Vivitar series 1 70-200mm help needed please

[barnaby]

Hi guy's I have just been given the said lens in PK mount. I have three questions, first one is it seems to be a bit foggy in the middle and I was wondering how easy it is to clean this. Are there any guides out there to do this? Google didn't return much for me and I thought you guy's may of worked on this lens before.

The second question is can I change the mount to M42 or would there be a problem with distance to focal plane once done?

The third one is should I sell it as spare or repairs and wait for a better one to come along?

[ManualFocus-G]

There were quite a few versions of this lens made, as far as I'm aware, so it might be worth showing a picture of the lens with the serial number for people to identify it.

Personally, I wouldn't touch a zoom for cleaning purposes, particularly when these are generally available for such little money. However, there are some technically handy people around here!

[barnaby]

Thanks Graham, I will photograph it once the kids are in bed. Little fingers and lenses I have painfully discovered don't mix too well.

[martinsmith99]

If it's a Kiron (Serial starts with 22......) it's actually quite easy to repair, but I find this version very average. The Komine (Serial 28......)in my experience is quite a bit better.

If you want an M42 mount lens, I would just resale your current one and get back to bidding.

[barnaby]

Thanks Martin, I will take this route I think as its not in those numbers.

[iangreenhalgh1]

This lens is very common on ebay and goes for peanuts, if it's a tricky job, probably better to pick up another one. I had the Tokina version, pretty good for a 70s zoom.

[Lloydy]

Vivitar Subcontracted Lens Makers
(1st two digits of serial number)
6 Olympus
9 Cosina
13 Schneider Optik
22 Kino (aka Kiron)
25 Ozone Optical
28 Komine
32 Makinon
33 Asanuma
37 Tokina
42 Bauer
44 Perkin Elmer (US)
47 Chinon
51 Tokyo Trading
56 Kyoe Schoji
61 Samyang (?)
75 Hoya Optical
77 Kobori
81 Polar

I paid £10 for a Kiron M42 mount one not very long ago, it's a good lens. But I haven't mine apart.

[iangreenhalgh1]

There are three versions of the classic 3.5/70-210.

V1 is Komine
V2 is Tokina
V3 is Kiron

Komine is said to be best, followed by Tokina then Kiron.

[martinsmith99]

I'd agree the Komine is best from my 2 lenses. The Kiron is average to good, but the Komine has better sharpness and probably more contrast. It's also smaller and no weird `macro' function.