Sigma-XQ 500mm f/8 Mirror Ultra-Telephoto

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A difficult lens but a fun challenge I don't have a lot of experience with all-manual lenses. But I was finding that my 300mm wasn't reaching close enough for some wildlife shots so I thought I'd give this a try, as it was the only way to get a bit closer without breaking my budget. Overall, I'm happy that I bought it and will keep it for the time being. It is quite difficult to use for birding and I can't recommend it for that. The in-focus sweet spot is extremely narrow, and by the time you get it sharp enough the bird will likely have moved on. The actual act of focusing is aided by a very high-quality, responsive focus ring, but there's no getting around this structural issue. You'll be using this for still and slow-moving subjects only. I don't have issues holding it steady enough, but a monopod and in-body OIS on my camera (Pentax K-S2) help a bit in that regard. The low contrast inherent to mirror lenses is an issue. But you can undo this a bit by fiddling with contrast, sharpness and saturation in post, as I've done with the attached images. They were taken on a cloudy day which was not ideal light conditions for a lens like this, and I got a lot of stinkers but these two were keepers for me (I'm an amateur who enjoys photographing wildlife and sharing with friends). I personally think the bokeh looks kinda cool, but my subjects are usually well separated from the background so YMMV. I am using this lens on a Pentax K-S2 with a Fotodiox adapter to convert it to a PK mount. So I can get even closer due to the APS-C sensor size. I have been mounting a monopod on lens directly to help me keep it steady. The lens looks super cool, by the way; like a piece from some retro-futuristic raygun, with a high-quality metal construction. Mine came with a hard case, a set of filters and a hood (the hood is a must have for adequate contrast). I'll keep this lens to keep practicing my manual focus and exposure skills and get a little closer to wildlife than I could before. For bird ID and walking around, I'll continue to use my 70-300 mm Sigma and just walk a little closer! Overall, it's exactly what I hoped it would be: an inexpensive way to get closer to wildlife.Read full review