Quantaray 500mm f8 Mirror
Most Quantaray lenses were made by Sigma and some were made by Tamron and Tokina. This lens performs like a Sigma Mirror lens. It is reasonably sharp if you can hold it steady. It has the typical ringed bokeh we see from mirror lenses. Contrast is surprisingly high. While it is not a Zeiss or even a Tamron in quality, it is still far better than any of the off-brands flooding the market.




Photography Services,
Information &
Online Gallery
Photography Services,
Information &
Online Gallery
Photography Services,
Information &
Online Gallery
Photography Services,
Information &
Online Gallery
Buy Sell Trade
Call 802-259-2757
Soligor C/D 28-80mm f3.5-4.5
Filter Size:
Lens mount:
Aperture Range:
Close Focus:
Macro Ratio
Year Introduced:
Tested with...
62mm
Various
f3.5 - f16
n/a
1:4
n/a
n/a

This is a nice lens. My copy was most likely made by Sun Optical. It's built very well. Focusing and zooming are smooth. My copy has a little zoom creep. The C/D line was Soligor's best and this lens shows why.
At 28mm it is sharp from f4. Corner sharpness is average.. At 28mm f5.6 it is sharp with better corner performance. At 80mm f4.5 it is usable in the center but the corners are soft. F5.6 tightens it up.
Macro is engaged by a slide button and it engages smoothly, but finding critical focus is cumbersome.. Macro at 28mm is excellent from f4 up. At 80mm it is soft until f8. It is not true macro but it enables you to do some product photography. It produces a 1:4 macro ratio. I found this lens difficult to focus on the T2i, primarily because it is a one touch zoom. This also becomes an issue in macro mode. It is difficult to find and hold focus .
Bokeh fringe testing with macro mode engaged produced some disappointing results. Color shifts are severe at 28mm and contrast is poor at 80mm.
Some lenses just aren't practical for use on D-slr's. However, this is a nice lens, and if you manage the focusing issues, it will produce some nice images. Avoid macro mode if possible.

f5.6 - sharp

ISO 400 - f4 - 28mm

ISO 400 - f4 - 100% crop - 80mm

ISO 1600 - f4..5 - 100% crop - 80mm

ISO 400 - f4.5 - 80mm

ISO 1600 - f3.5 & f5.6 - 50% crops

ISO 1600 - f4.5 - 100% crop - 80mm

ISO 400 - corner fringing

bokeh fringe - f3.5 -
28mm (macro)

bokeh fringe - f5.6
28mm (macro)

bokeh fringe - f4.5
80mm (macro)

bokeh fringe - f6.3
80mm (macro)