Big Mike’s High-Power 500mm/1000mm f/8 Manual Telephoto Lens for Nikon DSLR, Black

I'm a birder and like to photograph birds in the wild. However, I found that my 85-200 zoom lens with auto-focus was not powerful enough to get details I wanted of the birds. I also found that the auto-focus often times focused on something other than the birds. I purchased this 500mm lens based on the manufacturer, the inclusion of the doubler, the warranty, and the price. Big Mike's included detailed instructions and FAQ's with the package that provided excellent information for setting the lens and taking photographs. It does take some getting used to, especially if you've relied on auto-focus. I had to practice finding the subject since the field of view is smaller, but that came fairly quickly. The camera must be set on manual or shutter priority since the aperture opening is set on the lens. The nice thing about digital cameras is that I can practice a lot with different aperture settings, shutter speeds, and ISO (film speed). I found that, in good light, I can get excellent photos with a shutter speed of 1/500th of a second, aperture at f11, and ISO at 400, especially if my subject is moving. In darker conditions, 1/100th shutter speed, f8, and ISO 1600 works great. If you want to tweak things between aperture settings of f11 and f22, there is another ring on the lens that will open/close the aperture between the adjacent stops. Maximum settings are f8 and f32. With this lens, I've taken some great pictures of birds, both while stationary and flying. I also used the doubler and took shots of the supermoon with the camera mounted on a tripod. I'm very satisfied with this purchase and with the support provided by Big Mike's.

I'm an amateur and mostly take nature photos. I wanted a good telephoto lens but nothing expensive because I'm still learning and didn't want to invest thousands yet. I read the reviews on this lens, not just here, but on the internet as well, and was very impressed. And the price was right. I called the seller first to make sure it fit my Nikon D3500, since it's not listed, and he assured me it was and also offered a lot of tips on using the lens. Most important to know is that it is NOT auto...but since I mostly shoot in Manual mode anyway, that was not a problem for me. First...it did take me a bit of fidgeting to get the t-ring just right on the lens and then to attach to the camera, But once you do it, it's easy. The lens is not too heavy, but it's not too light either. I first tried shooting without a Tripod, and even tho my hand shook, it did take a decent photo. Once I attached it to the tripod, tho, it did take much better photos. Another thing...it does need a lot of light. So, unless you are young and strong (both of which I am not), use a tripod. Pictures on a sunny day were much better than those I took on a cloudy day, even with adjusting the ISO. Also it is a slow shooting lens, takes time to get used to the narrow viewer and focusing, so if you want a quick photo, you may miss your subject. I haven't used the 2x converter much yet, but I'm sure it will be just fine. These photos were taken on the first day I had the lens, a bright sunny day. First one is with ISO of 1600 (recommended) and the second with ISO of 800....so you see even even a sunny day, you will need a high ISO. All in all, I am very pleased with the lens. There is definitely a learning curve, but for the money, I don''t think you can do better.

I recently ordered this lens: it arrived on time and well packaged. I have taken several test shots with the 500mm alone, and with the 2x teleconverter attached (1000mm). I have no issues with the lens and the results so far have been encouraging. Instructions that come with the lens are easy to understand. The lens is fully manual, meaning you have to set both the aperture and focus "by hand". This is not a 'knock' on the lens: it was clearly identified as manual. (Note: put your camera in 'Manual' mode and set the shutter speed there). The aperture is easily set, so that isn't an issue. The focus is another matter. At such a high magnification, the slightest movement or vibration of the lens (like while turning the focus ring) makes the image in the viewfinder 'jump all over' (and the small size of the viewfinder on my Nikon camera doesn't help!) To be fair however, my tripod is of light-weight construction and not very stable to start with--I'm confident that with a solid mount, the focusing would be much easier. Anyone wanting to experiment with long lenses should consider this one: I find it to be a reasonably inexpensive way to do so and look forward to using it to advance my knowledge of photography.

The T mount adapter screws on the camera body fine. The Tele converter screws onto the T mount fine. The issue is the Tele converter does not screw onto the lens they are the some size and they have the same type of ends one does not fit into the other. Then I tried to use just the lens without the converter. The lens does not fit onto the T mount it’s to wide as well and does not have the type of end needed to screw into each other. There must be a missing part that was not sent. This is completely useless. Reached out to company no response

The good. It does take good photos if you know how to work a manual… The bad. The adapter stripped out within a few uses permanently stuck to the 2x section. I’d suggest ordering an extra adapter… for the price it’s a good lens to mess around with.