I presume you have read the Cult Lens site about this lens
<http://medfmt.8k.com/third/cult.html#vivitar>, where they say much good
about it.
An alternate perspective is in the Modern Photography tests of mirror
lenses summary page on Lee Hawkins' site
<http://brashear.phys.appstate.edu/lhawkins/photo/mp-cat-tests.txt>.
There the Vivitar doesn't look as good as the Sigma, being worse in all
performance categories except falloff and edge contrast. I would rate
those as the 2 least important factors in wildlife pics, where the
corners are seldom in the same plane as the subject and thus out of
focus anyway. The Sigma's significantly better center sharpness, with
equal resolution, make it seem superior to me.
As solid glass, the Vivitar would be heavier than conventional mirror
designs. I used to use a Sigma years ago in Nik*n mount. I recently got
one in OM mount, but haven't used it much, as once I need that much
reach, the 1000/11 seems to get used instead. I really think one needs a
sturdy tripod, beanbag on car, post, etc. or other steady mount to get
decent results at these focal lengths. The 1-7 screen works well for me
with these very long lenses, quite bright even with the 1000mm, but you
can only see focus in the microprism area. I recently bought a 1-8
because others have said it's the best, but haven't yet tried it.
Moose
Thomas Haegin wrote:
Who of you, dear fellow members, has first-hand field
experience with this Vivitar Series 1 600mm F8 Cat
telelens?
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