[Ian.morgan]

Hi Folks,

Am I right in thinking that a Miranda lens with built in standalone autofocus are a pretty rare curiosity ? The one I have my eye on is a 75-200mm Macro f4.5 in PK mount. It looks like the old vivitar 'in lens , standalone autofocus ' systems .

I'm guessing they're not worth a lot, but if one fell into my hands, does anyone have a clue what such an oddity be worth to a collector?

I really don't need another lens, but it looks intriguing.

Cheers,

Ian.

[photoptimist]

The most valuable items are extremely rare versions of extremely famous name brands. A rare version of an uncommon brand might be worth something or it might be worth nothing.

With any kind of collectible the key issue is supply versus demand.

If Miranda collectors are rarer than Miranda lenses, the lens might be worth little. On the other hand, all it takes is two wealthy Miranda lovers to bid the lens into the stratosphere.

You might check eBay for recent Miranda lens auctions to gauge the prices.

Good luck and enjoy the lens even if you can't turn a profit on it.

[Ian.morgan]

The most valuable items are extremely rare versions of extremely famous name brands. A rare version of an uncommon brand might be worth something or it might be worth nothing.

With any kind of collectible the key issue is supply versus demand.

If Miranda collectors are rarer than Miranda lenses, the lens might be worth little. On the other hand, all it takes is two wealthy Miranda lovers to bid the lens into the stratosphere.

You might check eBay for recent Miranda lens auctions to gauge the prices.

Good luck and enjoy the lens even if you can't turn a profit on it.

Interestingly, the entire internet seems unaware of the existence of this lens.

I'm guessing Miranda enthusiasts are more rare still though

[aurele]

My bet is that this lens isn't a great performer, it's quite slow, it has pretty much nothing remarkable.

To answer your question : rarity and value ? i'd say none.

[Ian.morgan]

It is remarkable because it contains a standalone autofocus system. That doesn't

My bet is that this lens isn't a great performer, it's quite slow, it has pretty much nothing remarkable.

To answer your question : rarity and value ? i'd say none.

It is remarkable because I think it contains a standalone autofocus system which sounds like a historical curiosity.
That doesn't necessarily equate to valuable or useful though

[Wozasam]

I only have a comment--interesting-- had no idea they were around long enough to have auto lenses. Miranda was my first SLR bought used back in the 1970's , all manual back then, it had a removable pentaprism with attachable viewfinder-- my second camera was a Pentax MX And I have been been a Pentax supporter ever since 🙂

[jeallen01]

In the UK, "Miranda" was a house brand for the Dixons retail chain - and pretty much all of the lenses were generally deemed as "poor" at the very best,
OTOH, original "genuine" Miranda stuff was considered to be "reasonable"

[stevebrot]

had no idea they were around long enough to have auto lenses.

As noted above, Miranda Camera Company ceased making cameras in 1978 and as far as I know, were never a lens manufacturer. Prior to 1978, the Miranda name was only used for lenses in the Miranda mount or M42 lenses intended to be bundled with Miranda M42 cameras. The name, however, has been attached to various cameras, lenses and accessories in the years since. The lens in the original post on this thread is most assuredly a third-party consumer zoom probably intended to be matched to one of the 1980s-vintage Cosina-made "Miranda" K-mount bodies. What sets it apart is the possibility of autonomous autofocus, probably similar to early autonomous AF lenses from Ricoh and Chinon. I have never seen such in a zoom lens. Edit: Well, now I have. I just did a search for "vivitar 75-200mm auto-focus" (the lens mentioned in the OP) and came up with plenty of stuff including a back section ad from 1993 Pop Photo listing it in various mounts for $119 USD.

Value would be difficult to assess unless there is collector interest.


Steve

[Ian.morgan]

As noted above, Miranda Camera Company ceased making cameras in 1978 and as far as I know, were never a lens manufacturer. Prior to 1978, the Miranda name was only used for lenses in the Miranda mount or M42 lenses intended to be bundled with Miranda M42 cameras. The name, however, has been attached to various cameras, lenses and accessories in the years since. The lens in the original post on this thread is most assuredly a third-party consumer zoom probably intended to be matched to one of the 1980s-vintage Cosina-made "Miranda" K-mount bodies. What sets it apart is the possibility of autonomous autofocus, probably similar to early autonomous AF lenses from Ricoh and Chinon. I have never seen such in a zoom lens.

Value would be difficult to assess unless there is collector interest.


Steve

Seller doesn't want to ship it, and I don't fancy it enough to drive for 2 hours each way, so we may never know more

Looks wise - It looks a bit like the old Vivitar 75-200 autofocus that does show up in a google search. I may be wrong about it being autonomous but it looks crazy big for normal autofocus and specifies its for Pentax K Mount , not PKA.

[stevebrot]

It looks a bit like the old Vivitar 75-200 autofocus that does show up in a google search

Cool...I have never seen or heard of the Vivitar before just googling. It must use a pellix mirror for the AF.


Steve

[stevebrot]

Seller doesn't want to ship it, and I don't fancy it enough to drive for 2 hours each way, so we may never know more

Is this the lens?

Miranda zoom lens | in Send, Surrey | Gumtree


Steve

[Ian.morgan]

Is this the lens?

Miranda zoom lens | in Send, Surrey | Gumtree


Steve

Indeed

[Craig P]

Hi Folks,

Am I right in thinking that a Miranda lens with built in standalone autofocus are a pretty rare curiosity ? The one I have my eye on is a 75-200mm Macro f4.5 in PK mount. It looks like the old vivitar 'in lens , standalone autofocus ' systems .

I'm guessing they're not worth a lot, but if one fell into my hands, does anyone have a clue what such an oddity be worth to a collector?

I really don't need another lens, but it looks intriguing.

Cheers,

Ian.

Picked up this very lens from the same lady after seeing this post when sarching for info paid the same lady 10GBP so thought i would upload some photos

cropped image

[Craig P]

not sure why the links did not work

[Ian.morgan]

Congratulations on your purchase . Was I right that it does autonomous auto-focussing then?

You can't go wrong for a tenner really