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Vivitar Series 1 28-90mm f2.8-3.5
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 03, 2017 2:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The red line was often a feature on the original "series 1" lenses - but it doesn't mean anything, it's just for looks.


PostPosted: Fri Nov 03, 2017 6:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
So many beautiful examples of old Vivitar glass in here, particularly the 28-90mm 2.8-3.5--makes me want to get yet another mf lens, even though I've no need whatsoever for one. Smile I've gotten so many beautiful shots from the old Vivitar glass & see them only as limited as the shooter who works with them. My best experience, generally, has been with Komine primes & Kiron zooms. Of course, as in virtually all things, there are exceptions to this rule too. This thread is a good example of that. jt


PostPosted: Fri Nov 03, 2017 8:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
marcusBMG wrote:
The red line was often a feature on the original "series 1" lenses - but it doesn't mean anything, it's just for looks.


Okay great! Thank you for responding. It does make the lens a bit more attractive while it's for sale, but when it comes to owning one with the red line, if it's as good as they say, you should never see the red line again as it'd be facing away from you ALWAYS!


PostPosted: Fri Nov 03, 2017 9:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Sid wrote:
Question? As I understand it, the first two numbers indicate who made it, the third number being the year, and the forth and fifth being the week of the year it was produced. I'm seeing lenses with serial numbers 285xxxxxx indicating that it was produced by Komine in either 1975 or 1985, but, there's a couple of these that have a red band around the edge, while most don't. Does anyone know if that red band means anything???


I have always thought that the red banded Vivitars were from the late period of manufacture and most of those were Cosinas.
I did spot a red banded 28XXXXXX lens recently and I wondered about it too.
Tom


PostPosted: Sat Nov 04, 2017 8:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I used mine on 14n and was very impressed by its performance.


PostPosted: Sat Nov 04, 2017 11:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I agree with Oldhand. It has always been my understanding that the red-banded lenses were a later manufacture. My first S1 28-90, which I bought new back in 1984, did not have the red band. But I have seen red-banded ones on eBay and have assumed that they were a later manufacture. I also own a S1 28-105, made by Cosina and which replaced the 28-90, and it has the red band.

The S1 28-90 has been one of my all-time favorite zooms. Back in my film glory days I shot hundreds of slides with that lens. I have displayed some of the images I took with that lens here before, but I'm gonna go ahead and search through some of my 28-90 images now, so some may be reposts. But I think that's ok, since the lens is the topic.

All images were taken with Canon SLRs, and unless otherwise noted, the film was Kodachrome 64.

A squadron of Sea Furies -- 1984. Canon AE-1.


The B-17 Sentimental Journey, taken in 1985. Canon FTb.


Chance-Vaught F4U at sunset, 1984. Taken with a Canon A-1:


North American P-51 at sunset, 1984. Canon A-1:


Beach rocks, Ventura California, circa 1986. Original Canon F-1:


Boys on a pier, somewhere in SoCal, circa 1985. Canon FTb:


Conga player, Venice Beach, California, circa 1986. Canon F-1.


Hollywood director and cameraman at location, circa 1986. Canon F-1.


Lotus 907 engine in a Jensen-Healey, 1987. Canon F-1.


My old Jensen GT, circa 1987. Canon F-1:


Manhattan Beach Pier with sailboat in background. Circa 1986. Canon F-1:


I haven't used my current S1 28-90 much with my NEX yet. I did post some photos I took with it along with several other short tele zooms as a comparison that I did several months ago. I need to get out with it and use it more.


PostPosted: Sat Nov 04, 2017 12:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Fantastic shots Michael,fantastic car(a classic) and makes me ache for the 70's/80's again.


PostPosted: Sat Nov 04, 2017 6:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Michael--the "boys on a Pier" is excellent capture of a poignant time for human growth, curiousity. Best, jt


PostPosted: Sat Nov 04, 2017 6:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks, guys. Kryss, I know what you mean!

Focusthrow, yeah, this photo is one of my favorites. It was one of those lucky, spur-of-the-moment shots. The above photo is pretty much as taken. I was never really happy with the exposure, though, and I didn't care for that horizontal bar running across at head-height. So, I played around with this image a lot. I finally wound up with an HDR version where I was able to bring out more detail and where I spent a great deal of time cloning out that horizontal bar. It wound up looking like this (the largest image size I have handy at the moment):



I'm still not completely satisfied with it.


PostPosted: Sat Nov 04, 2017 7:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The colour in your slides has lasted exceptionally well Michael.
Great shots indeed.
As it happened, we had a shower of rain yesterday after weeks of dry weather.
I happened to have the Vivitar on my camera so here are a couple of yesterday's snaps
T


#1


#2


PostPosted: Sat Nov 04, 2017 8:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Like 1 Like 1 very nice Tom.


PostPosted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 2:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Wow!

Like 1


PostPosted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 3:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I stumbled across an S1 28-90 this summer, so I'll be playing around with it soon, I just need a proper C/Y adapter vs my C/Y to EF and EF to E tilt adapter combo.
I still want to find a CZJ Jennazoom 28-135 as I actually liked my 70-210 Jennazoom I had, but sold it when I got my NEX-7, wish I still had it.
70-210


PostPosted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 11:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Like 1


PostPosted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 10:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
One more from this lens taken on that showery day.
Tom

#1


PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 8:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Michael:

Where did you find a squadron of Sea Furies in 1984? A friend of mine tells me a Sea Fury was the only prop plane to take out a MIG15 in the Korean War. Also, from a family of lovers of British sports cars--that 907 engine was really Chapman's only true, "in-house" engine. My step Dad via email, made these comments on the 907:

"It had the highest specific output of any production engine at the time. It did have problems, none not eventually curable. The turbo version was (I’m guessing from vague memory) @ 240hp."

Best jt


PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 8:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
cooltouch wrote:
Thanks, guys. Kryss, I know what you mean!

Focusthrow, yeah, this photo is one of my favorites. It was one of those lucky, spur-of-the-moment shots. The above photo is pretty much as taken. I was never really happy with the exposure, though, and I didn't care for that horizontal bar running across at head-height. So, I played around with this image a lot. I finally wound up with an HDR version where I was able to bring out more detail and where I spent a great deal of time cloning out that horizontal bar. It wound up looking like this (the largest image size I have handy at the moment):



I'm still not completely satisfied with it.


Backlit photography is so very difficult indeed, but the shot is great, as originally posted IMO. However, removing that bar does enhance it, technically--you must have really worked hard cloning that out.


PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 9:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Can't answer your question Sid, but I've noticed the red band around the front of the VS1 70-210mm f2.8-4 as well, whereas my copy has a plain front. I assumed it was a production date thing, and the red band was later models. I compared my serial number with red band ones on eBay and that seemed to confirm. I don't know if the red band also indicated any improvement or was just a marketing thing.
Cheers,


PostPosted: Tue Nov 07, 2017 11:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
3dpan wrote:
Can't answer your question Sid, but I've noticed the red band around the front of the VS1 70-210mm f2.8-4 as well, whereas my copy has a plain front. I assumed it was a production date thing, and the red band was later models. I compared my serial number with red band ones on eBay and that seemed to confirm. I don't know if the red band also indicated any improvement or was just a marketing thing.
Cheers,


Thank you to all for the answers and especially the photos! I'm torn between the 28-90 or the 28-105 ... decisions, decisions ... but given all the wonderful results you've all gotten with the 28-90, I'm leaning that way.

Again, thank you all very much for the responses! I love this forum!


PostPosted: Tue Nov 07, 2017 12:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Sid, the 28-105 is made by Cosina and is a good lens, but the 28-90 is better. I've had both apart, assuming (mistakenly) that they would have similar constructions. I was totally wrong. Internally they are two entirely different lenses. But in terms of construction materials and design, I'd have to say that the Cosina was solidly built just as well as the Komine was.

Focusthrow wrote:

Backlit photography is so very difficult indeed, but the shot is great, as originally posted IMO. However, removing that bar does enhance it, technically--you must have really worked hard cloning that out.


Boy howdy! It was a few hours of painstaking work.

Focusthrow wrote:
Michael:

Where did you find a squadron of Sea Furies in 1984? A friend of mine tells me a Sea Fury was the only prop plane to take out a MIG15 in the Korean War. Also, from a family of lovers of British sports cars--that 907 engine was really Chapman's only true, "in-house" engine. My step Dad via email, made these comments on the 907:

"It had the highest specific output of any production engine at the time. It did have problems, none not eventually curable. The turbo version was (I’m guessing from vague memory) @ 240hp."

Best jt


The photo was taken at the Warbirds airshow at Minter Field (just north of Bakersfield, CA). That was, I believe, the second airshow they ever had there. Back when I lived in California, I would go to every airshow that was a reasonable driving distance from home, and sometimes not. It was not uncommon to see three or four Sea Furies at these shows back then. I dunno about now. Last CA airshow I attended was probably in about 1992 or so -- Chino, which is usually the best for WWII warbirds.

I thought the little Lotus "Twin-Cam" (1600cc, found in the Elan, etc.) was also an in-house design?

Re the Lotus 907, IIRC, the turbocharged version, which was found in the Turbo Esprit, was the 912. Same basic motor with some nice improvements, no doubt. Yeah, I recall reading somewhere that the 907 as found in the Jensen Healey was the first example of a four-valve motor found in a regular passenger vehicle. Dunno about that, but it was definitely an exotic at its time. Here in the States, the JH won a couple of back to back racing titles in SCCA competition -- Group D as I recall. Because none of the other cars in D could touch the JH, the SCCA changed the rules for that car, and moved it to GT3, where it was no longer very competitive, having to race against the Wankel-engined Mazdas and other higher output cars.

My Jensen GT had a 907 that had been modified by the previous owner. It had a couple of dual-throat Webers and higher output cams. Wouldn't idle worth a darn, but it would sure scoot. The engine in that above photo is sporting a pair of 45mm Dellortos. It wasn't my car, so I dunno what else the owner had done to it. Probably quite a bit. That was one stunning looking JH, inside and out.


PostPosted: Tue Nov 07, 2017 7:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Oldhand wrote:
The colour in your slides has lasted exceptionally well Michael.
Great shots indeed.
As it happened, we had a shower of rain yesterday after weeks of dry weather.
I happened to have the Vivitar on my camera so here are a couple of yesterday's snaps
T


#1


#2


Thomas: beautiful subject isolation in both pics--beautiful colors in the 1st one! jt


PostPosted: Tue Nov 07, 2017 7:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lightshow Like 1 jt


PostPosted: Thu Nov 09, 2017 3:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
cooltouch wrote:
Sid, the 28-105 is made by Cosina and is a good lens, but the 28-90 is better. I've had both apart, assuming (mistakenly) that they would have similar constructions. I was totally wrong. Internally they are two entirely different lenses. But in terms of construction materials and design, I'd have to say that the Cosina was solidly built just as well as the Komine was.

Focusthrow wrote:

Backlit photography is so very difficult indeed, but the shot is great, as originally posted IMO. However, removing that bar does enhance it, technically--you must have really worked hard cloning that out.


Boy howdy! It was a few hours of painstaking work.

Focusthrow wrote:
Michael:

Where did you find a squadron of Sea Furies in 1984? A friend of mine tells me a Sea Fury was the only prop plane to take out a MIG15 in the Korean War. Also, from a family of lovers of British sports cars--that 907 engine was really Chapman's only true, "in-house" engine. My step Dad via email, made these comments on the 907:

"It had the highest specific output of any production engine at the time. It did have problems, none not eventually curable. The turbo version was (I’m guessing from vague memory) @ 240hp."

Best jt


The photo was taken at the Warbirds airshow at Minter Field (just north of Bakersfield, CA). That was, I believe, the second airshow they ever had there. Back when I lived in California, I would go to every airshow that was a reasonable driving distance from home, and sometimes not. It was not uncommon to see three or four Sea Furies at these shows back then. I dunno about now. Last CA airshow I attended was probably in about 1992 or so -- Chino, which is usually the best for WWII warbirds.

I thought the little Lotus "Twin-Cam" (1600cc, found in the Elan, etc.) was also an in-house design?

Re the Lotus 907, IIRC, the turbocharged version, which was found in the Turbo Esprit, was the 912. Same basic motor with some nice improvements, no doubt. Yeah, I recall reading somewhere that the 907 as found in the Jensen Healey was the first example of a four-valve motor found in a regular passenger vehicle. Dunno about that, but it was definitely an exotic at its time. Here in the States, the JH won a couple of back to back racing titles in SCCA competition -- Group D as I recall. Because none of the other cars in D could touch the JH, the SCCA changed the rules for that car, and moved it to GT3, where it was no longer very competitive, having to race against the Wankel-engined Mazdas and other higher output cars.

My Jensen GT had a 907 that had been modified by the previous owner. It had a couple of dual-throat Webers and higher output cams. Wouldn't idle worth a darn, but it would sure scoot. The engine in that above photo is sporting a pair of 45mm Dellortos. It wasn't my car, so I dunno what else the owner had done to it. Probably quite a bit. That was one stunning looking JH, inside and out.


Re Lotus Twin Cam engine--I'll bet this unpacks a can or worms, so I sent it to my Step-Dad whose greatest loves in life are old planes and sports cars, particularly British Sports cars. LOL I suspect the answer will be more complicated than yes or no, more likely as involved as the up & down quirks locations (within the neutron of the nucleus) in particle physics' Standard theory.

I was with him when he purchased a 1954 Morgan in the early 1980's, then watched him, in his spare time, re-build every part of the car, except the new upholstery, which my mother meticulously crafted for him--the whole process took just over 20 years, but you should see the Morgan!!! Also has a TVR (beautiful thing) from 1967 in immaculate shape. He sold the Jag 1967 Mark 1 (6 calipers on brake system, 2 of which are mechanical--first production car with 4-wheel disc brakes I think ) after a ground up restoration, a little of which I participated in. He also owned, from new, a 1970 Europa, which he drove virtually everyday, except when he was fixing it (which was often) for nearly 20 years. Anyway, could go on and on--I was a mechanic a long time ago. ......got to run to plan a vacation--will report back here to learn what's new when I get back. Best! jt


PostPosted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 3:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Your step-dad sounds like one cool guy -- especially if you're into the old Brit stuff, like I used to be. These days I drive Volvos and an Olds Aurora that my mom gave me. Kinda boring, comparatively speaking, even though that Aurora's 32-valve Northstar V8 is a stunning piece of engineering. And at least the Volvo that's running (a V90) has a 4-valve motor, so the tech's still good. I also have a 764T that I hope to get back on the road someday.

Still, though, there isn't a week that goes by where I don't think about my old Jensens. I miss 'em.


PostPosted: Fri Oct 11, 2019 5:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I am interested in this lens and would like to know how it behaves on full frame corners which is not clear to me after review of the very nice pics of this post.

I have a Minolta MD 28 85 3,5 4,5 that is razor sharp in the center of the frame but that is subject to strong field curvature and cannot compete with the Minolta 35 70 or; to a lesser extent the 35 105 when it comes to the corners.

So any solution allowing to cover properly this range with good quality across the frame is of interest to me.

I am rebutted by the Nikon Pentax focus rotation but might accept to live with it.

Thanks for any input.
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