| Author: | | New Member Registered: July, 2023 Posts: 2 | | Review Date: July 8, 2023 | Recommended | Price: $20.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Interesting effect. Narrow depth of field | | Cons: | Focusing is difficult | | Sharpness: 6
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 2
Value: 9
Camera Used: Sony A7Rii
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When I first got this lens I was really pleased with the sharpness. But I took it on holiday and suddenly there was a marked difference in performance. The lens just seemed to pass focus and now and I can't get the relatively sharp images I used to. I'll add some pics to show what I mean.
If anyone has had a similar experience or they know what might be wrong I'd be grateful.
| | | | | | | Closed Account Registered: December, 2013 Location: West Virginia Posts: 2,815 | | Review Date: January 17, 2023 | Not Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 6 |
| Pros: | Nice size since it's a mirror lens | | Cons: | My copy wasn't very sharp | | Sharpness: 6
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-S2
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I think I had a bad copy of this lens. Although it looked mint, it just wouldn't produce a sharp image.
I'm currently looking at getting an older Pentax 600mm mirror lens - costs double what this one cost.
I posted some images, here in the forum, comparing the SMC Pentax DA 1:4-5.8 55-300mm ED lens to the Tamron. I cropped images from the Pentax so that they were the same size as the images taken with the Tamron at its 500mm.
Here are some comments that users made when they compared the two lens.
"My judgement would be you're better off using the 55-300 in every case."
&
"I agree with the others that the cropped 55-300 images appear more detailed than the Tamron mirror"
&
"Your copy seems to be unusually soft."
So, the Pentax images taken at 300mm and cropped, to be the same size as images from the Tamron's 500mm, produced sharper and nicer looking images than the Tamron's 500mm images. This shouldn't have been the case, but it was.
The thread where I compared the two lens images is at:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/10-pentax-slr-lens-discussion/437054-tam...omparison.html
| | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: January, 2008 Location: Paris, TN Posts: 3,349 | | Review Date: June 25, 2021 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: N/A |
| Pros: | versatility | | Cons: | | | Camera Used: Q
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Simply intended to note the versatility of the Adaptall design. Combined with the Q bodies this lens offers extreme close-up potential at a reasonable cost in a very small package. Small, dangerous or shy subjects are easily accessible.
   | | | | | Seeker of Knowledge Registered: August, 2016 Location: Topeka, Kansas Posts: 24,581 | | Review Date: March 19, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $70.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | seems well made, sharp, great value | | Cons: | hood when rversed is friction fit only and does slide off easily, mirror lens problems | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 5
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K 3 or K 3 II
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I just got this lens having found it on EBAY and the seller willing to make a deal off of his initial price
does have some visible loss of coatings on lens but on very edges and has no effect on the photos
I like it but there is a learning curve  and has the typical mirror lens limitations
so far trying it hand held, braced at times,
no real opportunity yet to use it to its full potential as a true telephoto
| | | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: May, 2015 Location: Hampshire Posts: 892 | | Review Date: March 12, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $60.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | No ca problems, great value for money, adaptall. | | Cons: | In the review body. | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-5
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Yet another lens with fungus bringing the cost down, a clean lens would be worth much more than the one I bought.
This was auctioned as having the fungus but was in good condition otherwise and after reading up in the forums about how to clean it I bought it had a go myself. I did not break anything so maybe I was lucky but after the event a forum member in North Wales did point out that the method I used (entry through the front element) could have resulted in a poorer IQ due to the very tight tolerances. Any inexperienced dabblers beware. Thank you Marcus.
I am very pleased with this lens, it may not vie successfully with the better refractive lenses lenses but it is the best 300mm plus lens that I own.
There is no CA apparent as far as I can see , it is quite sharp even hand held! and can be focussed by eye in bright sun quite easily. Not that I would be tempted to use it much without some sunlight.
It has a close focus ability that makes it better than my 300mm plus lenses in that regard.
The ring bokeh can be awful but can also be used for effect.
On the down side, my using it hand held when my aging body is continually moving and my hands tremble does mean some images OOF due to it's small depth of field.
Yet another Tamron SP adaptall that is good. On todays modern digital cameras with focussing aids and ISO 800 plus abilities, it is probably great for it's cost.
There were apparently lots of these sold so no reason to avoid buying one and enjoying it.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2011 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 982 | | Review Date: May 28, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Lightweight, very sharp, long focus throw, great hood | | Cons: | No tripod mount -- although not really necessary | |
My review is for the Tamron 55BB, but I've seen lots of photos taken with the 55B and it appears to be every bit as good.
I find this lens to be exceptionally sharp for a mirror lens, and also to have better than average contrast. I especially like the 55BB's very long focus throw -- almost a full 360 degrees.
I have found, from my early experiences with a Sigma 600mm f/8 I bought in 1984, at which time I was an advancing amateur, that it takes a fair amount of practice before one can expect to reliably produce good images with a long mirror. There were days way back then that I was convinced that Sigma was junk, but as my technique improved, my impressions of that lens's capabilities improved. You can't just expect to mount this lens and then shoot snaps with it, and expect much from the results. No you need to pay close attention to accurate focus, and because it's a 500mm lens with a fixed f/8 aperture, you need to pay extra special attention to shutter speed and sturdiness of the camera's mount. In many cases, when the shutter speed is low, if your camera has mirror lock-up, it should be used, or in the case of a digital, at a minimum, the self timer should be employed. Paying attention to anything that might induce vibration will reap rewards in the final image.
Here's a shot of the moon taken with the Tamron mirror. The camera as a Sony NEX 7, set to ISO 100. Shutter speed was 1/125. Note that this is not a grayscale image, so the Tamron allows one to see the actual colors of the Moon's surface.
Here is a double image I put together of the crescent moon, showing images taken with my old Century Precision Optics Tele Athenar II 500mm f/5.6 refractor, set to f/8 and the Tamron 55BB. I put the two images together to show how well this mirror stacks up with a very good refractor of the same focal length. There are some white balance differences, and the CPO seems to have just a bit more contrast than the Tamron, but I can't tell a difference regarding sharpness. Image size was adjusted in post processing to take into account the NEX's 1.5x magnification.
I can highly recommend this lens. It can often be found for a very good price these days, and as such, I think it should be a no-brainer since sometimes there is just no substitute for mm's.
| | | | | 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.
| | | | | 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
| | | | | 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.
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