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Mirror-guy reporting in.
In my experience the bowers are recent knockoffs of the older Sigma 600mm f8 mirror/reflex I owned as a kid decades ago. They aren't great, so don't expect much.
People will tell you to put a 2x TC on a regualr 300mm. There is validity to this, but that's also a shitty way to get big focal length. Mileage will vary with different combinations of course.
If you actually want 500mm plus:
MTO-11CA 10/1000
or
SMC Pentax Reflex 1:11 1000mm
equally good. The MTO is easier to pull apart and has several mount options, and should be obtainable for ~$300US, the pentax is more likely to cost near a grand.
Tamron Adaptall-2 SP 500mm f/8 Mirror (55BB)
or
ZM-6A 6.3/500 Mirror Zenit Tele Lens M42
tamron is smaller and lighter, and really sleek focus helicoid thats quick to snap focus.
ZM is big and heavy, larger diameter and longer. Built like a weapon and somewhat brighter to look through. Image quality on either is similar. I use the ZM generally and the tamron if i felt like a lighter lens and the sun was blazing.
Best catadioptric lens I own is:
Tamron 350mm f5.6 (06B )
which is really small and light, and expensive, but you would in almost every case be better off with a modern autofocus non reflex lens.
Autofocus is what you will miss if your subject moves at all.
A monopod is very useful.
Manfrotto 685B Neotec monopod
and
Manfrotto 496RC2 Compact Ball Head with Quick Release Plate 200PL-14
is perfect. Even if you are 6'4" and don't need to angle up a lot.
A friend has a sigma bigma
Sigma Bigma Sigma 50 -500mm F4.5-6.3
and he reckons so long as you shoot at f/8 it's pretty decent. From what little I have seen I would tend to agree.
Catadioptrics do not produce chromatic aberrations. That's one of the few reasons they outperform similar non-reflex lenses.
The boke is attractive or 'cool looking' to regular Joes. Disregard sperglord photographer wannabes labelling it bad.
