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Vivitar Series-1 28-90mm f/2.8-3.5: Some snapshots...
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 06, 2014 8:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
the lens was in a box of crap under a table at the camera fair, in it's unmarked case. I held it up and asked the price, paid the money and ran! I knew it was good, the seller didn't.

I think I'm going to like this lens, it is Canon breechlock which I hate - but so is my Komine S1 70-210, what a great walkabout pair of lenses.
Here's a few pictures from its first outing, all untouched except for the church pic' which has had some levels. All shot wide, not fully wide open - maybe f3 to f4. ISO500 and hand held on a Sony A6000.
They all need some levels / contrast, but that's me rather than the lens. Once I get used to it this will be a well used lens. Cool



There is sharpness in this lens, I didn't quite nail it here though.








PostPosted: Sun Jul 06, 2014 9:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
#1 and #2 for me.... looks like your gonna like this one !

Great find, congrats !


PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 12:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
My all time favorite lens. Still using the one that I purchased in the early 80's when they came out.


PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 12:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote


PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 5:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Russ wrote:


This must have been what it looked like when Vivitar's headquarters were struck by the big Southern California earthquake in the early 1990s!

Nice collection, I have many but not all of the same lenses.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 08, 2014 7:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nice lens. Does anybody know if 90$ is a good price for a Vivitar in very good shape with Nikon AI(?) mount?


PostPosted: Tue Jul 08, 2014 8:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
semaca wrote:
Nice lens. Does anybody know if 90$ is a good price for a Vivitar in very good shape with Nikon AI(?) mount?


Sounds about right - a bit on the higher side but the good ones sell for up to this amount.
You might find one cheaper (and good ones have sold for less) but if you know that this lens is excellent, it would be a fair price.
OH


PostPosted: Tue Jul 08, 2014 4:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Oldhand wrote:
semaca wrote:
Nice lens. Does anybody know if 90$ is a good price for a Vivitar in very good shape with Nikon AI(?) mount?


...You might find one cheaper...


Not after this thread they won't !


PostPosted: Tue Jul 08, 2014 11:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Some more pictures from today, I'm loving this lens already. The one touch is OK, I do prefer a two ring lens but I don't hate one touch so much I wont use them - I have plenty. The close focus is superb, on the Sony A6000 - Canon FD Adapter - I can get the subject about 50mm from the front of the lens. I rarely shoot wide open, these pictures are all f3 - 4 and maybe 5.6. I have PP'd them as well, but not much.









PostPosted: Mon May 25, 2015 3:15 pm    Post subject: On the way Reply with quote
I have one that will be here tomorrow. I got it for next-to-nothing with a Nikon FE attached.


PostPosted: Mon May 25, 2015 4:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I think you will like it, I use mine a lot - it's such a good walkabout lens. Post some pictures, I'd like to see them.


PostPosted: Mon May 25, 2015 5:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I'm with Lloyd here. As I mentioned in a previous post, I used to use this as one of two zoom lenses along with my Canon F-1 in my "walking around" kit. It has delivered for me countless times, such that I came to depend heavily on its reliability, its color, contrast, and sharpness. With my APS-C NEX, instead of it being a wide-to-short-tele zoom, it has become a portrait zoom with its approximate 35mm equivalent range of 50-150mm. Just about perfect for a portrait zoom.

I'm also a really big fan of Tamron and I own several Tamron zooms. Two of my most recent purchases are the SP 28--80mm, which I see as a direct rival to the Vivitar S1 28-90, and the SP 35--80mm, a highly respected zoom. Even with its limited zoom range, it can still be used in a comparison in which those faal, I feel.

So one of these days soon, look for a direct comparison between these three optics. I also have the Canon 35-105mm f/3.5 that might should be included and I think I might have a Tokina AT-X as well. I have so many lenses right now, many of which will be going on eBay when I find the time to sort through them and write descriptions.

Boats moored against a small Morro Bay pier. Canon F-1, Vivitar S1 28-90mm, Kodachrome 64


"Boys on Pier" Canon F-1, Vivitar S1 28-90mm, Kodachrome 64


"Camcorder Bubba" Canon F-1, Vivitar S1 28-90, Fujichrome 100


PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2016 4:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I bought this Vivitar legend and have been shooting with it for a few weeks.

Pros:
- 28-90mm makes it a really decent walkaround lens.
- 1:3 macro capability at 28mm for versatility.
- The image quality is phenomenal for a zoom lens of this age. The center is extremely sharp even wide open at f/2.8~3.5.
- Distortions at all focal lengths are well-controlled.
- It's cheap. I bought mine for $60 and it came fresh like new.

Cons:
- As it has been pointed out, this lens is not a true zoom. The vari-focal aspect doesn't really annoy me much however.
- There is very severe vignetting at 28/2.8, but it is reduced to negligible amount once you stop down or zoom to ~35mm.
- While this lens is very sharp in the center, the extreme borders and edges are fairly soft.
- The lens doesn't really handle flaring well, so beware of bright lights around your frame.
- The focus throw is way too short (~90 degrees) that it makes nailing the focus quite difficult.

Overall I'm quite pleased with the results. You just need to avoid the weakness at the edges and the vignetting at 28mm, otherwise it's a very nice lens indeed.

This one is shot at 90mm and f/4 showing the sharpness at center. It also got a bit of flare from the sun in the left:
DSC04621 by Chih-Mao Chen, on Flickr

The vignetting at 28mm and f/4:
DSC04526 by Chih-Mao Chen, on Flickr

Bokeh looks good as well:
DSC04704 by Chih-Mao Chen, on Flickr

Last edited by pkmx on Mon Feb 01, 2016 6:08 am; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2016 10:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I'd say the Vivitar 1 28-90 is radioactive, based on the tantalum high refractive front element into the lens, just like other lenses from the 70-80s time table.


PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2016 11:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
An excellent lens, another I regret selling.


PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2016 9:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
doomed-forever wrote:
I'd say the Vivitar 1 28-90 is radioactive, based on the tantalum high refractive front element into the lens, just like other lenses from the 70-80s time table.


I'd say you might be wrong Wink

Tantalum is NOT radiactive. Did you mean Thorium (which was used for lenses from the 1940s until early 1970s)?

Stephan


PostPosted: Tue Feb 02, 2016 11:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I've been getting all sentimental, reading through this thread again, so I thought I'd upload a couple of more old slide images.

Taken east of Bakersfiled, CA, on the way to the Kern River Canyon. There's agriculture everywhere around Bakersfield. These are orange groves. Canon A-1, Vivitar S1 28-90, Kodachrome 64.


Point Vicente Light House on the Palos Verdes Penninsula in the Los Angeles area. Canon F-1, Vivitar S1 28-90, Kodachrome 64.


Old fellow reading Canon F-1, Vivitar S1 28-90, Kodachrome 64.


Santa Barbara Pier at sunrise. Canon A-1, Vivitar S1 28-90, Kodachrome 64.


PostPosted: Tue Feb 02, 2016 11:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Russ wrote:
Michael

Very nice image. I too, purchased my first S-1 28-90 as soon as they were introduced. It quickly became my favorite and "go to" lens. Over the decades, I've burned hundreds or thousands of Kodachrome and Velvia slides through it. I still use it today. I snapped the attached image (Ghostwind) with this lens, hand-held. I had it Drum scanned for greeting card and publication purposes. The Drum scan file is huge. When I first viewed the scan, I was amazed at how much detail this lens picked up. In the scan or large prints, you can see incredibly small and fine detail. The large prints are commonly mistaken for medium format size. If you've never Drum scanned a slide, I highly recommend it. It's a whole new world. I see things and details in the Drum scans, that I don't see when glassing (light table and 10x loupe) the slides and negs.

Just for the hell of it, I attached a second snap (African Shag) that I shot with the Vivitar Series 1, 70-210 glass (second edition-Tokina made, Vivitar design).






I sent CheekyGeek, links to where he can procure the perfect lens hood-shade for the Viv S-1 28-90 glass.


How did I miss these images.
Utterly sublime - congratulations on their quality.

I agree that this lens is one of the greats.
Here is one of my shots with it.
OH


#1


PostPosted: Wed Feb 03, 2016 7:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Happy Dog
Very nice, gentlemen!


PostPosted: Thu Feb 04, 2016 10:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
stevemark wrote:
doomed-forever wrote:
I'd say the Vivitar 1 28-90 is radioactive, based on the tantalum high refractive front element into the lens, just like other lenses from the 70-80s time table.


I'd say you might be wrong Wink

Tantalum is NOT radiactive. Did you mean Thorium (which was used for lenses from the 1940s until early 1970s)?

Stephan


Alright, perhaps you're right Stephan. No i didn't meant Thorium. Wink But we do have also for decales Tantalum capacitors, which aren't
radioactive, so thanks for clearing things up.

Marc


PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 12:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I just picked up a vivitar series 1 28-90 C/Y mount for $40, I was originally looking for the VEB Jenazoom 28-105 or 28-85 or maybe something similar, this thread convinced me it would be worth taking a chance on it, so thanks for posting pics and opinions.
It's condition seems quite good, but dust is an issue due to it not having caps, so I will be cleaning it soon.
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