Lacklustre images from Kiron 70-210mm f/4?

[George Mann]

I have a Kiron 70-210mm f/4 Macro Zoomlock/Focuslock lens that I picked up for next to nothing a few years back.

I have taken exactly 2 images with it on my old D1h. All of the pictures I have seen from this lens (online, and my own) looks as if it cannot form a critically sharp image.

All of these images were produced by digital cameras (which all look strangely distorted). Could this be the problem, or is this lens model a dud?

 

[George Mann]

Its performance in macro/closeups is OK. Where it appears to fall apart is when photographing real-world scenes, especially distant ones.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Some lenses that were great on film perform badly on digital. I don't know if that's true of the lens you're using, though. You could try it on film and see if the result is better.


If it is bad on film, I'd say you just have a bad one. The Kiron 70-210 has a great reputation, but sometimes bad examples slip by quality control at the factory. Also, zooms are complex and more vulnerable to having internal parts knocked out of alignment if dropped or banged around and that lens is over 30 years old.

 

[xayraa33]

I remember seeing many new Kiron 28mm lenses in the bargain bins of camera shops in the late 1980s. These were fairly fast wide angle lenses and came in various SLR mounts but upon inspection most had problems with the auto stop down aperture leaves gone awry .

 

[George Mann]

Some lenses that were great on film perform badly on digital.

That's kind of what I was hinting at trying to figure out.

I could test it myself on film, but it would likely be months before I see the results.

 

[Beemermark]

Not sure if two images are enough to judge a lens by. I have that lens somewhere from my film days, I'll find it and try it on my Nikon D750.

 

[Jeremy Z]

Wasn't Kiron one of many cheap aftermarket manufacturers of SLR lenses? Usually the zoom lenses that helped propagate the idea that zooms are never as good as primes? Or were they considered better?

Back in those days, the aftermarket ones to have were Vivitar Series 1 and Tokina. I just bought a Tokina AT-X (their higher end) 28-85/3.5-4.5 for my Nikon FG. $30, in good shape. SZ-X were OK; better than run-of-the-mill Vivitar. Tokina AT-X were as good as the best OEM zooms of the day.

 

[dtcls100]

Kiron made some quality lenses including the original Vivitar Series 1 70-210 zoom. Kiron also sold lenses under its own name and those lenses had a generally very good reputation, including the lens the OP is asking about. The cited problems with softness on a Nikon D1H could be attributed to multiple factors:

1. The D1H is a very old digital camera with poor resolution of 2.7 megapixels. I have never obtained a sharp picture out of something with such low resolution. If you want sharper pics, use a more modern digital camera!

2. Manually focusing the D1H with any precision is difficult given the poor viewfinder.

3. The lens is old and could have been knocked out of alignment, have internal haze, etc.

4. User error.

 

[George Mann]

1. The D1H is a very old digital camera with poor resolution of 2.7 megapixels. I have never obtained a sharp picture out of something with such low resolution. If you want sharper pics, use a more modern digital camera!

Like the D700 that many of the online samples were shot with.

BTW, the D1h happens to employ a 10mpx scanning sensor.

2. Manually focusing the D1H with any precision is difficult given the poor viewfinder.

I never had a problem with the images I got when using my 28mm f/3.5 Ai.

3. The lens is old and could have been knocked out of alignment, have internal haze, etc.

Yes, but every single sample posted online?

 

[George Mann]

My copy has no discernable internal defects, and produces uniform sharpness and contrast (with DX) at its optimal f-stops.

In fact, it beats the online images produced by even the D700.

But it still produces the same slightly fuzzy, slightly out-of-focus look of the sample images.

 

[Beemermark]

Wasn't Kiron one of many cheap aftermarket manufacturers of SLR lenses? Usually the zoom lenses that helped propagate the idea that zooms are never as good as primes? Or were they considered better?

Kiron made the Vivtar Series One lenses and some other excellent third party lenses (note Vivitar did not make their own lenses). Kiron didn't market under their own name until late in the game. Most, if not all, their lenses were excellent. Some (IMHO) were better than Nikon's comparable lenses.

 

[George Mann]

Well, I will shoot a few frames on Ektar, and see how it goes.

 

[Pioneer]

If I were you I am not sure I would even bother. If yours does not impress you, and none of the images you have seen on-line taken with that same type of lens impresses you, then cut your losses, sell it and move on.

Even if that lens was considered very good in its time, the best of those lenses from the past, especially zooms, have almost all been eclipsed by the newer designs. I would recommend that you give some thought to what type of performance is important to you and then go look for a lens that fits your needs.

I suspect that is probably a better use of your time than fiddling around with an old zoom that does not impress you to start with.

 

[Beemermark]

Good advice from Pioneer.

 

[Jeremy Z]

Thanks for the info; I had forgotten that Kiron = Vivitar Series 1. Those always had a good reputation.

I think the "Vivitar" tele zoom I just got for my Nikon FG is probably a Kiron. It is not branded "Series 1" but it has sure held up better than the cheaper Vivitars. It is a multi-coated, push-pull 75-205 f/3.8. (fixed) The images are better than I expected, pretty close to a good prime. (though it is a lot heavier than a 200 mm f/4 would be.

 

[kxl]

As already stated, not all Vivitar Series 1 lenses were made by Kiron (Kino Precision). If you want the VS1 lenses made by Kiron, look for those with serial numbers that start with 22. Here's a complete list of VS 1 SN prefixes and their manufacturers.

Serial Number Prefix Codes

09 (or 9) Cosina Company, Ltd.
13 Schneider Kreuznach
22 Kino Precision
25 Ozone Optical Co., Ltd.
28 Komine Co., Ltd.
32 Makina Optical Co., Ltd
33 Asanuma & Co., Ltd
37 Tokina Optical Company, Ltd
42 Bauer [1][2] (possibly Bauer trademark holder Robert Bosch GmbH)
44 Perkin-Elmer
47 Chinon Industries, Inc.
51 Tokyo Trading
56 Kyoei Shoji Company, Ltd.
61 Samyang Optics Co., Ltd
75 Hoya Corporation
77 Kobori Mfg Co. Ltd
81 Polar

 

[Jeremy Z]

As already stated, not all Vivitar Series 1 lenses were made by Kiron (Kino Precision). If you want the VS1 lenses made by Kiron, look for those with serial numbers that start with 22. Here's a complete list of VS 1 SN prefixes and their manufacturers.

Serial Number Prefix Codes

09 (or 9) Cosina Company, Ltd.
13 Schneider Kreuznach
22 Kino Precision
25 Ozone Optical Co., Ltd.
28 Komine Co., Ltd.
32 Makina Optical Co., Ltd
33 Asanuma & Co., Ltd
37 Tokina Optical Company, Ltd
42 Bauer [1][2] (possibly Bauer trademark holder Robert Bosch GmbH)
44 Perkin-Elmer
47 Chinon Industries, Inc.
51 Tokyo Trading
56 Kyoei Shoji Company, Ltd.
61 Samyang Optics Co., Ltd
75 Hoya Corporation
77 Kobori Mfg Co. Ltd
81 Polar

Great info, Keith. Where'd you come by it?