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Vivitar Series 1 28-90mm f2.8-3.5
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 5:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
lumens pixel wrote:
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.


All the images I posted above were shot with Canon 35mm cameras, thus full frame. Scroll up and take a look at my image of beach rocks. It shows good corner to corner detail, I think. That was a Kodachrome 64 slide, taken back in about 1985 or 86. I don't recall the exposure data, but the lens's aperture was probably around f/8.

The Vivitar S1 28-90 is an exceptional lens. Should you chose to get one, I don't think you'll regret it. I still own a copy, although the one I have now is in Nikon mount.

Last edited by cooltouch on Sun Oct 13, 2019 7:53 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 8:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
cooltouch wrote:
lumens pixel wrote:
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.


All the images I posted above were shot with Canon 35mm cameras, thus full frame. Scroll up and take a look at my image of beach roks. It shows good corner to corner detail, I think. That was a Kodachrome 64 slide, taken back in about 1985 or 86. I don't recall the exposure data, but the lens's aperture was probably around f/8.

The Vivitar S1 28-90 is an exceptional lens. Should you chose to get one, I don't think you'll regret it. I still own a copy, although the one I have now is in Nikon mount.


Yes. I agree - a great lens.
I, too have a copy in Nikon F mount - AI -
It is exceptional on the D300 (APSc) but limps a little around the edges on D700 (Full Frame)
Still, for what they sell for, they are great value
Tom


PostPosted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 10:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Many thanks to both of you.


PostPosted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 2:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I have a few samples of this lenses, the recent one is from flea market, cost me $15 last week. All has a strong vignetting on open aperture at 28mm. It's getting better when downsizing diaphragm. Wide angle is not the best end of this lens, there is some softness in the corners using FF. Generally, the lens is very good, but still, Minolta 35-70 f3,5 is my favorite.


PostPosted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 3:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I see your point. I'm very happy myself with Minolta's 35 70.

Not so much with the 28 85 but I'm realising that the film plane is somewhat tilted so I have just ordered another copy that is on it's way hoping for a well assembled copy.
Nevertheless I am still looking for a legacy standard zoom starting at 28 and the vivitar and the tamron 27a and 44a might be options.

If only I could replicate the prime like center sharpness of the Minolta 28 85 nearby the borders I would be quite happy.


PostPosted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 4:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Another candidate worth looking for is the Konica Hexanon AR 28-135mm f4-4.5 zoom. A Tokina made lens which is also available as a Tokina AT-X lens.

http://forum.mflenses.com/konica-hexanon-ar-28-135-f4-4-5-zoom-reaction-and-samples-t69879,highlight,%2Bkonica+%2Bzoom.html


PostPosted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 6:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I still like this lens, and use it a lot as it's so handy when I can't be bothered to carry a bunch of lenses. I like it so much I've got three of them, if I see one cheap I'll buy it! Rolling Eyes


PostPosted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 8:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I have just bought a Tamron 28 135 that seems not so easy to handle and I will certainly need a lot of time to domesticate the beast. Close enough to the idea of the Tokina Konica you mentioned. Do not know which is the better lens but I will report either in this thread or in the Tamron thread. Might continue looking for a lighter solution.


PostPosted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 5:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
lumens pixel wrote:
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.


Hi,

Well, I had Viv S1 28-90 and now I have both Minolta's - 28-85 and 35-70. Unfortunately I wasn't able to compare Viv to Minolta side to side, but I remember that Viv wasn't so good at short end in terms of corner sharpness. It was unfortunate, because I really wanted to like this lens, but even on film it was clearly noticeable that corners are soft at 28-35mm range (further down the focal length it was less important for me so I didn't check). Both copies I had showed the same corner problem on film and I didn't have A7 at the time to test it with digital full frame, but I really doubt the results will be any better.
What's more both my copies weren't particularly sharp wide open and softness was more pronounced on the longer end. I'm not saying that this lens is not capable of making great photos, on the contrary, but when I had it I've ended up taking Tamron SP 01A and Pentax/Oly 28/3.5 instead of taking Viv S1 28-90 more often. That's a pity because this Viv had fantastic focal range and great build quality.

As for both Minoltas I must say that my copy of 28-85 is almost almost on par with 35-70 and both are easily usable wide open throughout their focal lengths.
I've tested both of them in terms of center sharpness and corner sharpness and in center 28-85 is a winner by tiny bit and in corner sharpness 35-70 wins, but just a tad to be honest, it's nothing spectacular. Stopped down - even to 5.6 both lenses are indistinguishable on A7's 24 MP sensor.
To be honest I was truly surprised with the results as 35-70 is fantastic lens that could easily be taken out instead of set of primes and 28-85 judging from the reviews should be significantly less good, but it is not the case, at least with my copy Smile.

That said I still prefer feel of 35-70, it's close focus capability on longer end (instead of "macro" on the short end in 28-85) and I think this elusive 3D effect is more pronounced on 35-70 as well.
All in all I cannot get myself to sell any of those Minoltas and use them day by day, while both copies of Viv are long time sold Wink. I doubt that it will help you a lot, because in the end it's the best to just buy particular lens, test it by yourself and sell it if it's not giving enough fun.


PostPosted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 5:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
lumens pixel wrote:
I have just bought a Tamron 28 135 ...


I had Tamron SP 26A 28-135/4-4.5 as well and it wasn't bad lens at all, but minimum focus distance of about 1.3 m (if I remember correctly) was real pain. Just to make a simple portrait or full body photo I needed to engage lens' macro mode which wasn't comfortable to say it kindly. I lost a lot of opportunities to make photo of my small daughter just because she was closer than I could quickly focus this lens.

I bought this lens as a "one lens for a walk" lens, but frustrated of this focus distance I sold the lens as it had virtually no use and was collecting dust. Shame, as it was quite good lens, a bit soft on the longer end wide open, but it's almost 5x zoom lens so it's not expected to be brilliant throughout the whole focal length.


PostPosted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 2:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I am making slow progress testing the Tamron 28 135. Results are very good up to 80mm, a tad weakier in the corners afterwards. At corners the Tamron is certainly superior to my copy of Minolta 28 85.

However my Tamron copy came equipped with a Posso skylight filter that should have not help sharpness a lot. I was unable to unscrew it but removed the glass and need to test again.

This lens is difficult to focus at wide angle since the focus throw has probably been calibrated to not be much abrupt at 135mm. So one has to be patient to nail focus.

I hope to receive a 28 85 another copy of the Minolta soon and will compare if I am lucky enough to get a sample as good as yours.

I agree that Minota's 35 70 is extraordinary.


PostPosted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 4:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Usually I'm skeptical toward Sigma lenses, but once I got a Sigma 28-200 f4-5,6 on flea market (usual source of my gear for more than reasonable price). I was surprised. It is great on all ranges, even open.


PostPosted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 10:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
PhantomLord, I am surprised at the results you got from your Vivitars. Mine was a the polar opposite. Very sharp, corner to corner, even wide open. Really, the only thing about it I didn't care for was its noticeable vignetting at 28mm and wide apertures. Oh, and I owned my copy back in my film days, so all my evaluations and results were typically with slide film, most often Kodachrome 64. I own another copy now, in Nikon mount (my old one was Canon) and I don't use it as much because my only digital is APS-C. But the one I have still does a great job given the restrictions that APS-C imposes.

I've also acquired a few Tamrons in recent years, the SP 24-50, SP 28-85, SP 28-135, and Tamron's legendary 35-80, but honestly I haven't used them much, so I can't really offer opinions about them. I picked them up mostly in my quest to have a complete collection of Tamron SP lenses.


PostPosted: Wed Oct 16, 2019 8:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hello Michael,

Thank you for your input and I'm afraid that you've made me want to try Viv once again Smile. I'll try to pick one up if I find one in good price. Honestly I really liked that lens, but turned out not to be used too much because of the reasons I wrote above. If your copy was sharp corner to corner on slide films then I certainly want to try yet another copy.
As for vignetting, well, I don't care too much about it either to be honest. It's easily corrected and if corners aren't really black than no big deal for me.

Cheers
Mateusz


PostPosted: Wed Oct 16, 2019 11:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
DigiChromeEd wrote:
Another candidate worth looking for is the Konica Hexanon AR 28-135mm f4-4.5 zoom. A Tokina made lens which is also available as a Tokina AT-X lens.

http://forum.mflenses.com/konica-hexanon-ar-28-135-f4-4-5-zoom-reaction-and-samples-t69879,highlight,%2Bkonica+%2Bzoom.html


The tokina 28/135 compared to the tamron 28/135 has MUCH better min focus distance = 0.5m/ Has MUCH smoother operation (the tamron zooming action is stiff) / Seems : (I have made pics with the tokina 28/135 and just - because of minimum focus distance- looked trough the viewfinder of the tamron) to have lower optical quality .. The results i got with it were average

To resume : it is a very handy lens with average optical quality

For a walkaround lens both the Tamron 35/135 3.5 (seems top) and the 28/200 3.5/5.6 can be considered


I have all four (and sell 4x !)


PostPosted: Wed Oct 16, 2019 3:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
At this time two points seem obvious to me regarding the Tamron 28 135. It is sharp. You need to build up some muscle.

It has been a good idea to suppress the skylight filter. I have added a rubber type lens shade so I have two positions: less or more than 50mm to avoid vignetting and both actions have been benefit for contrast.
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