| Author: | | Site Supporter Registered: August, 2011 Location: South Florida Posts: 31 | | Review Date: November 6, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Very sharp for a mirror | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-3
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Great lens, great optics, great quality. I tried other mirror lenses and long teles and this one was light years ahead. The price was very reasonable which is good for a lens that has limited use. I put it through my usual lens tests and it performed surprisingly well, almost matching other Pentax telephotos. The colors are quite good too.
| | | | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2013 Posts: 11 | | Review Date: February 14, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $160.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, compact | | Cons: | Needs sunlight | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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What a great lens! A compact 500mm that provides great pictures with a really good IQ and sharpness. Turned into a 750mm with my Kr, it is really impressive how it can shoot far things.
The perfect condition is sunlight, a bright day so you can shoot at hogh shutter speed.
Taken at 1500m distance
Taken at 1200m distance
 | | | | | New Member Registered: November, 2013 Location: Port Orchard, WA Posts: 10 | | Review Date: January 24, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Massive zoom, Small for focus, Close focus, Crisp. | | Cons: | Donuts, Slow aperture. | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 5
Handling: 10
Value: 9
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My copy of this lens was purchased used, but appeared near new when it arrived. I use it with a UV filter and the hood attached at all times. I don't think I would ever use the lens without the hood, as it seems a little too exposed. My lens did not come with the additional small filters and only had the normal small filter.
I have used this lens with both the K-3 and my former Canon 10D and 20D. Despite the issues that come with handling a lens like this (donuts, stabilization, and fixed superzoom), I absolutely love this lens. While it isn't especially versatile, I have such a fun time with this lens. The close focus ability makes pseudo macro shots with this lens easy. I got frustrated using this lens due to the f8 with my Canons, but I really enjoy using it with the K-3 as I have so much more ISO headroom. The internal stabilization really helps as well getting shots when it is cloudy or I am in the woods. This lens is easy to carry around, is not too large or heavy, and is reasonably easy to handle without a tripod or monopod. You will have better results with a monopod or tripod, but I have not found them to be 100% necessary--especially on sunny days. I would actually prefer to carry this lens to my 70-210 due to the weight of the 70-210.
Here are some samples:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/members/64969-knotmetoo/albums/7767-tamro...cture68851.jpg
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/members/64969-knotmetoo/albums/7767-tamro...cture68852.jpg
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/members/64969-knotmetoo/albums/7767-tamro...cture68853.jpg | | | | | Forum Member Registered: September, 2013 Posts: 62 | | Review Date: December 26, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | short, not expensive, fast enough | | Cons: | "macro" option is useless | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 9
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overall everything is good. hood included.
"rings" bokeh - known and not SO MUCH bad thing.
f/8 - fast enough for mirror lens, aberration... sharpness... but:
who the hell is really need this stupid "macro" range of focusing? Mirror lens at close range is nonsense!
this option is useless, and just affecting long distance focusing, at LR distances focusing ring travel is too short.
overall not bad at all. if You need 500 mm compact and cheep lens - try it, not a big-deal.
| | | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: April, 2011 Location: Lost in translation ... Posts: 18,076
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 21, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $130.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Build, small-ish, focus throw ... | | Cons: | F8 and usual mirror issues, but I like "doghnut" bokeh ... | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 8
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Bonjour,
Just acquired this 55BB with case, hood, cap & 01F 2x TC and like what I have seen thus far ... only a few outdoor test shots, since the outside weather is wet and cold ... will post samples later.
Giving a straight across "8" rating until more test and use can be done ...
Allez et salut, Jean le Green Frog
Here's some p0rn shots to see what the 55BB looks like on the K-5 ...
 | | | | | Senior Member Registered: May, 2012 Location: Sunshine Coast Posts: 113 | | Review Date: July 3, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $450.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Small and light for its focal length, beautifully made. | | Cons: | Fixed F8, manual focus. | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 5
Handling: 8
Value: 9
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I bought this lens new back in 1983 for my ME Super, It was one of my favourite lenses, and I used it off and on until 2002 when I put my ME aside to do video and compact digital stuff. It was always kept in a hard case when not in use, so it still looks and works like new. Now I have my Kr I've bought it back out of retirement.to use again. I still love it as much as ever. It is good to see a bit of a resurgence in interest in these lenses. They truly were and still are, fine pieces of optical engineering. I just wish I had also bought the 350mm version as well when I had the chance.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: November, 2009 Location: Strand Posts: 1,366 | | Review Date: March 6, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $220.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Compact, light weight, sharp, minimum focus distance | | Cons: | Ring bokeh, little focus throw at near infinity | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 9
Value: 10
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Ring bokeh can be used in selected cases, not need to be negative.
Sharp overall. Very close focus distance to be a 500mm lens. Easy to focus within 20m/60feet, but harder at near infinity. SR very useful for hand held.
This lens is not for beginners.
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: June, 2011 Location: Melbourne Posts: 9 | | Review Date: March 5, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Lightweight, sharp, contrasty lens | | Cons: | unusual bokeh | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 4
Handling: 8
Value: 7
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Generally it's a value lens if the price is below $200.
The best about this lens is sharpness with very little aberration and close to none vignetting. Similar to other mirror lenses, it's much lighter and more compact compare to conventional long range tele lenses. However it still needs steady support when shooting as it's not easy to focus with lenses with more than 300mm focal length.
The bad about this lens is it's donut-like bokeh that looks unusual. details in out of focused zones are almost lost. If your focusing is spot on, you'll have clear, sharp images out of the lens.
The macro function works well and this lens give you a closer focus distance when shoot in macro than many mirror lenses.
A protective filter is recommended for this lens as dust can easily fall on to the mirror.
 | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: August, 2011 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 45 | | Review Date: October 25, 2011 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | 500mm without breaking your back, donut bokeh | | Cons: | not amazing sharpness, donut bokeh | |
I don't get a lot of chances to use this lens, but when I do it's a joy.
Under the right circumstances, don't let anyone tell you it can't be used for fast action.
IMG_9657 by jerm1386, on Flickr
IMG_4729 by jerm1386, on Flickr
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Site Supporter Registered: June, 2008 Location: Florida Hill Country Posts: 17,377
3 users found this helpful
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2009 Location: Ohio, USA/ India Posts: 478
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 31, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 9 |
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This is a terrific lens if you are into mirror lenses. It has fantastic IQ and is light enough for travel. I want to let the pictures taken with this lens speak for themselves:
For the above image there was minimal pp done (just a bit of sharpening and adjusted contrast I think). Here is an example with the doughnuts:
The lens is great for large birds. I think I just lucked out with the first picture. It is difficult to focus the lens with quick moving birds such as the chickadee and the like.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2009 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 509
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 13, 2011 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | very well built, sturdy in hand, smooth focusing | | Cons: | need a tripod, low IMQ, focus ring reversed from a pentax lens, color washed out a bit | | Sharpness: 6
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 8
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Construction: on par with some of the best made manual lenses including Pentax.
Image quality: OK. It is perhaps one of the best mirror lenses. Contrast is low and image sharpness is merely OK. Better to use with K5 and K7 (than say Kx) which have a better viewfinder.
Tripod or monopod is a must.
Only capable under good light. It is difficult to focus. Perhaps this is not exceptional for a long lens like this.
It is for you if you are not a frequent long shooter but would like to have one on the road just in case. It is for you if you are more concerned about portability than IMQ. It is for you if you can handle MF and if you can survive without changing aperture. It works OK for me.
Macro function is usable, but it is not a real macro lens.
Pretty hard for anything that is moving or that is not well lighted. Take a while to get used to. Need to increase contrast and saturation. But it is very light. Good for infrequent use.
 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: July, 2009 Location: Saffron Walden, Essex Posts: 362 | | Review Date: August 30, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $130.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Small and light, very sharp | | Cons: | Doughnut bokeh, fixed f8 aperture, challenging to focus | |
A great, some say the best, 500mm lens in this price range. Very sharp, but quite hard to focus accurately. Good build quality, including an excellent metal hood. The fixed aperture can be a hindrance sometimes. Focus ring goes well beyond infinity which can be annoying although apparently this is common in mirror lenses.
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: December, 2009 Location: London Posts: 45
2 users found this helpful
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: December, 2009 Location: London Posts: 45 | | Review Date: March 21, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $140.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Compact, decent quality and cost-effective | | Cons: | Usual mirror issues - no aperture control, bokeh | |
I have the newer version of this lens, and would highly recommend it if you only occasionally want this kind of focal length and can't contemplate the cost or size of something like the Bigma.
Used with care, results can be stunning.
This means shooting RAW so you can squeeze as much out of the files as you can in PP.
It also means not being fooled into thinking that you will get many good sharp shots if you only handhold the lens. The "keeper rate" will rise exponentially if you use a monopod or tripod.
Other than that, the main other issue is to spot the occasions when donut bokeh is likely to be a problem: generally where there are spectacular highlights in the background. Avoid that, and you'll be rewarded by an excellent sharp lens with virtually no nasty fringing.
A surprise is how good this lens is at close ups. Mirrors tend to be good either at close up or distance, but rarely both. This Tamron manages to do both very nicely.
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