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Tradeoffs That Win

Pros: Compact for focal length and AF.

Cons: Same as any mirror lens.

As we all know, there are some areas where a mirror lens can be lacluster, but there are equal areas where they can be brilliant. Sony has updated the solid Minolta design with AF, to it would seem, everyone's amazement. I have had excellent results with this lens in wildlife shots as well as outdoor sports. There was also a Minolta 250mm mirror that I carried for unplanned long shots that I would like to see revived someday. Overall, mirrors take a bit of practice, but are well worth the effort.

good super tele lens for the price

Pros: Good for wield life photo

Cons: image sharp but not razor sharp, reasonable price , slow focus

the lens can produce sharp images if you know how to use it .I owned this lens over a year and enjoyed it and made some pictures you couldn't believe it was taken by mirror lens .Fair to say it is sharp but not razor sharp however it only cost maybe 1/10 of the price of a normal 500mm tele lens and it is very light and compact to travel and it can fit into any travel bag to carry on the plane also it is the ONLY MIRROR LENS IS AUTO FOCUS.The only drawback is the color not 100% correct but for birds and animal is not that important. I hope this is helpful for you.

Amazing Lens

Pros: Fast, fine focus, no chromatic abborition.

Cons: The small internal lens can fall out if your not carefull.

I have been using this lens for well over a year. On a tip from an expert photographer who writes the manuals for the Alpha's I decided to try it. I take mostly bird shots and wildlife. This lens has worked outstandingly for me. It is almost always on my alpha a100 all the time, and I take it everywhere, everyday. Very durable (I have dropped it more than once) It takes beautiful hawk & eagle shots perched and flying with absolutly no purple fringes! I absolutly love it and wouldn't do without it! Thank you Sony, for providing such an afforable telephoto lens that works so well for my needs! I am looking forwar to using it on my Alpha upgrade soon.

Not Recommended

Cons: Image Clearity

I am actually befuddled! I can not understand why Sony would market this lens. I have been a fan of Sony equipment for years. I buy Sony TVs, Stereos, video equipment and camera equipment. This is the first product I have ever bought from Sony that did not exceed my expectations. And I know the Sony engineers and marketers understood the quality level of this lens. So why would they risk their reputation marketing a product this poor? I'm confused!

Vignetting King

Pros: Good images

Cons: Vignetting, rear filter slot design, blue hue on images,slow AF

This lens can deliver good images but not great images and has a problem with vignetting. Its build quality is good however the design is just ok. Its slow focusing mechanism and blue hue imaging production landed it at the bottom of my list. I have tried to use this lens in many different ways and the best seems to be close range versus far away. The rear filter placement slot is not the best design either and has the potential to break easily andensure lost filters.