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Vivitar 17mm f/3.5
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:52 am    Post subject: Vivitar 17mm f/3.5 Reply with quote
Well, the recent thread on the Tokina 17mm f/3.5 has caused me to pull out my Tokina-made Vivitar 17mm f/3.5 and burn through some film with my Canon F-1. I really enjoy having an excuse to burn through film using my F-1 -- I love that camera. Very Happy

I bought this Vivitar 17mm almost 20 years ago, and gave it to my mother. Back then she was still pretty active in photography, traveling a fair amount and all, but now, well, it's been years since she's pulled out her 35mm SLR gear, so she up and gave it all to me. And so, after an almost 20 year absence, I have the Vivitar 17 back in my collection.



The following shots were taken with a Canon F-1 using Fuji ISO 200 film. Exposure was unrecorded, but I was probably stopping the lens down to the f/8 to F/11 range to achieve maximum sharpness and good depth of field. The negatives were scanned on an Epson 4990 flatbed scanner, and a minimal amount of post processing was done, including a bit of saturation and high-pass sharpening.

This lens does exhibit some barrel distortion, and as the photos show, just a tiny bit of vignetting on the corners. Neither of these issues bothers me really. This will make a great lens for beach and mountain scenics.





Last edited by cooltouch on Thu Jan 20, 2011 6:02 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 9:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
That's a very nice lens. Highly recommendable.


PostPosted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 10:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Looks quite good to me. I have two 17mm Tokinas which look alike.


PostPosted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 11:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
The lens looks very cool, and I immediately thought of the seashore... It's a good thing to keep glass in the family Very Happy


PostPosted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 12:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
These used to go a lot cheaper and I foolishly passed on one about a year ago. A decision I regret looking at those images.


PostPosted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
martinsmith99 wrote:
These used to go a lot cheaper and I foolishly passed on one about a year ago. A decision I regret looking at those images.


Boy howdy. I think I paid about $40 for this Vivitar 20 years ago, which was a good deal even back then. Nowadays it seems as if it's a superwide, sellers on eBay want $300 and up for them.

I'd love to find another one of these in Nikon mount -- or a Tamron would be even better, cuz then I could use it with all my gear. But I've been pretty much priced out of the market these days.

Still, I'm glad to have this one. I really love the depth of field and the wide-open-ness I get from this lens. I was standing practically right next to that stop sign in the last photo.


PostPosted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 7:01 pm    Post subject: Re: Vivitar 17/3.5 Reply with quote
I have an OM mount one so I can use it on Canon EF mount too if I wish.
Paid $140 for it. It's very good considering the price tag, almost as good as Tamrpn SP IMO.


PostPosted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 7:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Is this Vivitar equivalent to the Tokina ATX or the RMC ?


PostPosted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 7:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Most likely the RMC, but I can't say for sure.


PostPosted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 7:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
cooltouch wrote:
Most likely the RMC, but I can't say for sure.


OK Thanks. The RMC sells for quite a lot less than $300. One (Nikon Ais) sold for about 60 GBP a couple of days ago. There's one sitting at the same level with about 10 hours to go.


PostPosted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 8:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I've seen the actual Tokina lens listed and each time it had the RMC badge.

I had a 24mm RMC Tokina and it was not so good.


PostPosted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 8:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I went to eBay just now and searched for "Tokina 17mm" and got a number of hits, including a few for the RMC 17mm. After closely comparing my Vivitar with the Tokina RMC, I would have to say that they are different lenses. Mine has a 72mm front filter size, whereas th RMC's is 67mm. But I can see how, if the wings on mine were omitted, the filter size could be reduced. However, when comparing the rear element of mine with those shown (Nikon AI and Oly), my conclusion is that they are indeed different. Mine has a larger rear element and a narrower collar surrounding it than the RMC. So, possibly they are not contemporaneous? That is, perhaps the Vivitar is an older design than the RMC? Hard to say, I suppose.

The only AT-X 17s I found were newer AT-X PRO AF lenses. I doubt very much this Vivitar has the same optical formula as those.


PostPosted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 4:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote


Some other members were just talking about this lens last week or so. I picked up the spiratone 18mm f/3.5, an identical copy to the vivitar 17mm f/3.5 (both are actually made by tokina). These lenses differ from the RMC model. I have a short blog about what I had previously found on this tokina-made lens. The above image is a shot a I made with the spiratone. I love it!

http://makingnottaking.blogspot.com/search/label/Vivitar%2017mm%20f%2F3.5


PostPosted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 4:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hey David,

Thanks for the info and for the link to your blog. I read through it, and now of course I have a question. Being that you have both flavors of the Spiratone 18 -- this one and the Sigma -- which is the better optic in your view, and why?


PostPosted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 7:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Justtorchit,

That's a superb image. Nicely done!


PostPosted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
martinsmith99 wrote:
I've seen the actual Tokina lens listed and each time it had the RMC badge.

I had a 24mm RMC Tokina and it was not so good.


The lensmount of the 24mm f2.8 RMC is interchangable with the 17mm f3.5. I bought my Tokina 24mm f2.8 with an M42 mount but I bought my 17mm f3.5 with a Minolta MD mount...I needed the 17mm more than the 24mm so I simply swapped the mounts over.


PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 1:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thank you, krankykraut!

As far as your question (cooltouch) on my preference between the two versions discussed in my post, I actually only have the 18mm f/3.5 (17mm Tokina-made) version. The earlier version, I have only seen images of. So I cannot comment as to the differences between the two in terms of results, but perhaps with some luck and eBay, that could change! haha


PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 5:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I've since learned that Sigma also made an 18mm f/2.8. Judging by its looks, it's contemporaneous with the Spiratone Sigma. From what I've read about this f/2.8 version, it's nothing to get worked up about. Perhaps the Spiratone one was similar, quality wise.


PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 7:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I saw one of these (Viv 17mm) on efray yesterday. Seeing that the rear element had debris on it I expected it to go for very little. Unfortunately it didn't put people off.

I've no idea how easy the rear element comes out so I avoided it.


PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 8:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
in M42 mount..I am guilty.
I had contacted the seller asking about these white spots and he said that they should be cleanable from the inside if the lens was opened. I hope he is right as I will have access to cheap lens doctors back in Asia soon. So I put 47 pound as maximum bid, and when I checked an hour after the auction had ended found that I had won..for 47 pounds Smile


PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 10:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
last night i did some first digital shots with my tokina 3,5/17 rmc and i am really impressed about the sharpness. i didn't expect a lot, but @f8 it is much sharper than i would have thought.



PostPosted: Wed Dec 02, 2009 1:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
martinsmith99 wrote:
I saw one of these (Viv 17mm) on efray yesterday. Seeing that the rear element had debris on it I expected it to go for very little. Unfortunately it didn't put people off.

I've no idea how easy the rear element comes out so I avoided it.


kuuan wrote:
in M42 mount..I am guilty..


it arrived, well used condition but solid feel and working well.
today took the first shots in a Viennese coffee shop
drinking a 'Melange' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiener_Melange



the white spots on the back glass are tiny but there
guess they may effect it's contrast?
very soon I will be able to compare it against another 17mm Vivitar, maybe this can give a clue.

( the other one is in F mount, mine but have hardly used it, it has been with a friend in exchange for his DA21 ltd. Pentax lens
- a great lens, so small..should have used it more often, but that would have meant forsaking a manual lens Wink )
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