Just a series of shots and comments as I'm getting used to this 55B model from the 1980's. The imminent arrival of Spring was what tempted me to give one of these old catadioptric lenses a go.

I'd always rejected them in the past due to the sheer difficulty of focusing, slow speed, lack of contrast and horrible bokeh with smears and donuts. However my latest Sony camera body allows the use of much higher ISOs, assists manual focusing with Focus Peaking and adds easy magnification both in the EVF and the articulating 3" LCD... so perhaps that's the focus issue taken care of?

But it has a fixed f8 aperture so it will need to be used in intelligent auto, AP, or full manual mode. Then it's going to need USM ( likely 38,12,2 in the very dull Winter and early Spring lighting conditions of the UK ) to address the contrast.

OK... let's give it a fair shot in a variety of different conditions: Tripod, Monopod, Handheld, good light, poor light, walkabout etc. So will it get to stay in my camera bag? Might I hanker after one of those super-zoom bridge cameras for extreme telephoto shots? Let's see if this old Tamron 500mm can deliver....

.... and after about 3 weeks getting used to it, it would appear that it can, but focusing is actually very difficult for all kinds of reasons. If the sun is coming from over your shoulder then it becomes incredibly difficult for a glasses-wearer to clearly see the LCD or even the EVF as light gets in and ruins the contrast. One solution is to wear a hoodie or similar coat and bring that up over the side the sun is coming from. Use of the lens hood I've discovered is essential in order to retain contrast, and with that hood extended the photographer becomes more noticeable.
On balance I'd say it's worth making space for in the kit bag mainly for its 'macro' abilities and shooting subjects that a 300mm lens can't quite bring in tightly enough. For very long distance I think the contrast handling abilities are below what is necessary.

Short video, shot with this lens, of a Starling that got into a bird feeder:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2EdR_hJScU