Return of Vivitar (again)

bmattock

bmattock

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Vivitar has been owned by a bunch of companies, and they never did actually manufacture things, they just put their name on lots of other things. But they've been known for some good things over the years, no matter who actually made them. Some older Series 1 lenses and the legendary Vivitar 285 and 283 flashes come to mind.

Sakar bought Vivitar last year, and appeared to be shutting down the business, at least from the point of view of the Vivitar name brand and most of the things people liked Vivitar for.

Now it appears they are bringing back some of the more famous items:

http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=NewsDesk_Internal&article_num=030309-4b

http://www.twice.com/article/CA6641283.html

I'd like to see the Vivitar 285 come back for one more encore, and the announced 85mm f/1.4 sounds like fun...
 
Ah, Vivitar.

I used to have an old Vivitar 400/SL -- people who worry about how loud their shutters are should have tried to use the 400/SL.

That Copal square shutter made "discreet" photography somewhat difficult. People would hit the floor when that thing went off. Hard to imagine such a violent sound could occur in that small an environment.
 
I have two Vivitar 283 flashes. One that I bought new in the late 70' and another i have bought 2.hand a few years ago, for a song. These are very good. One of the few things I do regularly, is to check if there is any newer models for sale 2.hand here in Norway.

I use mine with the M8. One on the camera and the other with slave. Most often reflected in the roof.
 
Fingers crossed that the new owner will take the same steps to maintain the quality that went with the Series 1 name years back.

B2 (;->
 
Yep, I like the Vivitar 283 flashes, it's very reliable, perfect for off-camera product-style shots:

3251518674_ddd2cb0748.jpg
 
JohnM said:
Ah, Vivitar.

I used to have an old Vivitar 400/SL -- people who worry about how loud their shutters are should have tried to use the 400/SL.

That Copal square shutter made "discreet" photography somewhat difficult. People would hit the floor when that thing went off. Hard to imagine such a violent sound could occur in that small an environment.
Click to expand...


John,

The Vivitar 400/SL was the camera that my parents bought me way back in 1976...It came with a 50mm 1.9, a 200mm 3.5 and a Teleconverter...
I still own every thing that came with the camera minus the camera bag...
a few years ago I picked up a "Parts Only" body to replace broken or missing parts on my 400...
I also love the fact that it came as a "Black Body'...that meant I was a "Pro"...:cool:

I will also agree that the shutter was quite loud...maybe that's the reason I don't have a big problem using a Nikon F2...;)
 
Oh yes, Vivitar. A name brand with some spectacular products such as the 283 & 285 flashes as well as some of the Series I lenses. And some, uh..........., less than spectacular products. I owned some of both.
 
JohnM said:
I used to have an old Vivitar 400/SL -- people who worry about how loud their shutters are should have tried to use the 400/SL.
Click to expand...

Oh come on. I don't think Cosina made the version labeled Vivitar louder than the ones labeled with his own name or the ones labeled for Porst, Quelle, etc.

It is all a matter of perception and of what you are used with.

Eugen
 
Hmm-I just bought a new 285 flash, from B&H. They've been making them for some time. $85.00, works great.
 
I have a couple of 283s but don't use them much right now. But they are workhorses and sitting there ready when I need them. Mine were modified to take an external battery pack consisting of four D cells. The only flash I liked better was the Rollei E36-RE, though that was a totally different beast.

The other Vivitar product that was/is great is the 2x macro adapter. Multi-element good glass, yes you lose 3 stops but image quality is very good.
 
Eugen Mezei said:
Oh come on. I don't think Cosina made the version labeled Vivitar louder than the ones labeled with his own name or the ones labeled for Porst, Quelle, etc.

It is all a matter of perception and of what you are used with.

Eugen
Click to expand...

Of course not - anything with the Copal square was very loud.

But I had the 400/SL so that's what I commented on....and it was a clattering, crashing event when the shutter was released.
 
The 90-180 medical macro zoom is a masterpiece of lens manufacturing. It is scary how sharp it is.
 
JohnM said:
Ah, Vivitar.

I used to have an old Vivitar 400/SL -- people who worry about how loud their shutters are should have tried to use the 400/SL.

That Copal square shutter made "discreet" photography somewhat difficult. People would hit the floor when that thing went off. Hard to imagine such a violent sound could occur in that small an environment.
Click to expand...

Wait till you hear a Bronica S2 go off. :D I've got one but I still think my Voigtlander is too loud.
 
I still from time to time lust for a 600mm solid CAT lens. I've seen several of late from different government agencies, never low enough to pull the button.

Roland is right, the new 85/1.4 will be very interesting if it has the same build and optical quality as the 90/2.5 or IMHO the 200/3.

B2 (;->
 
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