Anyone use Mirror Lens

[redsox223]

Has anyone used or use a mirror lens? I am looking into either spending money on a teleconverter or 500mm mirror lens and dont know which one to get.

[wingsnstuff]

I have.  They're heavy, delicate, and can produce edge shadowing in certain light conditions.  I was using a larger lense 2000MM (borrowed) to shoot some eagles and sea otters in Alaska and was disappointed with edge shadowing on the final results and the work to haul it around.  I had better luck with my 500mm manual.

[jslugman]

I've used both Canon and 3rd-party mirror reflex lenses in the past and they're, well.... better than nothing I guess. I had to really pay attention to specular light sources behind my subject as you would get circle-shaped lights in the bokeh (out of focus) area of your image. Here's an example of what I'm talking about:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/perl/3681859277/

Might be worth it to borrow one first, I imagine the little doughnuts might drive you crazy but then it might be just the thing you're looking for!

Keep us posted.

[redsox223]

Thanks, its something that I want to look into, so I guess renting either of the 2 wouldnt be a bad way to go.

[Jay Beckman]

Has anyone used or use a mirror lens? I am looking into either spending money on a teleconverter or 500mm mirror lens and dont know which one to get.

Which lens are you looking to marry with a TC?

[redsox223]

For the TC, a 70-200 2.8 and a 70-300 4-5.6. I was looking at a 2x TC.

[CJPalmer]

I haven't used a mirror lens, but I do have the 1.4 and 2x teleconverters for Canon and would recommend them. Using the 2x with the 70-200 2.8 requires a little more post processing (contrast and saturation), but it is still sharp. All of my Coolidge shots are done with this combo. Have the converter also means you can use it with any lens that you rent. I had it on the 300 2.8 I used outside El Centro.

[jslugman]

I have the 1.4x Canon TE and use it frequently with my 70-200 2.8, not the 2x so much. Be aware that with certain lenses/bodies you might lose autofocus.