Vivitar 35mm f1.9.

[Pete B]

My friend's father died a few years ago, and, knowing I only shoot film, his wife passed his cameras on to me. There were many cameras that simply didn't work and weren't worth repairing. Box Brownies, various compacts, a Zenit etc. Unpacking the box, I'd occasionally come across a Nikon mount lens, and out of the corner of my eye there was a Nikon ever ready case that I'd told myself to open last. Within it was a mint Nikkormat FTn with an old Nikor 50mm f2. Some Canon zooms and a canon autofocus slr were taken down to the thrift store, but I'm keeping the FTn, the two Nikkor-H 50mm f2, a Vivitar 28mm f2.5, Vivitar 75-205 f3.8, and the Vivitar 35mm f1.9. To be honest, I don't need any more lenses, but these lenses feel so smooth I can't resist trying them out.
I took the Vivitar 35 f1.9 out for a walk with my wife and shot it wide open. I'm very impressed by its contrast and clarity wide open; these on Portra 400 deliberately shot at 50 iso:




The old Nikkor 50mm f2 was surprisingly sharp too.
I'm keen to hear people's thoughts on the Vivitar lenses I've mentioned.
The gear will get plenty of use with me, which is what my friend Kate's mother was hoping. Kate and I occasionally ski tour together, so the Nikkormat will come with us on our next trip together, rather than my OM1n.
Pete

 

[lawrence]

I think that the Vivitar lenses were designed in the US and made in Japan. Never tried the 35mm but I had a fantastic 20mm f3.8 for my Nikon so not surprised that you got excellent results.

 

[kuuan]

I think that the Vivitar lenses were designed in the US and made in Japan. Never tried the 35mm but I had a fantastic 20mm f3.8 for my Nikon so not surprised that you got excellent results.

hm..Vivitar not being a manufacturer but a marketing firm that sold lenses made be a variety of mostly Japanese manufacturers, it sounds improbable that they had been designed in the US, no? Oh, but then I read in the first link below, quote: Vivitar hired the best lens designers they could find (using then state of the art computers in the USA) to make the best lenses they could under the premium "Vivitar Series 1" brand name." but that only mentiones using US computers, and that only for Series 1 lenses.

https://www.cameraquest.com/VivLensManuf.htm
http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Vivitar_serial_numbers

I had the f1.9/35mm, didn't find it bad nor specially nice, and too big in physical size for my liking.
Many gems too, e.g. I quite like my 2/28

 

[zuikologist]

the 28/2.5 I think was an older design replaced by the 28/2, which is nice and more compact. The 24/2 is also good (soft wide open) and the 75-205 had a good reputation. Robert Monaghan's site on third party cult lenses might be of interest:

http://www.jcolwell.ca/MM/MonaghansCultClassics.pdf

 

[zuiko85]

I never solicit opinions about lenses I own. If I like them....then I like them.

If you like the Vivitar and it preforms beyond your expectations for a third party lens then nothing else matters.

 

[BardParker]

[/url]1946 Globe Swift by KentWebb, on Flickr[/IMG]

I love my Vivitar 19mm f/1.9 that I bought from KEH in Pentax K Mount.
I tHink it is a very underrated lens.

 

[Ronald M]

The series one Vivitar were designed by Perkin Elmer, makers of the Hubble Telescope
mirror. Later Vivitar were made by manufactures like Soligor and other second tier manufactures.