Home

Please support mflenses.com if you need any graphic related work order it from us, click on above banner to order!
SearchSearch MemberlistMemberlist RegisterRegister ProfileProfile Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages Log inLog in

Vivitar Series 1 135/2.3 and an unexpected guest
Post new topic   Reply to topic
Home   Manual Focus Lenses
View previous topic :: View next topic  


PostPosted: Tue Sep 02, 2014 3:57 pm    Post subject: Vivitar Series 1 135/2.3 and an unexpected guest Reply with quote
This monster showed up on my doorstep this morning and I had the Vivitar 135/2.3 on my A7. The paving stones you see him standing on are about 40 inches wide. I got some great shots, here are a few. I put a quick snap of the turtle next to a pickup truck for scale.

Tortoises are my speed as far as wildlife shooting. He ate some of the weeds in my front yard and then continued his journey.







PostPosted: Tue Sep 02, 2014 4:13 pm    Post subject: Re: Vivitar Series 1 135/2.3 and an unexpected guest Reply with quote
kenetik wrote:
Tortoises are my speed as far as wildlife shooting. He ate some of the weeds in my front yard and then continued his journey.

I'm not as fast as you are. The tortoise would've eaten some of the weeds in my front yard PLUS my lunch, all before I could nail the focus Smile

I really like your samples and wouldn't mind having this lens in Nikon Ai mount (though I don't know if it exists).


PostPosted: Tue Sep 02, 2014 4:25 pm    Post subject: Re: Vivitar Series 1 135/2.3 and an unexpected guest Reply with quote
invisible wrote:
kenetik wrote:
Tortoises are my speed as far as wildlife shooting. He ate some of the weeds in my front yard and then continued his journey.

I'm not as fast as you are. The tortoise would've eaten some of the weeds in my front yard PLUS my lunch, all before I could nail the focus Smile

I really like your samples and wouldn't mind having this lens in Nikon Ai mount (though I don't know if it exists).


I tried to go for shallow depth of field in a few shots but the thing was trucking along pretty good. They do exist in AI, and people have AI'd them. It's a fantastic lens. Look to threads by users including Woodrim and SonicScot for unreal samples.



PostPosted: Tue Sep 02, 2014 4:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Gosh those are really terrific photos. You are fortunate to have such visitors as that tortoise. What a beautiful animal!!


PostPosted: Tue Sep 02, 2014 5:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
guardian wrote:
Gosh those are really terrific photos. You are fortunate to have such visitors as that tortoise. What a beautiful animal!!


I agree I was fortunate Guardian. That is an Arizona Desert Tortoise, Sonoran type. They're hard to spot in the wild and they hibernate and burrow in the winter so you rarely see them then. Like other tortoises they live for decades. It was a pretty magical moment to wake up and see this guy on my doorstep, kind of like seeing a dinosaur.

I was also fortunate I had an appropriate lens on my camera ready to go. Normally when an opportunity like this presents itself I'll have the totally wrong FL on. A 17mm or a 600mm. Lol. The Viv 135/2.3 is one I would have chosen if I had needed to pick.







PostPosted: Sat Sep 06, 2014 1:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Love them - turtles and the pictures. Tack sharp.


PostPosted: Sat Sep 06, 2014 5:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Wish I could use the 135 2.3 like you do Woodrim, but I keep practicing. Thank you for the compliment!


PostPosted: Sat Sep 06, 2014 2:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The hardest part is hitting the focus and you're doing well there. If you want to catch a bird in flight at f2.3 like Gary (sonicscot), well, good luck.

I first thought that was a box turtle, which are common on the east coast, but then when I saw the size I knew better. When I was a kid I was always on the lookout for turtles and frogs. At some point I switched to girls. That childhood stuff stays with a person - I still get a smile when I see a turtle and if it's crossing a road, I will stop and help it get across. As things developed where I grew up, wildlife like that disappeared, but now living in South Carolina there is an abundance - and bigger too. Wish I had grown up here.


PostPosted: Sat Sep 06, 2014 2:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nice shots, a lucky encounter for you!


PostPosted: Sat Sep 06, 2014 5:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
What a wonderful visitor to have.

BTW, here's a salutory little tale. It took a long time to get a living example of the Giant Tortoise back to England. This was the age of sail and they discovered that Giant Tortoise was the tastiest meat they had ever eaten, so they scoffed all of them long before they sighted home.

Last edited by iangreenhalgh1 on Sat Sep 06, 2014 8:26 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Sat Sep 06, 2014 6:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thank you Ian for not... well, you know.


PostPosted: Sat Sep 06, 2014 7:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lol @Turtle Soup. We're savages really. I've never seen one of these things outside of a zoo up til now. The 135 2.3 has an amazing depth of field going on at that FL. Some of the pics really do look like layers in photoshop.



And another gratuitous tortoise shot.




PostPosted: Sat Sep 06, 2014 7:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Superb detail and clarity of the photos. Seems a very useful combo!


PostPosted: Sat Sep 06, 2014 7:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Edited

Last edited by bernhardas on Sun Jul 03, 2016 11:57 am; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Sat Sep 06, 2014 8:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Judging by that roadsign shot, I really missed out on a gem with the copy I had, which was faulty and had rotten IG.Sad


PostPosted: Sat Sep 06, 2014 8:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
It's interesting. I got this copy for 90 bucks and the description said it had delamination or fungus. I did the flashlight test and it looks fine to me.


PostPosted: Sat Sep 06, 2014 9:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Arghhh. It was too good to be true.


PostPosted: Sun Sep 07, 2014 9:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
great lens ! One of Viv's best for sure . nice shots !


PostPosted: Sun Sep 07, 2014 9:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
kenetik wrote:
It's interesting. I got this copy for 90 bucks and the description said it had delamination or fungus. I did the flashlight test and it looks fine to me.


Nice price. Mine was mint, like it have never been used. However, it had obviously been put together wrong, it had the worst purple fringing I've seen and just wasn't sharp, clearly defective.

Worst thing is, I've never seen another for sale here since, so never got to try a better copy. Sad
Post new topic   Reply to topic
Home   Manual Focus Lenses
Page 1 of 1