Vivitar 35 ES

O

oscroft

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I've just got a Vivitar 35 ES in a bundle of cameras I bought on eBay (I bought them to resell), but it looks and feels very nice and is in very good condition - and, naturally, I'm tempted to keep it.

I'm impressed by the lens being a fast f/1.7 in a camera that is only very slightly bigger than the cute little Ricoh 500G that I love so much. The lens has a filter on and is spotless, and with the exception of some slight scratching and a very small dent on the baseplate, it's in pretty good cosmetic condition. Hmm, maybe I'll keep the Vivitar and sell a Ricoh 500G (I have two of them).

Do does anyone here use one of these, and do you have any thoughts? How good is the lens?

And any ideas what kind of price I should expect if I sold it? (which I very probably won't - anyone want a Ricoh 500 G? ;) )
 
I used to have one. Very good lens actually, very sharp. I used several fixed lens Japanese RFs. And the lens of 35ES is in the top quality line among them, I must say. I read some review and all give very high grade to the camera.

It's believed to be the clone of Minolta 7SII, but without manual overide.

It's said as one of the most underrated RFs. I bought mine at USD97 but with the whole original box, including all manual, flash and leather pouch.
 
Alan - keep it and enjoy it. The lens is superb, metering is good and it is a quiet, robust camera. IMHO it has a durable rf mechanism that does not seem to get knocked out of alignment. Prices in the UK seem to vary between £10 and £25. I picked up (another) one for £6 recently.
 
Forgot to mention: it looks very cool in black, has the common 49mm filter thread and quite a good viewfinder.
 
Thanks for the info folks - yep, I'm going to keep it :D

And yes, the black finish is very nice - it looks like a good hard finish and has very little wear.

I have just noticed that the self-timer lever is missing, but that is no problem at all for me because I never use one (and it would detract from the sale price, so even more reason to keep it).

As for recouping my money from the camera lot I got it in, there's a very nice Olympus Pen-F in there too which I expect will do quite nicely (but I'm going to use it for a few weeks first - what's the betting I'll end up keeping that too? :D )
 
You can see some shots I took with mine on pbase's camera database - its a great little camera to use - sharp lens and good metering - not sur my shots do t justice! :)

LINK
 
35 Es

35 Es

I have one and love it. As mentioned it does not have a manual override, but I think I wouldn't use that feature much because the meter is quite accurate and the lens does not leave much to be desired. I have a shot in my gallery here.
 
Seems like you got a very nice camera lot with a working Pen F and the Vivitar rangefinder. Keep the Vivitar - by all accounts "a find", and right up there. I have a Konica Auto S3, which has the same body, and some think was made along with the Minolta Hi-Matic 7S II, at the same mystery factory.

You won't get much for it, I don't think, on eBay because it's an "unknown" commodity without collector's value - it's just a terrific little rangefinder. If you ever do decide to sell, I would suggest posting it here where folks will recognize it, appreciate it, and pay its fair market value but don't expect a high dollar amount in either case. It's just not that kind of an item.
 
I have another clone of this camera called Revue 400SE, and its a great little camera, very good quality lens. Only the film advance is sometimes screwy :( I've seen them go for 25-30 euros on ebay, although I paid 60 (its been cleaned and checked)
 
I have the same one under a different label, Revue 400 SE, and it is a nice camera. A sharp lens, a good metering system an small enough to carry always with me.

Don't sell, you will not get much and you might regret it.
 
Funny, I read this with my Hi-matic 7SII next to me on my desk.
It does look to be a near clone of the hi-matic. I had it on my short list of fixed lens RFs and only ended up with the Minolta because one came up before the Vivitar.
I love that black finish.
 
greyhoundman said:
They are close enough to be able to switch parts between them. :)
7SII - Vivitar ES
Click to expand...

Hey, Hey!

Speak of great old fixed lens rangefinders...and look who shows up!

Nice to see you.
 
Has anyone changed the seals on the Vivitar? That big blob of material on the door is a sight to behold and I've been hesitant to change them on mine. :)

Hey greyhoundman! Hope everything is well with you. The Canonet you CLA'd for me awhile back is a pleasure to use now.
 
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