Mirror or not?

[Paul690]

i am looking at buying a 500mm lens for my Sony Alpha 350 DSLR
i want it for photographing wildlife and fast motorcycle racing... what one is best a great long lens or a morror lens to take up less space?

[Elite Shutterbug]

uum always spring for a good lens, the only time i compromise is when i absolutely cant afford something.

do your research and make the call =)

id say the "big long lens" is better but that's just me (they are pricey tho...)

[Jim Bryant]

most mirror lenses are f8.0 and won't do you a bit of good except when shooting in bright daylight. Otherwise when the light starts going away, you'll be dropping your shutter speed, which is not good when trying to capture moving wildlife or motorcycles.

[Niresangwa]

could try a x2.0 tele-converter with a less pricey zoom. As with anything, you usually get what you pay for.

[dcclark]

Yeah, mirror lenses usually stink it up a lot. They have terrible bokeh (big donut-shaped things, usually), they're extremely slow (as Jim said) which is terrible for sports, and they're so light that you actually can suffer from vibration problems!

I'd definitely go for something shorter and higher quality.

[tottymort]

i love my mirror lens,but only for still wildlife,i would'nt use it for anything moving or very low light

[OsmosisStudios]

Are you sure you need 500mm? That's a LOT on a crop sensor and while it may be necessary for some (small) wildlife, it'll be MILES too long for any kind of motorsport.