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 S1 24-70 S/N 09xxx lenses -- any good?
Post new topic   Reply to topic
Home   Manual Focus Lenses
View previous topic :: View next topic  


PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 10:11 am    Post subject: Vivitar S1 24-70 S/N 09xxx lenses -- any good? Reply with quote
The later model Vivitar S1 lenses with the 09 s/n code were made by Cosina, correct? I'm just curious what folks here think about them compared to the older ones made by Kiron and Komine. I owned an S1 28-105, most likely made by Cosina with the 09 s/n code, briefly years ago, and I can't really say that I had any opinions about it one way or the other. I bought it in Nikon mount to replace a 28-90 in Canon FD mount that I'd used a lot -- but the Nikon mount lens didn't get used much at all before I sold it. So I just don't have any clear recollections about it. Ironically, I now own an S1 28-105, with the 09 s/n code, in Canon FD mount. But its aperture blades are oily and I haven't been able to figure out yet how to get to them without having to dismantle the entire lens, so it sits on the shelf waiting for me to build up the courage to dive into it. Smile

I ask all this because I've run across a clean S1 24-70 with the 09 s/n code in Nikon mount that I can pick up for a reasonable sum -- far from a great price, but at least reasonable. But before I take the plunge, I'm interested in what others here think about it. Jump on in if you have an opinion. Thanks!


PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 8:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hi Mike
Sorry I don't know much on the subject but with the lens being a S1 it should be a safe gamble? Very Happy I have never tried a 24-70 range lens of any sort...are they that much different from the 2.8-85 range?


PostPosted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 12:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
mo wrote:
Hi Mike
Sorry I don't know much on the subject but with the lens being a S1 it should be a safe gamble? Very Happy I have never tried a 24-70 range lens of any sort...are they that much different from the 2.8-85 range?


I think most folks here will agree with me when I say that the earlier S1 lenses tended to be better performers than the later ones. Apparently there toward the end, the whole "Series 1" labeling thing had become little more than a marketing ploy and the whole S1 moniker's reputations suffered as a result. And given that the 24-70 and the 28-105 are late S1 lenses, this is why I was asking.

The 28-105 is an update of the Series 1 28-90, an exceptionally sharp varifocal design, so I've always felt that, even though it was a late update, that it was still a solidly good lens since it resembled the 28-90 so closely. However, there is no close S1 relation to the 24-70. The old Series 1 24-48 f/3.8 was a great lens, but it shares nothing with the much later S1 24-70. And given that the 24-70 was a new design back then, this is what got me to wondering.


PostPosted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 8:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
When you put it like that I would hesitate as well before buying. I wonder if luis has used one of these S1 24-70s...hmmm how to catch his attention Very Happy
Post new topic   Reply to topic
Home   Manual Focus Lenses
Page 1 of 1