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Some grab shots from my first day out with the Kiron 28/2 AKA Vivitar 28/2 K11 from the bestiary. Thanks to David Whiteley for an international lens exchange. He's a great guy to deal with.

This lens looks to be a very solid performer. I will test against the Komine variant sometime after term is over. But I know I like it. These were all shot at f/4 and likely ISO400 as far as I can remember.

quick smoke

Film-style processing for a bit of a seedy look. My friend Tim is solid. We caught up over a couple drinks and reminisced about my wedding.




busy hands

Yeah, he likes a smoke now and then.




my breakfast

Needed some reinforcement before my first class. Had to listen to and critique 16 compositions for credit. It was a two coffee level test.




your breakfast

Well, I cannot eat it all myself!

[zplus]

Nice photos, I recently got this lens too with some other photo equipment.
My copy focuses to infinity where the marked range says 0.6m and the closests focus I can get to is at about 0.5m even though it says I should be focused at something 0.3m away.
Is your copy like this or have you heard of this problem?
It really is a cool looking lens though.

[monochrome]

Man, am I interested to see this. I needed a part from a Kiron lens (the locking pin for AE on the aperture ring) to repair my Viv 105/2.5 Macro. I knew this lens has that pin. Every time I tried to buy one cheap I got sniped - now I know why

Found a beater Canon mount 28-105 for $25, Eric harvested the part; lens repaired and all is well.

FWIW, I'm writing an article for the Forum on my experience. That pin is under-engineered pot metal and VERY easy to break - take care when releasing the aperture ring from AE to manual control.

[zplus]

Man, am I interested to see this. I needed a part from a Kiron lens (the locking pin for AE on the aperture ring) to repair my Viv 105/2.5 Macro. I knew this lens has that pin. Every time I tried to buy one cheap I got sniped - now I know why

Found a beater Canon mount 70-210 for $25, Eric harvested the part; lens repaired and all is well.

FWIW, I'm writing an article for the Forum on my experience. That pin is under-engineered pot metal and VERY easy to break - take care when releasing the aperture ring from AE to manual control.

Interesting, my Kiron 28/2 doesn't have an A setting.

[monochrome]

Interesting, my Kiron 28/2 doesn't have an A setting.

Interesting - Ralph Innes of Lens Tech suggested precisely that lens - even sent me some pics of the disassembly of such a lens and the resulting destroyed pin.

That lens had an unfortunate encounter with a concrete sidewalk and some internal parts were also damaged.

I saw several of the lens I was seeking on eBay and the specific pin in the photos.

Here's a link to oe available now, showing the pin Kino Kiron 28/2

Maybe there were several iterations over the years.

[jsherman999]

Really nice shots here, Robin. Congrats on your upcoming wedding also!

[roentarre]

Your images are well processed with that touch of earthiness. The look is stylish with an urban theme.

[rparmar]

My copy focuses to infinity here the marked range says 0.6m and the closests focus I can get to is at about 0.5m even though it says I should be focused at something 0.3m away.
Is your copy like this or have you heard of this problem?

No, sorry. My copy seems to focus on infinity ok and focuses a bit closer than the marked 30cm, I think. No tripod tests yet.

Interesting, my Kiron 28/2 doesn't have an A setting.

Neither does mine or the other copies I have read about.

Really nice shots here, Robin. Congrats on your upcoming wedding also!

Actually it was last November, but thanks! Hard to "reminisce" about something in the future!

Your images are well processed with that touch of earthiness. The look is stylish with an urban theme.

Thanks! These were just day-to-day shots with some of my normal processing curves etc. I prefer testing a lens this way as opposed to formal lab conditions, but I might do a bit of that as well as part of my Vivitar Bestiary.

[daacon]

Nice series - have not had breakfast yet - ummm soon I suspect. Very sharp shots.

[David Whiteley]

Indeed glad to see such nice photos coming out of formerly-my lens. I've really got to give your Komine some exercise now. Things just got out of hand lately and photography's shifted to backburner. Especially when a cooling fan replacement unexpectedly turned into a hard drive replacement--without my authorization and with no backup nor keeping of the old drive by the repair people. GRRR!

Fortunately my photos were safely on an external drive. But I lost recent theatre headshots which I had kept on my computer. The one bit of shooting I've done lately has been another round of headshots (and indeed 77 Ltd showed its value over nice-in-its-own-right DA*50-135--so I wasn't crazy to also indulge in getting the Ltd!). Up in full res on my zooomr account, if anyone wants to see what I've been up to.

But that Komine is begging for attention now. Maybe this weekend I can find some time to shoot again.

[zplus]

No, sorry. My copy seems to focus on infinity ok and focuses a bit closer than the marked 30cm, I think. No tripod tests yet.

Thanks for the reply but I actually opened up my lens and fixed it, lol. The focusing ring was just off.
Pictures on my blog disquieting-dreams

Edit: Actually I just tried focusing to infinity and it doesn't go that far out, it seems that if you "adjust" the focusing ring you can make it a close focusing only lens.
I think I'm going to modify it to extend the focusing range, this is interesting.

[kevinschoenmakers]

The first picture is positively stunning!

[rparmar]

The first picture is positively stunning!

Wow, thanks. I was happy with this as a candid and like how it breaks a rule or two of composition.

[rparmar]

But that Komine is begging for attention now. Maybe this weekend I can find some time to shoot again.

Use it David! It was my favourite of the lot, and I would not have traded it if I didn't have two copies. Comparing it with the Kiron will likely be an exercise in frustration... both will be great.

Definitely f/2 is too soft on each version, but it's great to have it there for the extra bright viewfinder.

[GeneV]

Thanks for the great shots, Robin. Those shots have inspired me to get out there with mine a bit more.

I've removed this lens from its semi-permanent home on my LX, and it is one of the few older lenses from the film days that I still enjoy using. It is fast, a nice, "normal" focal length for the apc format, sharp, and it has an "A" setting, which makes it enjoyable to use with the newer bodies.