Opteka 650-1300mm (with 2X- 1300-2600mm) Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon EF-Mount EOS 90D, 80D, 77D, 70D, 60D, 50D, 7D, 6D, 5D, 5DS, 1DS, T8, T8i, T7i, T7s, T7, T6s, T6i, T6, T5, SL3, SL2 DSLR Cameras

I've noticed a wide variation in ratings for this lens, so I decided to write a review in the hopes it might aid someone interested in buying one or help them use it better if they already have it. I have a Canon 60D, a decent tripod and a view, so I have been giving this Opteka Telephoto Lens a workout for the last month to see its flaws and to learn how to use it. There is a learning curve - you could write a book on telephoto lenses. If you read a review from someone who sent the lens back the same day he received it, you should probably read that review with caution. First, this is not a Canon 800L mm prime lens, which weighs ten pounds, has 18 elements and costs$13,000 or Canon's 1200mm lens which weighs 36 pounds (80 pounds with the case) and sells for $120,000. These are telephoto lenses, not zoom lenses, so they cannot cover the entire range between them like a zoom lens can. The Opteka lens has a 3.7 inch objective lens, so it can't collect as much light as the Canon 800mm lens, but the Canon won't zoom to 1300 mm either. The Opteka also weighs less than half as much as the Canon and costs $210 with a "2xMultiplier". Tele extenders for new Canon lenses cost more than twice as much as the entire Opteka lens and extender, so if you place the lens in the proper perspective, it is an astounding value . The snap judgment from a lot of negative reviewers on other sites who have not used the product is "This lens must be junk at that price". One nice thing about Amazon is that you get to read reviews from people who have actually bought the item. You can Google wonderful pictures made by the Opteka 650-1300mm lens, to see examples of what it can do. With a little knowledge, you can take pictures you could not possibly obtain with any other lens in your collection (including the two Canon lenses above). Without a little information, you might end up blaming the equipment for a poor picture, instead of the operator. Here are some tips which should have been included with the lens: 1. If you are taking pictures of something far away (more than a mile), try to do so early in the morning after it has rained the night before, so the air will be clear and no heat waves will be rising to distort the air. Air is not really clear, so don't blame the lens if the air is to blame on a long shot for a "soft" focus. There is no autofocus, of course. 2. Always use a tripod and a wireless remote to trigger the release ($10-$20). The touch of your finger can cause a vibration on the tripod/camera system which can last ten seconds. Think of your camera as being on the end of a very long lever. A tiny shake on the camera end will cause blur and reduce sharpness. There is no image stabilization, of course. 3. Try to keep your shutter speed equal or greater than the lens in mm, i.e. 650mm should be roughly 1/640 of a second at least. On an overcast day at noon, this may equal an ISO of 340. 4. Use live view with the magnification setting to focus the lens. Your depth of field in a super telephoto is very shallow and the focus ring is very sensitive. I took a picture of a bird on a branch more than 100 feet away and the branches which were a foot or two away from the bird were beginning to get out of focus. This can make for a quite dramatic picture if used properly. 5. Use the manual setting and set the shutter speed you want. You will have no control over the aperture because this is preset by the amount of zoom in the lens. Set your ISO to auto and the camera will adjust the exposure for you. You can always manually tweak the ISO to adjust the exposure instead of adjusting the aperture. 6. Get a 95mm lens filter to protect the objective (front) lens from scratches. Opteka makes an UV haze filter which sells on Amazon for around twenty dollars. 7. There is sometimes Chromatic Aberration in pictures, which can be seen as a blue fringe on the edge of some colors, depending on the lighting, etc. and I have seen people in forums for other lenses scratching their heads trying to get rid of it in programs like Photoshop. Photoimpact Pro13 ($80 from the manufacturer) has a nice little fix for it if you go to Photo - Color - Correct Chromatic Aberration. Under "Pick Color From Template", go 4 clicks to the leaf with blue on it and click the box. Presto - Changeo! No more CA. 8. Photoimpact Pro 13 also has a "Focus" feature which can sharpen pictures, but introduces a little noise. If you want a laugh, go to "PhotoImpact Pro 13 is better than Photoshop#1" on Youtube for a guy doing a funny tutorial on what else the program can do. 9.You can get dramatic pictures and videos of the moon (you can see it moving in video), but you might try adjusting the ISO down a bit, because the moon has less contrast and is flat when it is too bright. 10. I took a quick picture of a distant, tiny light and blowing it up, found no evidence of lens flaws. I use a 43" 4K TV as a computer monitor, which really helps in adjusting pictures. I have not used the "2x multiplier" much because I am trying to get the best quality pictures possible and extenders put more glass in the way, which might not always be of the best quality. Extenders also require a substantial increase in ISO which is not good. Let's face it, 650-1300 mm is pretty amazing by itself without going to 2600mm. Summarizing, the Opteka 650-1300mm lens has been a lot of fun so far. In an era where most photographers just frame, point and click, it forces you to go back to controlling everything in a picture by yourself. If it's not a $13,000 Canon, you can use your knowledge, skill and a computer to go a long way toward reducing the distance between the two lenses in terms of quality, for a price which is nearly free in comparison. You will also have learned how to use more features in your camera and will understand how to take better pictures. I give it 5 stars because of the value/cost ratio. It arrived on time and in new condition. Apologies for been so verbose, but I hope this will help some of you.

So I got my zoom lens yesterday. It came well packed from Circuit City. ( with Amazon prime, 2 days delivery). I haven't have a chance to use the lens yet... but one little culprit... When I tried to screw in the Canon EOS EF T-mount adapter, it screwed in. But it has an inner, intermediate ring, that was lose... there are 3 lock screws, on the adapter body, that needed to be tighetened up. Otherwise the mount adapter would rotate freely, and out of control. Once I tightened the lock screws, everything went alright. Lens seems of good quality and with reasonable anti reflex coated optics. One needs to learn to use it. I would try it tonight with the Moon. However this lens is all it is... fully manual. And I would treat it as such.... Of course at an unbelievably low price. But the quality is there. No doubt about it. Note: I moved the 95 mm UV filter from the other lens to this one. Careful the front lens element is on a barrel of its on, and is screwed in to the lens body. If one removes that inadvertendly, then a 95 mm filter is too big. And the thread is male on the lens. Need to keep that barel immobilized, and carefully unscrew the lens hood. This reveals the front lens element and the female thread to accept a 95 mm diameter filter. It screws in place quite easily and firmly. So camera with camera mounted on a sturduy tripd I had. and I used a Tamron 2X pro tele converted that I had too (did not use the Opteka 2X converter that It came with the lens). See some random test pics. THe license plate was below the min. focusing distance. So I couldnt make it sharp. But lens is fairly sharp. Focusing ring is very sensitive. The objects were relative close. Some vigneting is apparent on the last pic (it was done with the tele converter. I am quite impressed by the quality and built of this lens? Updated. The pic of the Moon was done at max zoom and 2X optical converter. Enhanced a bit in Photoshop for sharpness, and cropped. There does not seem to be evidence of cromatic aberation, which is GREAT !!

Considering this was 1/10 the cost of a brand name lens, I didn't know what to expect. I bought it to photograph the 2017 solar eclipse and I'm very happy with the results. We got some great shots and I'm looking forward to using it for more photos of the sun and moon. The lens is fully manual but fortunately I met a professional photographer who walked me through a series of options on my camera. Be sure to give yourself lots of time to become familiar with the lens and the settings on your camera before using it for anything crucial. I took plenty of shots of the sun in the hour or so before the eclipse started so when it did, I could hand it over to my daughter who spent the next 2 hours photographing all the phases as they happened. We used a monopod to support the lens but I would definitely suggest the use of a tripod as it gives much more stability.

Took some great photos today .Set up easy enough amazing zoom focused easily and held picture quality . It's heavy so make sure you have a good tripod . Nice lens Works great .

ちょっと重いんだけど、良くて、安いレンズです。弱点はAFがないんです。

Viene tal como indica la publicación, trae un accesorio que multiplica por dos y adicional un adaptador para canon. fue 100% compatible con mi canon T5i, el lente es manual, y lo unico es que pesa 1 kg. aprox. en resumen muy buena compra!

provato e rispedito xche mi è arrivato graffiato ma ne ho avuto modo di testarlo montato sulla mia APSC canon lo zoom è agli estremi .. certo stiamo parlando di un f8 privo di autofocus e stabbilizzatore che non puo mancare a queste focali di una qualità ridotta in confrotto ai tipici obbiettivi , figuriamoci che un vero obbiettivo del genere lo paghi almeno 1200euro !! ci sarà u motivo.. conclusione dei fatti sconsiglio questo prodotto incominciando a livello dei fotoamatori in su