Tasco 1000-3000mm f/16 Super Telephoto Lens (T-Mount)

Tasco 1000-3000mm f/16 Super Telephoto Lens

2016.04.25 - Originally published

2022.07.23 - Re-written from scratch

First of all, I'd like to say that this lens I found is a strange lens. It doesn't seem like any typical lens for SLRs or mirrorless camera. When I bought this in April of 2016, the name ring was generic with no brand name. When I removed the name ring, the flip side shows the name TASCO, which is a famous brand that sells binoculars.

It later occurred to me, that this isn't really a lens made for cameras, but a scope. It has a T-mount flange, but I had to purchase a separate T-mount adapter for use on my Nikon D5200. Manual operation of the zoom and focusing rings are very smooth. It also has a built-in tripod mount attached to the body of the lens/scope. The filter thread is Ø=58mm, and then the whole lens is made of metal with a stupidly PLASTIC(!) bayonet. Made in Japan.

The minimum focusing distance is 8 feet or 2.5 meters. I'm really confused because of the labelling, but the zoom ring shows that the scope has a range of 1000mm to 3000mm. The widest opening is f/16 at 1000mm and f/48 at 3000mm.

The images are really crazy soft and plenty of chromatic aberration, because obviously, it wasn't really made for cameras. The aperture is so dark that it is still too dark even in bright daylight. The only use I had for this scope was for shooting the sun or moon. Rather than waste space, I decided to delete other samples.

At the time (2016), this was the only super telephoto lens I owned. Two months later, I bought myself a 'proper' super telephoto lens, the Reflex-Nikkor C. 500mm f/8 -- THAT lens was awesome!