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Vivitar 2x macro focusing teleconverter
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 23, 2012 9:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is there any love for the Vivitar X3 ? I've got a Canon FD one that I haven't used yet. The X2 is impressive.

I've just found a Teleplus MC7 Macro in my box as well, also FD mount, that I've had for many years. I seem to remember it produced very good results. It's certainly a very well made, high quality, converter.
And there's a Teleplus MC x2 that's obviously a lot shorter with less glass, but looking at the three together I can see similarities that would make me think they were from the same manufacturer.
I've got a Telemore 95 7.K.M.C. ( Minolta MD ) that also has on it 'Komura Lens Mfg Ltd' and is nothing like the Vivitar or Teleplus, and neither is a 'DOI HQ7 2X' ( PK ) - that is vastly different.
I would agree that the Teleplus and Vivitar share the same manufacturer.


PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2013 3:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's weird how lenses react to this teleconverter. It does not work well with the Nikkor 35-200mm, which is a real shame, considering how good that lens is in other respects. (Link to some images from it here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gaeger2/sets/72157633052560326/ .)

But this teleconverter does really well with the Nikkor 80-200mm f4, in macro mode and at a distance. Go figure!





PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2013 4:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

WOW (again).
These are great shots.
I like the second one very, very much !


PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 4:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

First post here... went crazy on eBay and purchased a Micro-Nikkor 200/4.0 AI-S and a Vivitar X2 Macro Focusing Teleconverter N/AI-S while I wait for them to arrive I'm going to try to get my noobie questions out of the way. (I've already read a manual online for the Vivitar, but I feel like there are far more possibilities than what is covered in that small booklet)

Does anyone have experience using these two together that can give me any tips?

I also have a Tamron 60/2.0 Macro lens that I'd like to experiment with using with the Vivitar unit...

What are the general experiences with combining macro lenses with the Vivitar converter? Can you get far greater than 1:1 magnification, can you use the combination to get close to 1:1 at further than normal working distances?

My plan is to use these combinations with my Nikon D5100 and with my Nikon 1 V2 (which has a 1" sensor and 2.7x crop factor - the thought of doing macro with a 1080mm equivalent focal length is certainly amusing)


PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 8:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welcome Nikon1user ! Very Happy

Congrats for your new tools.
I'm sure people will answer your questions.


PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 5:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nikon1User wrote:
First post here... went crazy on eBay and purchased a Micro-Nikkor 200/4.0 AI-S and a Vivitar X2 Macro Focusing Teleconverter N/AI-S while I wait for them to arrive I'm going to try to get my noobie questions out of the way. (I've already read a manual online for the Vivitar, but I feel like there are far more possibilities than what is covered in that small booklet)

Does anyone have experience using these two together that can give me any tips?

I also have a Tamron 60/2.0 Macro lens that I'd like to experiment with using with the Vivitar unit...

What are the general experiences with combining macro lenses with the Vivitar converter? Can you get far greater than 1:1 magnification, can you use the combination to get close to 1:1 at further than normal working distances?

My plan is to use these combinations with my Nikon D5100 and with my Nikon 1 V2 (which has a 1" sensor and 2.7x crop factor - the thought of doing macro with a 1080mm equivalent focal length is certainly amusing)


Congratulations, you've purchased two top-notch optics. I've used the Vivitar Macro TC for years, but all I can say about the 200/4 Micro Nikkor is that I've been a fan at a distance. Cool

The Vivitar Macro TC has two scales on its focusing collar, in white and blue. Each scale is for a non-macro 50mm lens. The blue scale is for a 50mm lens set to its closest focusing distance, and the white scale is for a 50mm lens set to infinity. So if the magnification ratio is critical to you, these can be a big help. Vivitar claims that there isn't much difference between 50mm primes with regard to their close-focus settings, so these scales can be used for most any 50mm, and the magnification results should be on-target.

Here's a website I found where the site owner has photographed the user's guide and put it up for anyone's review:

http://mailch.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-users-review-vivitar-2x-macro.html

These days, I own two Vivitar Macro TCs, one in Nikon mount and one in Canon FD mount. A while back I did some comparison testings with my Nikon mount Vivitar and the Tamron SP 01F TC, which is also an excellent TC. I was doing the tests to see how much, if any, improvements there were over a photo taken without a TC. A common myth is that a TC degrades an image. I wanted to see for myself. What I found out was that there was a noticeable improvement in the images taken with both TCs and that they were roughly equivalent in capabilities. By improvements, I'm referring to the amount of detail captured by each TC.

Here is a link to a two-year-old thread of mine where I did a series of tests with the Vivitar 2x Macro TC and the Tamron 01F 2x TC.

http://forum.mflenses.com/teleconverter-comparison-tamron-01f-vs-vivitar-macro-t38993.html

As you can see from the tests, the Vivitar performed well.


PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 11:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you so much. Do you have any thoughts on using the focus on the lens while leaving the teleconverter fixed to the maximum magnification?


PostPosted: Wed Sep 11, 2013 12:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

With Minolta MC Rokkor-PF 50/1.7







With Canon FD 50/1.8:





PostPosted: Wed Sep 11, 2013 1:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

as anyone hacked one of these focusing TC to make it M42 ??

Those of you who own one.... think it could be done ??


PostPosted: Wed Sep 11, 2013 5:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nikon1User wrote:
Thank you so much. Do you have any thoughts on using the focus on the lens while leaving the teleconverter fixed to the maximum magnification?


Honestly I almost never use the Vivitar TC's macro feature. I bought mine not so much for that feature, but because it is an excellent TC. So, I just leave mine set to infinity almost all the time. There have been instances, however, when using telephotos that have a long minimum focusing distances where I was able to shorten it noticeably by using a Vivitar macro TC. For example, I have a couple of old Century Precision Optics Tele-Athenar II preset Telephotos -- great lenses, tack-sharp. But the minimum focusing distance for them is like 30 feet. But if I couple one of my Centuries to a Vivitar macro TC, I can cut that distance in about half.

Mir wrote:
as anyone hacked one of these focusing TC to make it M42 ??

Those of you who own one.... think it could be done ??


Not necessary to hack. Vivitar made one for M42. Keep an eye out on eBay for one. They are uncommon compared to mounts for the Big 5 (Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Olympus, Pentax K), but they're out there.

But if you don't have to have the focusing helical, there are other really good TCs out there. The Komura Telemore is one of the best. See:

Click here to see on Ebay

Cheap, too.


PostPosted: Wed Sep 11, 2013 10:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

@ cooltouch

I own the Komura Telemore, but must admit i to have almost never used it....
and from your link, just found out i payed way to much for it ! Rolling Eyes

I thaught the Vivitar focusing TC would be more usefull....
Never seen an M42 one..... i'll start looking.

Thanks


PostPosted: Wed Sep 11, 2013 1:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've heard rumors of M42 Vivitar 2X MTC but have never seen one and I've been looking for a few years. Has anyone actually seen one or owned one?

I often use my Nikon or Canon mount MTCs with coin photography. It's a quick way to double the magnification on bellows without messing with the bellows themselves. The TC action does halve the effective aperture but you pretty much get the same effect by extending the bellows to double the magnification, so end result is similar. The helicoid is also useful for fine-tuning the magnification since the MTC isn't exactly 2x...Ray


PostPosted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 3:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I googled "vivitar macro teleconverter m42" before I posted my above message. One of the hits I got was from a guy who had done a Youtube video on his. Dunno why, but anyway I did get hits, so I'm assuming it's out there. I agree with y'all, though. It does appear to be rare -- about as rare as aftermarket Canon FD 1.4x teleconverters. Rolling Eyes The Canon 1.4x-A is fairly plentiful, but try to find one that doesn't have the protruding front element the -A has? Fuggedaboutit. Tell you what, whenever I'm searching eBay for a Canon FD-compatible 1.4x or 1.5x teleconverter, I'll also search for a Vivitar 2x Macro in M42, and I'll let you know if I see one, if y'all will do the same for me. Smile


PostPosted: Fri Sep 13, 2013 1:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Photo taken from about 5 feet away, with a Nikon 50/1.4D (only able to be mounted on the converter by first setting it at f1.4 and it can't be changed)


Resized this photo, and it's not perfectly in focus, but this should give you an idea of just how narrow the focus is... these are the scales on the back of a dwarf monitor...


PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 2:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

These are taken with the Vivitar 2x Macro Focusing Teleconverter attatched to the Micro-Nikkor 200/4.0 AI-S at f11

First is a half inch wide Christmas bell on a fridge magnet


Others are broken beads that would go on one of those Pandora bracelets or similar (we use them for dog leashes)



Last edited by Nikon1User on Sun Sep 15, 2013 1:08 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 9:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Somebody's images are too big . . .


PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 1:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

cooltouch wrote:
Somebody's images are too big . . .


Apologies... resized and reposted...

These are taken with the Vivitar 2x Macro Focusing Teleconverter attatched to the Micro-Nikkor 200/4.0 AI-S at f11

First is a half inch wide Christmas bell on a fridge magnet


Others are broken beads that would go on one of those Pandora bracelets or similar (we use them for dog leashes)



The difference in the bead pictures is with the teleconverter extended or retracted...


PostPosted: Mon May 04, 2015 7:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

NEX5T + Minolta MC MACRO ROKKOR-X 3.5/50 + Vivitar 2X Macro Focusing Teleconverter



PostPosted: Mon May 04, 2015 8:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow!
Thanks for posting.
That is without the special extension ring for the macro lens I believe?

Something to try, I have the ingredients.


PostPosted: Mon May 04, 2015 9:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Minolfan wrote:
Wow!
Thanks for posting.
That is without the special extension ring for the macro lens I believe?

Something to try, I have the ingredients.


Yes, without the extension ring.


PostPosted: Wed May 06, 2015 12:27 pm    Post subject: "Past it's best" Reply with quote

First shot taken with NEX5T & Minolta MC MACRO ROKKOR-X 3.5/50 @f8

and the second with NEX5T & Minolta MD ROKKOR 1.4/50 + Vivitar 2X Macro Focusing Teleconverter @ f8





PostPosted: Wed May 06, 2015 1:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Edgar, I'm really glad that you followed up my hint.
I would say that there is no need any longer to look for any 100mm macro lens as you may use any other faster 50mm lens if that would be required. Actually with the Minolta 50mm/F1.4 you get a decent 100mm/F2.8 macro lens which is smaller and lighter than any original one. I think the sample of the bee on the flower which I showed you in the other thread was made with this combination.

Edited: Ups, you already used this combination. I've overlooked that. So you proofed already what I have said. Wink


PostPosted: Wed May 06, 2015 1:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Very very nice Edward, the old Viv certainly does a good job


PostPosted: Wed May 06, 2015 2:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tervueren wrote:
Very very nice Edward, the old Viv certainly does a good job


And so does the 50mm I bought from you a few months ago John. Very Happy


PostPosted: Wed May 06, 2015 4:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

DigiChromeEd wrote:
Tervueren wrote:
Very very nice Edward, the old Viv certainly does a good job


And so does the 50mm I bought from you a few months ago John. Very Happy

So I notice mate Smile