[Quicksand]

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This can't be any good, can it?

Amazon.com: Vivitar 650-1300mm f/8-16 Series 1 Variable Zoom Lens - Requires T-Mount Adapter: Camera & Photo

The Vivitar/Samyang/Polar/etc. recent 85mm f/1.4 has been pretty well-received around here, but I haven't heard a single word about this one. Anyone crazy enough to try it?

[RioRico]

This can't be any good, can it? ... I haven't heard a single word about this one. Anyone crazy enough to try it?

You buy it, I'll try it. I just googled it and found NOT ONE SINGLE REVIEW or user comment, beyond "this isn't an auspicious start". I'd expect a bit of CA, eh? Yeah, this should be just about perfect for distant B&W surveillance shots.

[WerTicus]

I've heard its terrible and your better off with one of those 500 or 800mm mirror lenses which are only 'not great'

[Quicksand]

You buy it, I'll try it.

Heh, nice try! $300 is a lot of scratch for an Opteka-quality lens. I see their 500mm f/8 lenses for under $100 all the time on the eBay and even then I'm not terribly tempted.

And now that I have mentioned the dreaded Opteka lenses, and going back and doing a Google search, I see that there is also an Opteka 650-1300mm that has been around for a while.

Amazon.com: Opteka 650-1300mm High Definition Telephoto Lens for Canon EOS 40D, 30D, 20D, 10D, Digital Rebel XT, XTi, XS, & XSi: Camera & Photo

I would bet dollars to doughnuts that this is exactly the same lens as the Vivitar. Excepting, of course, the stylish Canon-L-style white paint the Opteka boasts.

The Amazon reviews for that lens are more positive than I would have guessed, but for that matter some people DO eat at Applebee's. Elsewhere on the 'net there is a lot of griping about softness and CA, unsurprisingly enough.

Bottom line: I woudn't buy it with YOUR money.

[monochrome]

The Amazon reviews for that lens are more positive than I would have guessed . . . .

How do we know the Vivitar National Sales Manager, his daughter and his secretary's nephew didin't post those "User Reviews?"

[RobG]

I just discovered this lens being sold as "Samyang" on eBay but it sounds like the lenses mentioned in this thread?

Samyang 650-2600mm Telephoto Lens for Pentax K-30 K-7 K-5 K-01 K-R DSLR Camera | eBay

[photolady95]

This lens is still being offered on Amazon. And was going to ask a question about it. Found this in the suggested links when you post a question. So it's no good? I'll steer clear then. Thanks for the comments. I can always count on PF members to help me not make a mistake.

[SpecialK]

It might be barely useable for insurance/documentation work. Especially with the 2X TC shooting at f32 :-)

[photolady95]

l
ROFLMAO!!

[steve1307]

A Pentax Q with a K adapter and pretty much any lens would poop all over this thing as far as image quality goes.

The Opteka / Vivitar / Samyang /(whatever) thing would be better at hammering nails into timber though.

[nater]

I just discovered this lens being sold as "Samyang" on eBay but it sounds like the lenses mentioned in this thread?

Samyang's lenses are easy enough to look up on their website, here's the frame for this lens:

::: Samyang Optics co., ltd. - We bring you Safety :::

Some of their lenses are very good, but I have no idea about this one. Optically it's pretty simple with only 8 elements in 5 groups, and it's a T-mount (so no aperture communication to the body). Even if the lens were optically perfect, it still starts at f/8 (where resolution would be lowest, so you'd need to stop down further for more resolution), and there's no focal length communication to the body so ideally you wouldn't use it like a zoom but more like a prime and dial in the focal length you plan to shoot at, and/or use a good tripod. It just seems like a difficult lens at best.

Samyang lenses are sold under their brand name in Korea and other parts of asia, but in North America/Europe they are more often sold under Rokinon, Vivitar, Bower, Falcon, Polar, or Opteka brands. Most of these brands exist to re-brand products by other companies that don't otherwise have a presence in the western hemisphere. Sometimes they play with the mm description on a lens to make it appear different (Vivitar calls their Samyang 14mm a 13mm lens, Opteka calls their Samyang 8mm fisheye 6.5mm, etc.)

Also, don't confuse the Vivitar brand today with the Vivitar of the past. The company founded by Max Ponder and John Best is long gone. The name and some intellectual property has changed hands a few times since they died. Syntax-Brillian Corporation bought it in 2006, then went bankrupt in 2008 and sold the brand name and intellectual property to Sakar International in New Jersey.

[photolady95]

I have a Samyang 100-500mm that is pretty sharp at 500mm. I wouldn't trade it for anything for now anyway. It only cost me $75 and is decent size in the length for my bird shooting.

[jatrax]

Kind of funny how a thread started in 2009 can just pick up again as if no time has passed.

[photolady95]

Kind of funny how a thread started in 2009 can just pick up again as if no time has passed.

I would not have posted had not RobG opened it first in 2013.

[jatrax]

Sad to see RioRico's posts come back to the surface.

There is something profound, both in a thread renewing without a blink after 4 years and in RioRico's posts still coming up (and being useful as always) but I'm not smart enough to figure it out or articulate what it is.

But maybe I will try to think more before I type something, the ripples in the internet pond never really stop. I would not want my grandchildren to read things and say "grandpa was a real jerk".