Minolta 500mm F8 Reflex, can it be a bit sharper?

Miranda F:
Sure mirror lenses have their own difficulties to shoot with since they are fixed aperture and the donut-shape bokeh in OOF areas, especialy in reflections need some care and attention. If in the right places and somehow "under control" one could even call it a special "character" of the lens.

However, shooting long focal length is a general issue and mostly for beginners gathering their first experiences in that area get sometimes frustrated because of the supposed lacking detail rendition / sharpness over greater distances, occasionally blaming the optical qualities of the used lens for the outcome.

From many years ago I remember the fascinating shape and purpose of the Minolta RF Rokkors, I think it was an f/11 800mm and an f/16 1,600mm - mouthwatering stuff seen at Photokina show for me as a beginner in photography . At some instance though I saw in a Yellow Press article photos of some famous actor shot over obviously great distance on a beach by a papparazzo supposedly with the aid of such a lens monster and I was in for some disappointment about the image quality and started some reading about the possible reasons.

Today the market offers great stuff with huge FL, like the Sony RX10Mk3/4 and even longer eq. FL on smaller sensors, up to 3,000mm eq. FL on the Nikon P1000 (?). But even much more common and more spreaded, the understanding of the (main) purpose of longer FL hasn't increased at the same pace as the popularity of those tools. Same applies concerning some limitations imposed by nature and "real life" - like the slower aperture, at the same time as the longer FL requires shorter exposure times for "freezing" handshake and/or subject movement so rising the ISO is almost unavoidable - what leads to less DR and (at least a bit) more noise, thus some more or less noticeable drop in IQ. Nothing beats a lot of light and close distance to the subject, easy as that Moving off from this ideal situation means compromises, te one or the other way.

David_Anim wrote: @SnowFella Amazing shots there, if I could get anything like that with this lens, I would be very happy.

I think Snowfella (and others) will agree with me that the lens typically benefits from post processing to improve sharpness, contrast, and light falloff as opposed to results straight out of the camera.

Regardless, it seems certain that something is indeed going wrong with your own posted examples, and that has to be addressed.

Hi Everyone, sorry for the lack of reply.
real life got in the way again and I haven't had a chance to use the lens.

I found a really old repair shop in Taipei, They specialize in Minolta (or at least the sign above the door suggests that) and they are highly recommended among my Taipei camera friends. My wife called them and they are familiar with mirror lenses.. but they talked more about cleaning without any mention of re-alignment. I was in Taipei last weekend and I took the lens with me, unfortunately they were shut for the weekend.. so I will have to mail it to them if I decide to go that route.

As suggested by other users, I don't doubt I still need more time with this lens to understand it's true potential. I will try some more test shots and a bit of birding and see what I can manage with my tripod in different weather conditions.

I want to thank everyone that posted with their helpful suggestions.