Sony SAL500F80, 500mm f/8 reflex lens experience?

[Roger Clark]

Does anyone here have any experience with the
Sony SAL500F80, 500mm f/8 reflex lens?

This is for someone else who needs a long telephoto reach to get fine detail yet must be as light weight as possible and reasonably fast autofocus? Then, if you have the lens, how about on a Sony A55 DSLR?

I would love to see comparison images between the above and something like a 7D (or D60 or T2i) and 300 f/4 L IS + 1.4x TC. Or is there a nikon or other equivalent that will give the resolution of the canon setup but be lighter weight. It must also have image stabilization.

Thanks for any help,

Roger

</pre>

[Luis Villablanca]

Roger,

I used that lens in the past and it has pros and cons.
It is lightweight and can AF well (quite fast) despite of being a fixed f/8, but it has low contrast
and the funky bokeh of the mirror lenses. Some Sony/Minolta users really like it though.

I suggest you ask the same question at the Sony DSLR forum in dpreview
and at the lens forum at dyxum.com.
http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/lens-talk-area_forum1.html

I cannot compare it against the 300/4 + 1.4x TC, but my feeling is that the Canon combo will be sharper.
--
Luis

[Roger Clark]

Luis,

Thanks for the info. Do you still have the lens?

Roger

[Luis Villablanca]

Roger,

No, I sold it last year when I switched to Canon.
--
Luis