The Tamron 200-500 f/6.9 that you saw at http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3001482349&category=33 44 is one of several third-party zooms of that focal-length category:
Cosina 100-500/5.6 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3000759700&category=4687 ) Sigma 170-500 f/5-6.3 Soligor Super 130-650 f/5.6-7.5 Tamron Adaptall 200-500/5.6 Tamron Adaptamatic 299-500 f/6.9 Tokina 150-600/5.6 Vivitar Series One 100-500 f/5.6-f/8 Vivitar 120-600 f/5.6 to f/8 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3343&item=3001227198 and http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3343&item=3001555392 ) As far as I know, none of these zooms stands out as heads above the other choices. Probably none can touch the Pentax 250-600/5.6 FA or the Takumar or Pentax 135-600/6.7. Close focus will be abysmal on all these zooms. If you're itching to go long on a budget, there are many cheap 400/5.6, 400/6.3, and 500/8 lenses. Your best choices in a cheap but semi-fast 500 are screwmounts. The two that come to mind are the Takumar 500/4.5, and the Meyer Orestegor or Prakticar 500/5.6 preset at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3000398063&category=4687 with an M42 adapter http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3000960897&category=30059 Shop German Ebay for bargains in long fast glass. Unfortunately, most German sellers are reluctant to ship outside the European Union, perhaps because of the difficulty in transferring money from outside the EU. [EMAIL PROTECTED]
