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Vivitar Series 1 VMC 4.5/90-180 Flat Field Zoom
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PostPosted: Mon May 04, 2015 12:47 pm    Post subject: Vivitar Series 1 VMC 4.5/90-180 Flat Field Zoom Reply with quote

The humble daisy and clematis:-





PostPosted: Mon May 04, 2015 4:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Excellent, really good pictures. I guess that lens is the big brother to the S1 28-90 ?


PostPosted: Mon May 04, 2015 5:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

No, it's an entirely different construction. It was one of the original Series 1 lenses released in 1975; the 28-90 came a few years later. Also, the 28-90 is a vari-focal push-pull zoom, whereas the 90-180 is a constant, two-ring design, capable of a 1:4 reproduction ratio at 90mm and 1:2 ratio at 180mm. Which gives it a nice working distance from the subject.

It's intended use was as a macro in the medical field. I also dimly recall that it was so expensive to produce that Vivitar was losing money on selling it at a price point where people would buy it. There are plenty of examples on eBay at the moment, ranging in price from $259 for a lens with some pretty bad scratches in the glass, to minty ones in the $800 range. Lots to choose from in the $400-600 range. So, it's a lot more expensive now than it was when it was new.


PostPosted: Mon May 04, 2015 5:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for your comments Lloydy. Smile

Michael, I bought the lens in Exc++ condition c/w dedicated hood last year for £220 (approx 330 US dollars).

Here it is:

http://forum.mflenses.com/vivitar-series-1-4-5-90-180-vmc-flat-field-zoom-t69273.html


PostPosted: Mon May 04, 2015 5:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

She's a beauty, Edgar. I owned one very briefly back during my former life as a camera dealer. In Nikon mount no less. I wanted to keep it, but was talked out of it by a customer who was almost desperate to have it. He paid quite a bit more than I was thinking of asking for it. That's the only time I've even been close to one. I'd love to add one to my Vivitar collection, but I just can't justify the price they're selling for these days.


PostPosted: Mon May 04, 2015 8:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You can tell it is a special lens, and it's great to learn why. I like Vivitars, I think I have a couple of average ones but most are above average, one or two are way above. I shall keep a look out for one of these.


PostPosted: Mon Sep 14, 2015 11:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A few examples from this lens, including an unusual 'selfie';






PostPosted: Mon Sep 14, 2015 1:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

SonicScot wrote:
A few examples from this lens, including an unusual 'selfie';


And that was INDEED a most unusual selfie. Smile

What critter was the "frame" for the selfie, Gary?


PostPosted: Tue Sep 15, 2015 5:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

fwcetus wrote:
SonicScot wrote:
A few examples from this lens, including an unusual 'selfie';


And that was INDEED a most unusual selfie. Smile

What critter was the "frame" for the selfie, Gary?


Thanks Smile
It was the left eye of a European Eagle Owl, called Cedar.
This fella;


The lens was at full 'reach' 180mm 1:2


PostPosted: Tue Sep 15, 2015 9:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

SonicScot wrote:
fwcetus wrote:
SonicScot wrote:

A few examples from this lens, including an unusual 'selfie';

And that was INDEED a most unusual selfie. Smile
What critter was the "frame" for the selfie, Gary?

Thanks Smile
It was the left eye of a European Eagle Owl, called Cedar.
This fella;

Very interesting. And that lens performed very well.

So, is Cedar a tame (or semi-tame) owl then?


PostPosted: Tue Sep 15, 2015 10:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm not sure if tame is the correct word, but it's something like that. Any bird in the display is free to disappear any time they feel like it, but I'm sure they realise that life is much easier with the falconer. Out in the wild it's a war zone every minute of the day, with the falconer they are fed regularly, exercised daily and are safe from attack. All birds of prey will eat each other, if they are bigger than their prey. Big owls eat little owls, same with falcons, eagles and hawks.
Occasionally we'll have a hawk and owl in the display at the same time but they don't fly together or fight each other, I'll have to ask how that doesn't happen.

There's a lot of trust between the falconer and the birds, he can gently clean bits of food/meat off their beaks, which they in turn will carefully pick from the end of his finger. If they chose to they could bite straight through his finger. He can rub the belly of Harris Hawks so that eventually, when he hits the right spot, they throw their heads back as if they are laughing. They genuinely look like they enjoy it, but I haven't asked them Razz

At the end of each display one of the owls, Bengal or European, will sit on a bench (and tied there) while the audience can take turns to sit next to them for a photo. People are warned not to touch them, partly because stroking them can remove the waterproofing from their feathers, partly because if someone points a finger close to an owl it could mistake it for food and bite it. Owls have poor close vision, the price they pay for having excellent distance vision.

The smaller Bengal owl often rides up front in the car, it dances from side to side if the wipers are on. They make wonderful pets but you must be a dedicated keeper. The falconer brought this one up from being 4 days old, with owls you have to be hands-on in their upbringing. With eagles or falcons you can't do that, otherwise you will be seen as a threat which must be dealt with, with bad results for you. Owls either think they are human, or they think we are funny looking owls. Either way we are it's equals and it's family. I don't think I'm explaining it very well, the falconer is far better at this than me.

The only time something went wrong was last year when a young Steppe Eagle I was helping to train was flying from the falconer to me and back again. We were building up muscle mass so it had the stamina to be part of the displays. It had already had small parts in the display several times but a young eagle weighing 7 pounds, flying at sea-level needs a lot of strength and stamina. We reckoned that another few weeks and he would have been a full-time display performer.
At some point something out at sea caught his eye (50 yds beyond the castle walls is the sea), we think it may have been a small fishing boat throwing old fish bait overboard. The eagle flew off to investigate and didn't return, it seems he flew several hundred yards over the water before deciding to turn back. He didn't have the stamina to reach land so ended up ditching into the sea. After that, it was impossible for him to get out and he sadly drowned. I found him two days later 5 miles down the coast, washed up on a beach. The falconer was distraught and I don't mind admitting that I couldn't hold back the tears either. When you work with a bird like that it becomes a family member almost, it's devastating to lose one. He was a stunningly beautiful eagle with a lovely character and it was a horrible loss to us all.

So owls can be great pets and about as tame as raptors can be, the others are a different matter. Small falcons and hawks can be safely held on a glove by the audience but only for a short while. They recognise their keepers and other familiar faces but not always in a good way. Bonsai the Bengal eagle owl knows me very well, he'll often fly to me when I arrive and land on my head, I can then walk around for 10-15 minutes with this owl on my head Laughing A very old Golden Eagle we lost to old age earlier this year would go crazy when he saw the falconer's wife, he saw her as a threat to his 'relationship' with the falconer. If the eagle had ever got free it would have tried to kill her, no doubt about it. But as the eagle was 95 yrs old in species terms, it probably wouldn't have had enough strength to do it. But we didn't ever want to take the chance, so she had to hide if the falconer was moving this eagle from one place to another.

I adore all these birds but I also have a healthy wariness of them too, they are born killers and they are very good at it. I've twice seen a Peregrine falcon take a pigeon out of the sky with tremendous speed, power and accuracy. They stoop/dive at up to 240+mph, then hit the pigeon with around 80 pounds of force which results in an explosion of feathers and usually decapitation. Then they land on the prey and tear it to pieces while mantling (covering the meal with its wings to hide it from other birds) otherwise another, bigger bird will come and steal it.
Nature is both beautiful and vicious.


PostPosted: Tue Sep 15, 2015 10:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fascinating writeup!

And yet another lens to be added to the watch-out-for-list - very nice pictures.


PostPosted: Tue Sep 15, 2015 11:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

RnR wrote:
Fascinating writeup!

And yet another lens to be added to the watch-out-for-list - very nice pictures.


Thanks.

Be aware that it's a heavy lens and that it's unfairly expensive these days. Saying that, it is very good and built like a tank. Smile
It also has the least CA I've seen from any of my Series 1 lenses, which makes a pleasant change.

I've been thinking about getting a 1.4x or 2x to go with it but can't find one that is; a) cheap yet good quality and b) one that looks strong enough to hold the weight. Laughing


PostPosted: Wed Sep 16, 2015 12:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Chapeau!!!!


PostPosted: Wed Sep 16, 2015 12:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

SonicScot wrote:
I'm not sure if tame is the correct word, but it's something like that. [...]


That was a WONDERFUL story, Gary. Thank you so much for sharing that with us. It does make that unusual selfie of yours even more special than it first appeared. Carry on then...

Fred


PostPosted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 11:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

fwcetus wrote:
SonicScot wrote:
I'm not sure if tame is the correct word, but it's something like that. [...]


That was a WONDERFUL story, Gary. Thank you so much for sharing that with us. It does make that unusual selfie of yours even more special than it first appeared. Carry on then...

Fred

Thanks Very Happy


PostPosted: Sun Sep 20, 2015 9:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

An example of this lens doing an impression of a Meyer lens Razz



And then stopped down, with crop;