows away any and all vintage 400mm preset lenses including some pretty well respected ones like the Tamron 400mm 6.3 MF lenses of the late 1960's to 1970's (which still sell for more than this lens does brand new). You will have some CA (mostly purple fringing) to deal with in post -processing, but that is pretty simple to resolve. What you won't have is uncontrollable razor-thin depth of field and hideous doughnut bokeh like you get on a mirror lens. Yes, once you stop down past f11, diffraction enters the mathematical side of the equation, but from my experience, just forget that you ever heard of diffraction. F22 is your friend! I will gladly trade-off the minor effects of diffraction for a subject that is IN FOCUS! If you have the light and the time for the slower shutter speed, stop down as far as you need to, to achieve the depth of field that you need for your shot. Long story short... for the price, you get way more than you pay for with this lens. If you learn to take decent photos with this lens and then immediately and intentionally run it over with your car, the lessons learned will still leave you with a good bargain. (plus, this thing is built like a tank. It will likely still work fine after running it over.)

Patrick

2012-09-20T21:00:00

It is all metal and of pretty good build, I was surprised. This lens is a great buy if you understand optics, but don't purchase if thinking you can slap it on and start shooting sharp images right away. There is a short learning curve to getting sharp focus. Subject distance and aperture DIRECTLY affects how sharp your focus is. I was frustrated at first because I only thought aperture affected focus, distance is also a player. With some tinkering the right combos get learned and the lens produce images equal with kit lenses. Interesting Note: There two aperture rings which adds to the learning curve. One aperture ring locks into detents and limits aperture at standard settings (f/8, f/11, f/16, etc...) And there is a second non-locking -or- free spinning aperture ring that actually opens and closes the aperture blades. It is hard to explain. Set the locking ring to f/32 and you have access to all apertures with the free spin ring. Set it to f/11 and you only have access from f/8 thru f/11. It is like an aperture limiter. Sharp optics in a solid metal build that doesn't look cheap. Good money spent because images are better than expected.

CHRIS C.