Vivitar Series 1 Line to be Revived

vinzer · 01-06-2009, 05:21 AM

News story here.

I'm guessing EOS and Nikkor lenses will be a sure thing. Dunno about A-, K-, and 4/3 mount.

I'm hoping they do get some Pentax lenses in, just to have more choices for lenses. The 85 1.4 sounds very nice, as is the pricing (SRP $149.95 to $399.95), and that it'll be usable on film bodies, too (aperture ring, perhaps?).

In the interest of discussion, I'm not sure if Sakar will manufacture the lenses themselves, but my guess is that Cosina gets another contract.

ftpaddict · 01-06-2009, 05:35 AM

That'd be a hoot.

Let's hope the new Series 1 lenses are as good as the first Series 1 lenses, and not the cheap plastic-fantastic stuff we've seen in their final years.

**Buddha Jones** · 01-06-2009, 06:43 AM

An 85mm f/1.4 for under $400? I gotta see this.

jeffkrol · 01-06-2009, 07:22 AM

Originally Posted by vinzer

News story here.

I'm guessing EOS and Nikkor lenses will be a sure thing. Dunno about A-, K-, and 4/3 mount.

I'm hoping they do get some Pentax lenses in, just to have more choices for lenses. The 85 1.4 sounds very nice, as is the pricing (SRP $149.95 to $399.95), and that it'll be usable on film bodies, too (aperture ring, perhaps?).

In the interest of discussion, I'm not sure if Sakar will manufacture the lenses themselves, but my guess is that Cosina gets another contract.

Going to the Sakar website is quite interesting:
Sakar
Sakar
Sakar, Tokina, Vivitar, Cosina......... what's a person to believe..

*Asahiflex* · 01-06-2009, 07:35 AM

The 85mm sounds like a Samyang lens to me (here was a new one for sale on eBay):

New 85mm f1.4 Lens for Pentax K10D K20D K100D K200D - eBay Digital Camera Lenses, Lenses, Photographic Accessories, Cameras. (end time 25-Dec-08 16:41:40 AEDST)

ftpaddict · 01-06-2009, 07:38 AM

Originally Posted by Asahiflex

The 85mm sounds like a Samyang lens to me (here was a new one for sale on eBay):

New 85mm f1.4 Lens for Pentax K10D K20D K100D K200D - eBay Digital Camera Lenses, Lenses, Photographic Accessories, Cameras. (end time 25-Dec-08 16:41:40 AEDST)

Do you have any idea if it's any good?

*Asahiflex* · 01-06-2009, 07:41 AM

Originally Posted by ftpaddict

Do you have any idea if it's any good?

Probably not very bad; at least it looks very nice to me. There was a topic on this forum about this lens back in december: Samyang 85mm f1.4?.

Here's the K-mount version with "A" setting on the diaphragm ring:

kenyee · 01-06-2009, 08:05 AM

Originally Posted by Asahiflex

There was a topic on this forum about this lens back in december: Samyang 85mm f1.4?.

yep, that's where we covered the the Vivitar Series 1 line is going to be revived as well.

The images don't look bad at all.

ryan s · 01-06-2009, 02:19 PM

Hmm...has anyone taken the Polar plunge yet? (Pun halfway intended

) On 3 forums I frequent, no one has bought it at least that I've seen.

It's got the asph element so it shouldn't be terrible...I'd just expect some aberrations and possibly soft wide open...

I'd loveeee to see Vivitar back with some good lenses, just like back in the day...made by good manufacturers for a decent price.

**Buddha Jones** · 01-06-2009, 03:00 PM

OK, I remember that lens and that thread. I am used toe the VIVS1 line being of metal construction, but it is what it is. Lets see what some reviews have to say about it.

vinzer · 01-06-2009, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by ryan s

Hmm...has anyone taken the Polar plunge yet? (Pun halfway intended ) On 3 forums I frequent, no one has bought it at least that I've seen.

It's got the asph element so it shouldn't be terrible...I'd just expect some aberrations and possibly soft wide open...

I'd loveeee to see Vivitar back with some good lenses, just like back in the day...made by good manufacturers for a decent price.

I'm a pretty adventurous guy. I'll try that Polar, but it's nowhere near available in my neck of the woods.

I'd also be thrilled to have Vivitar back in the lens game. Having more third-party brands (like in times past) would be great.

Originally Posted by kenyee

yep, that's where we covered the the Vivitar Series 1 line is going to be revived as well.

The images don't look bad at all.

I'm sorry, didn't know this was old news. But I guess this is the first official announcement Sakar has made about the revival of the brand.

I'm okay with the images, too, since I'm assuming someone else could coax better photos (properly exposed and all) out of it.

Originally Posted by Buddha Jones

OK, I remember that lens and that thread. I am used toe the VIVS1 line being of metal construction, but it is what it is. Lets see what some reviews have to say about it.

It would be a hoot if Sakar made the construction to be metal, but at the low prices they're throwing out, I doubt that'll be the case.

I won't complain if they made the lenses high-quality, metal construction, but manual focus only. I figure that if I'm gonna use a mirror lens or an 85 1.4, I'd be manually focusing it anyway. A guy can dream.

*m8o* · 01-06-2009, 10:59 PM

why won't they be called Series 2 [II]?

ryan s · 01-06-2009, 11:48 PM

Zeiss came back with the manual focus Z line, compatible with electronic cameras. Why not Vivitar, who had lenses under their name from like every maker during the 70s and 80s?

*tranq78* · 01-07-2009, 08:45 PM

I received the Samyang 85mm F1.4 tonight.

The nice people at my local post office let me pick it up. They've seen me drop by looking for parcels every day for the last 3 days.

I am not a pixel peeper type of person but I'll try to take some sample pictures and give a more complete review this weekend. Based on what came out of the box I'd say we are all in for a real treat. Overall my first impressions are very favorable.

Here are some initial thoughts.

1) It is an "A" lens. Good news.

2) It is multicoated. It is obviously not Pentax SMC.

3) It comes with a hood and cloth lens bag. The hood is round and is not a screw-on type hood. It looks like we can use hoods that fit on other lenses, since the hood is a simple clip on affair. This should be easy to do through trial and error.

4) Is is mostly metal and glass. It is heavy. It is a light sucking optic at 1.4. The lens hood is plastic and the front filter threads look to be plastic. But the body looks to be metal.

5) It looks like it is internal focus. The front element does not rotate and the body does not extend/contract when you focus.

Very nice. To me, this is good news. This usually is an indication of a quality optic.

6) It is about the same size as the Pentax A*85 and FA*85 lenses. The hood is definitely smaller and the body of the Samyang may be a touch smaller and lighter. I'll have more details about this later.

7) Minimum focus distance is about 3 feet.

kenyee · 01-07-2009, 09:07 PM

tranq78: do you have a 77ltd or FA*85 to compare it to?

It's MF only, right?