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Help me deside on this Vivitar series 1 90mm f2.5 lens
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Should I buy?
Yes
40%
 40%  [ 4 ]
No
60%
 60%  [ 6 ]
Total Votes : 10



PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 4:07 am    Post subject: Help me deside on this Vivitar series 1 90mm f2.5 lens Reply with quote
Hello, this is my first post. I'm from Venezuela and now living in Ecuador.

Found this lens plus camera for about 30 dolars on a venezuelan site. The lens looks prety bad. Don't know how bad it is rely, just that its in two pieces so i thought i could buyit and buy a second one with a diferent problem and try to use parts from one to fix the other. I have no interest for the camera but have heard such good compliments about this lens... I allso don't have any prime near that range.

The seller told me he would upload more photos to apretiate the damage better. What would your recomendations be if the glass is clean?

I allso can't find a similar lens for parts at ebay at the moment so I'll probably will have to sit on it for a while before I can fix it.

Shiping is not a consearn since I'v been hoarding MF lenses lately through the ebay equivalent at Venezuela and they are waiting to be shipped at my unkle's house, so actualy I'm looking to fill the package before shipping



PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 4:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yo can scroll through the images the seller posted here:

http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.ve/MLV-428775961-vendo-camara-canon-a1-con-o-sin-lente-vivitar-series-1-90-mm-_JM#questionText

The last better photos are obviously not from the same seller nor lens, they are just referential


PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 4:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
C-FD versions of this lens normally go for around $250 on eBay. If you're handy you might be able to fix it. These are generally very hazy internally. The lens is probably taken apart for a reason, and may not be fixable. I'd personally not waste my time but if you're in a curious or experimental mood you might get it just to play around...Ray


PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 12:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Ray Parkhurst wrote:
C-FD versions of this lens normally go for around $250 on eBay. If you're handy you might be able to fix it. These are generally very hazy internally. The lens is probably taken apart for a reason, and may not be fixable. I'd personally not waste my time but if you're in a curious or experimental mood you might get it just to play around...Ray


Thnx, Ray.

I'm now thinking that if I don't find the lens whitch will provide the refactions I'll probably just improvise some kind of fix


PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 5:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Is the Vivitar any better than the more common, cheaper, Tamron 90 / 2.5 ? It's a big risk buying an expensive lens in two parts, it's in two parts for a reason.


PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 5:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lloydy wrote:
Is the Vivitar any better than the more common, cheaper, Tamron 90 / 2.5 ? It's a big risk buying an expensive lens in two parts, it's in two parts for a reason.


Reviews on variuos places say it is better than most MF lenses and it goes up to 1:1 magnification while the tamron is 1:2 at the most


PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 5:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The Vivitar S1 90mm/2.5 only reaches half life size on its own. The lens might be marked with both 1:2 and 1:1, but the 1:1 is for use with matching extension tube.


PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 6:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Not better than Tamron surely, I still have Vivitar had all variants from Tamron and I had Tokina ATX too. Tamron is great lens, highly recommended by me.


PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 6:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
With the tube the Tamron is a superb lens, as indeed it is without. Two for the price of one Wink


PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 6:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The lens looks to be in very rough shape, and the pictures don't really show if the rear optics are complete, it's a gamble IMO.


PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 6:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The weak point of Tamron's 90mm (52BB) is that it can be afflicted with "blue spot" -- not only with direct light ... the time I've had it show up was with reflected light off a white-painted (and grubby, not sparkling clean) aluminium surface when the sun was behind, not in front of, the camera.
It's one of the reasons why for macro or thereabouts I tend to favour Tamron's 35-80mm 01A, and recently a Minolta 35-105mm AF (of the "beer-can" series) combined with achromatic close-up lenses. If I'd had the Minolta then, I probably wouldn't have bought a 52BB.


PostPosted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 1:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lightshow wrote:
The lens looks to be in very rough shape, and the pictures don't really show if the rear optics are complete, it's a gamble IMO.


Well, the seller uploaded more pictures. I couldn't find any signs of fatigue. It apears that some one tryed to clean some fungus on the edges of the lens and didn't know how to put it apart nor back together. There still is some fungus growing on the edges, I'm 90% shure it can be cleaned


PostPosted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 1:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I don't have the Vivitar, but it has a great reputation and I would buy one in a shot. But one in two parts with fungus? It would have to be cheap....

I agree the Tamron does suffer with the dreaded blue spot, but I usually find that I can adjust my position slightly and it goes. Using it on a Sony or live view camera I can see the blue spot as it happens very clearly.

Last edited by Lloydy on Wed Oct 29, 2014 1:10 am; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 1:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
For those who don't know the lens, people call it bokina, maybe you know it by that name


PostPosted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 1:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lloydy wrote:
I don't have the Vivitar, but it has a great reputation and I would buy one in a shot. But one in two parts with fungus? It would have to be cheap....

I agree the Tamron does suffer with the dreaded blue spot, but I usually find that I can adjust my position slightly and it goes. Using it on a Sony or live view camera I can see the blue spot as it happens very clearly.


Yeah, I still don't know if I'll go for it, my main consearn is waiting for another one to serve as parts donor in case its broken. The fungus dosn't scare me, it was expected for that price, looks cleanable to me


PostPosted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 1:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
GJPARK wrote:
For those who don't know the lens, people call it bokina, maybe you know it by that name


Strictly speaking, the Tokina version of the 90mm/2.5 macro is named as "Bokina" (Bokeh and Tokina).

See http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/20197576 for the origin of the lens nickname.

The Vivitar S1 90mm/2.5 is the precursor of the Bokina. The Tokina version changed to 55mm filter thread, and improved on the coating.

I have both the Tokina macro and the Tamron Adaptall-2 55BB, both are excellent. Between a potentially bad conditioned Vivitar and Tamron, I'd get the Tamron.


PostPosted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 4:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Agree on the Tamron
The Vivitar S1 90/2.5 is a great lens, but at the current price the Tamron is cheaper and more affordable and has adaptall-2 mount for many systems. You don't have to worry about not being able to use on a Nikon, Canon, or Pentax DSLR. I have both and both are razor sharp I can't tell the difference in terms of sharpness. The difference would probably be the bokeh, which is very personal. So given the price, the Tamron is a more economic choice, unless you are really strict in the bokeh department.

Also the Tokina 100/2.8 and Sigma 105/2.8 AF should not be that much more expensive than the S1 90/2.5 and 105/2.5 and has different mounts to choose from.


PostPosted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 6:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I like my Vivitar Series 1 90mm/2.5 macro.
I don´t like lenses with Hotspot problems, cause I do not check all the images directly on the camera display . and I am not sure wheter I would see a slight Hotspot there - but probabyl after Lightroom image manipulation.

So I reccomend to buy this lens - in case you are a tinkerer. I would not reccomend it when you never tinkered on lenses.
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