I have had this lens, Nikon 500mm f8 reflex for some time. Trust me, make no mistake, this is a difficult lens. There are a number of key issues to consider:
1) yes, it is a fully manual lens
- so what
- you need a little patience to set up a shot
- I have a D800, works fine on it
- I had a D90, worked fine on that camera too
2) your images will not be crisp, sharp images, it is not like a nice prime lens with superior glass
- if you are a pixel peeper, this lens is NOT for you
- it will, however, take excellent pictures, especially if you only print 4x6 pictures
3) You need to set up your captures carefully, any reflective light will show up as weird donut rings in the bokeh
- some people find this really distasteful
- a few here and there are no big deal, lots of them can kill your image
4) you have to use it on really sunny days, when there is lots of light available
- this is good and bad
- bad, because of reflective light and the donuts
- good, because you a see better to focus, and you get a much better image
5) The depth of field on these lens is THIN!!!! Really thin.
- so, your margin of error for focusing is less forgiving
I use a D800 and it has a nice range guide for focusing manually. Essentially, two arrows and a dot
> • <
That helps me focus. If I have to focus more to the right, the left arrow points me that way. If I nail the focus, the Green dot shows up and I can safely shot the image for the best exposure.
I would use HI ISO and really fast shutter speeds to reduce any chance what so ever of getting a blurry picture from motion. Then, your only challenge left is a good focus.
Like many of you, I frequent many forums for Nikon and photography in general. The main forum I frequent all the time is PLANETNIKON.
Nikon Digital Camera Information and Self-Training | PlanetNikon.com
A free forum to join, just like Nikonites. Great people there. You have to join to see the member posted images. I have a 500mm Reflex folder set up there that documents my steps and thinking from the time I thought of purchasing, to experiments with the lens and various images posted.
Check it out:
500mm Mirror Reflex Lens - PlanetNikon Forum - Page 2.3333333333333
I also posted images in the ASTRO folder because I took moon shots with a 2x TC on the lens:
1000mm MOON SHOT - PlanetNikon Forum
Lots of samples, errors and good images there.
When you JOIN, you have to ask DARREL twice! So, send a request and then immediately, send an email again. You can reference ME... say you know ART, from the forum and he will VALIDATE your membership much sooner. (why twice? SPAMBOTS don't ask twice. To avoid the spammers, he figures a human who really wants to join will make a request and then follow up)
If you have an issue, send me an email or PM and I will address it. Darrel publishes HOW TO MASTER YOUR Dxx books and is very busy. Sometimes, he VALIDATES quickly and other times, he needs a nudge. I will get on him if you have to wait more than a few days.
I also have a Nikon 400mm f3.5 Ai-S. Another Manual lens. Killer optics, zero issues with focusing. Don't be afraid to buy a manual lens, they are amazing. Just tough to do things like sports, or bird in flight shots etc. Tough, not IMPOSSIBLE.
I have posted quite a few pictures here taken with my 400mm lens. See my D800 folder here on Nikonites.
http://nikonites.com/d800/8996-my-favourite-d800-images-6.html#post114221
The picture below was taken with my D90. This will give you an idea of a good image, pushed a little in PP with NX2.
