[WOT] but almost [EE] as well :-) I recently bought a 500mm autofocus mirror lens for my Minolta 7D DSLR. Effective focal length on the 7D is 750mm compared to a 35mm full frame film camera. I sent the message below to a few friends. There was an attached 700kB odd file attached but as the list is liable to complain about such I have not attached it :-). Anyone interested in seeing what can be done with a 500mm (aka 750mm) lens is welcome to view the pictures. Server (on this PC) is not overly fast (this PC) at 768 kbps max upload so it may take a wee while. Photo claims no artistic or photographic merit whatsoever but is a good example of how much magnification is achieved with such. Lens is fixed at f8 and 500mm so you have to fit whatever you want to photograph into those constraints. Its the only model of autofocus mirror lens ever made. Shame that Minolta have given up on the camera making business. Subject width is about 22x the subject distance so knowing one allows you to calculate the other, which can be useful and/or interesting. This picture shows the wide view as well as the 500mm view which is useful. 800 x 532, 120 kB jpeg http://others.servebeer.com/misc/500mmRichmondsmall.jpg 3000 x 2000, 900 kB jpeg http://others.servebeer.com/misc/500mmRichmondLarge.jpg This photo was handheld and probably suffers slightly as a consequence, brilliant in-camera antishake notwithstanding. 400 ISO. Doubling that would have helped shutter speed at the expense of a degree of extra noise. Russell _______________________ Original message: I may have sent already you the "two men and a bus stop" picture taken with my 500mm mirror lens outside Grey Lynn church in March. However, I have added a smaller inset showing a wider view from where the photo was taken. This is a cropped view from a lens set to 27mm so it's a wider angle view than the eye would see usually, but it should be easy enough for one's brain to get a fair idea of what you would see if you stood there. The large picture is uncropped at 6 MP (3000 x 2000). The 500mm telephoto view was taken just to the right and slightly behind where the wide view was taken from - a few metres away and close enough to not make any noticeable difference. The bus stop can be seen in the wide view at the middle rear, just to the right of the row of trees by the left hand roadside. As can be seen, anyone standing where the two men are, who looked up the road towards the photographer would be extremely unlikely to be aware of the camera. The photographer's stance may give it away to an astute observer. Distance by car odo measurement was about 200 metres which would make subject width about 18 metres. There are about 11 of the pink building panels which would make (the projection of) them 0.8+m wide each (2'-7") which looks just about correct given the size of the men. So range 200 metres / 660 feet An elephant (I should be so lucky) or Jaguar (it should be so lucky) or other larger animal at this range would form an agreeably large image. The excessively enthused should be able to read the writing on the no stopping sign. This was AFAIR hand held so, at 1/250th second, would be below the recommended shutter speed for a 500 / 750mm effective lens. The camera's antishake system no doubt is the saving factor here. Russell -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist