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aliasant · 02-05-2010, 10:55 AM

I have ordered a Pentax K-x today and I hope I get it o monday.
I talked to my ol mum and she had a couple of Pentax lenses that she didnt use. One of them ( Im so lucky ) is the SMC Pentax-M 100mm F4 Macro : Pentax Lens Review and Specification Database - 100mm F4 Macro

But the other one is a mystery to me. I have googled for hours without finding this particular one. My guess is that its crap but it would still be interesting to find some info on it.

Attaching 2 images of it.

Last edited by aliasant; 02-19-2013 at 10:20 AM.

**boriscleto** · 02-05-2010, 11:28 AM

Will probably have to be modified to fit on the K-x. Likely made by Tokina in Japan.

**davidreilly3207** · 02-05-2010, 01:01 PM

Why assume it will have to be modified? It was stated that it was a Pentax mount and no mod will be necessary. I Googled 'vivitar 80-200mm f4' and found alot of info. As with all Vivitar lenses, it was an inexpensive telephoto and may produce acceptable images. Try it, although you will probably have to enter focal length and manually adjust focus and aperture.

wallyb · 02-05-2010, 01:33 PM

Originally posted by mdave13

Why assume it will have to be modified? It was stated that it was a Pentax mount and no mod will be necessary. I Googled 'vivitar 80-200mm f4' and found alot of info. As with all Vivitar lenses, it was an inexpensive telephoto and may produce acceptable images. Try it, although you will probably have to enter focal length and manually adjust focus and aperture.

I was thinking the exact same thing as you, but then I remembered that a lot of older Vivitar zooms have a baffle around the aperture lever that prevents them from being mounted on DSLRs. This is probably what he meant. I think.

rhodopsin · 02-05-2010, 01:40 PM

probably has better performance than you think. constant aperture zoom. Vivitar made some very decent lenses.

btw, there is no such word as "lense."

blind-bat · 02-05-2010, 01:52 PM

Originally posted by wallyb

I was thinking the exact same thing as you, but then I remembered that a lot of older Vivitar zooms have a baffle around the aperture lever that prevents them from being mounted on DSLRs. This is probably what he meant. I think.

Can this baffle be removed? I believe I have an inexpensive 75-300 that has this also.

**boriscleto** · 02-05-2010, 01:54 PM

Originally posted by wallyb

I was thinking the exact same thing as you, but then I remembered that a lot of older Vivitar zooms have a baffle around the aperture lever that prevents them from being mounted on DSLRs. This is probably what he meant. I think.

Exactly. There are a lot of threads about it here.

wallyb · 02-05-2010, 02:16 PM

Originally posted by blind-bat

Can this baffle be removed? I believe I have an inexpensive 75-300 that has this also.

It can be ground down with a dremel.

dragonfly · 02-05-2010, 03:02 PM

The Vivitar might have the Ricoh pin. If so, it's easy to remove with just a small screwdriver. The baffle should come out at the same time allowing you to use your lens just fine.

Just keep the pin and the baffle around in case you want to sell the lens in the future.

stevewig · 02-05-2010, 03:18 PM

Try this link:

Manual Focus Forum / Vivitar "Kobori made" 28-200mm f/3.5 lens

wallyb · 02-05-2010, 03:56 PM

Originally posted by dragonfly

The Vivitar might have the Ricoh pin. If so, it's easy to remove with just a small screwdriver.

That's what it wouldn't have, because it's not an auto-aperture lens.

doorkey · 02-05-2010, 04:21 PM

I just bought one of these to use with my K-x and found it needed to be modified before using. Some people linked to instructions for the modificationhere. It doesn't look too hard.

aliasant · 02-05-2010, 04:25 PM

Thanx all for the replies.

It seems that it is indeed built by Kobori, probably after the 1 series but that is about all the info I could get on it. Searching Kobori doesnt give much

I will get the Kx Tuesday or even monday but Im not sure when I will get together with mom who has the lens. (correctly spelled but Im Swedish so Ive got something to blame it on..

)
Hopefully some time next week. I might upload some test photos if you want.
I also ordered that Sigma EX 50/2,8 DG Macro 1:1 ..
I will be busy testing the camera and all the 4 lenses. Christmas the rest of the year

Again. Thanx for the info. Interesting lens. Might be great. At least no one has said it isnt

Lloydy · 02-05-2010, 04:34 PM

I've had that exact lens for many years and used it on my K10 a lot, it's a better lens than it might appear on first use.

It's a decent enough 'walkabout' lens that has given me a lot of good pictures, maybe not up to the standard of some classic lenses when you pixel peep, but it's a lens I use a lot because it does the job.

I paid £5 for mine in mint condition and removed the Ricoh pin and hacksawed the shroud to fit. For that kind of money and a little effort it's a superb lens!

I also have the 28-200 as shown in the link above, and that's even better.

Tom in Delaware · 02-05-2010, 05:51 PM

The lens was made by Kobori - the Vivitar serial number listings usuallly leave out the numbers starting with 77, Matt Denton has a list here. I have that lens, my daughter currently is using it on her K1000. Not a bad lens at all. The Kobori Vivitar lens that has gotten some notoriety lately is a 28-200 superzoom that is pretty amazing on a crop sensor camera. A thread devoted to that lens is here. I have that lens and, although has fairly low contrast, has excellent resolution. I use it as my beach lens since I only paid $15 for it. I can boost contrast in post processing.

Here is a shot with the Kobori 28-200 Vivitar at 135mm:

Here is a shot at 200mm:

02-05-2010, 10:55 AM	#1
aliasant Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Stockholm Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 634	Mysterious lense I have ordered a Pentax K-x today and I hope I get it o monday. I talked to my ol mum and she had a couple of Pentax lenses that she didnt use. One of them ( Im so lucky ) is the SMC Pentax-M 100mm F4 Macro : Pentax Lens Review and Specification Database - 100mm F4 Macro But the other one is a mystery to me. I have googled for hours without finding this particular one. My guess is that its crap but it would still be interesting to find some info on it. Attaching 2 images of it. Last edited by aliasant; 02-19-2013 at 10:20 AM.

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02-05-2010, 11:28 AM	#2
boriscleto Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: North Syracuse, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,477	Will probably have to be modified to fit on the K-x. Likely made by Tokina in Japan.

02-05-2010, 01:01 PM	#3
davidreilly3207 Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: South Jersey Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 720	Why assume it will have to be modified? It was stated that it was a Pentax mount and no mod will be necessary. I Googled 'vivitar 80-200mm f4' and found alot of info. As with all Vivitar lenses, it was an inexpensive telephoto and may produce acceptable images. Try it, although you will probably have to enter focal length and manually adjust focus and aperture.

02-05-2010, 01:33 PM	#4
wallyb Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: The Untied States Photos: Albums Posts: 1,881	Originally posted by mdave13 Why assume it will have to be modified? It was stated that it was a Pentax mount and no mod will be necessary. I Googled 'vivitar 80-200mm f4' and found alot of info. As with all Vivitar lenses, it was an inexpensive telephoto and may produce acceptable images. Try it, although you will probably have to enter focal length and manually adjust focus and aperture. I was thinking the exact same thing as you, but then I remembered that a lot of older Vivitar zooms have a baffle around the aperture lever that prevents them from being mounted on DSLRs. This is probably what he meant. I think.

02-05-2010, 01:40 PM	#5
rhodopsin Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Deep Forest Posts: 643	probably has better performance than you think. constant aperture zoom. Vivitar made some very decent lenses. btw, there is no such word as "lense."

02-05-2010, 01:52 PM	#6
blind-bat Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: NYC Posts: 256	Originally posted by wallyb I was thinking the exact same thing as you, but then I remembered that a lot of older Vivitar zooms have a baffle around the aperture lever that prevents them from being mounted on DSLRs. This is probably what he meant. I think. Can this baffle be removed? I believe I have an inexpensive 75-300 that has this also.

02-05-2010, 01:54 PM	#7
boriscleto Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: North Syracuse, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,477	Originally posted by wallyb I was thinking the exact same thing as you, but then I remembered that a lot of older Vivitar zooms have a baffle around the aperture lever that prevents them from being mounted on DSLRs. This is probably what he meant. I think. Exactly. There are a lot of threads about it here.

02-05-2010, 02:16 PM	#8
wallyb Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: The Untied States Photos: Albums Posts: 1,881	Originally posted by blind-bat Can this baffle be removed? I believe I have an inexpensive 75-300 that has this also. It can be ground down with a dremel.

02-05-2010, 03:02 PM	#9
dragonfly Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: on the wall Photos: Gallery Posts: 715	The Vivitar might have the Ricoh pin. If so, it's easy to remove with just a small screwdriver. The baffle should come out at the same time allowing you to use your lens just fine. Just keep the pin and the baffle around in case you want to sell the lens in the future.

02-05-2010, 03:18 PM	#10
stevewig Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 773	Try this link: Manual Focus Forum / Vivitar "Kobori made" 28-200mm f/3.5 lens

02-05-2010, 03:56 PM	#11
wallyb Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: The Untied States Photos: Albums Posts: 1,881	Originally posted by dragonfly The Vivitar might have the Ricoh pin. If so, it's easy to remove with just a small screwdriver. That's what it wouldn't have, because it's not an auto-aperture lens.

02-05-2010, 04:21 PM	#12
doorkey New Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Reading, PA Posts: 5	I just bought one of these to use with my K-x and found it needed to be modified before using. Some people linked to instructions for the modificationhere. It doesn't look too hard.

02-05-2010, 04:25 PM	#13
aliasant Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Stockholm Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 634 Original Poster	Thanx all for the replies. It seems that it is indeed built by Kobori, probably after the 1 series but that is about all the info I could get on it. Searching Kobori doesnt give much I will get the Kx Tuesday or even monday but Im not sure when I will get together with mom who has the lens. (correctly spelled but Im Swedish so Ive got something to blame it on.. ) Hopefully some time next week. I might upload some test photos if you want. I also ordered that Sigma EX 50/2,8 DG Macro 1:1 .. I will be busy testing the camera and all the 4 lenses. Christmas the rest of the year Again. Thanx for the info. Interesting lens. Might be great. At least no one has said it isnt

02-05-2010, 04:34 PM	#14
Lloydy Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Shropshire, UK Posts: 1,114	I've had that exact lens for many years and used it on my K10 a lot, it's a better lens than it might appear on first use. It's a decent enough 'walkabout' lens that has given me a lot of good pictures, maybe not up to the standard of some classic lenses when you pixel peep, but it's a lens I use a lot because it does the job. I paid £5 for mine in mint condition and removed the Ricoh pin and hacksawed the shroud to fit. For that kind of money and a little effort it's a superb lens! I also have the 28-200 as shown in the link above, and that's even better.

02-05-2010, 05:51 PM	#15
Tom in Delaware Senior Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Delaware Posts: 177	The lens was made by Kobori - the Vivitar serial number listings usuallly leave out the numbers starting with 77, Matt Denton has a list here. I have that lens, my daughter currently is using it on her K1000. Not a bad lens at all. The Kobori Vivitar lens that has gotten some notoriety lately is a 28-200 superzoom that is pretty amazing on a crop sensor camera. A thread devoted to that lens is here. I have that lens and, although has fairly low contrast, has excellent resolution. I use it as my beach lens since I only paid $15 for it. I can boost contrast in post processing. Here is a shot with the Kobori 28-200 Vivitar at 135mm: Here is a shot at 200mm:

Mysterious lense

Win a Pentax Limited Lens: Raffle Now Live!