[dunerunner]

Vivitar Series 1 (Tokina) 70-210 & K30

Lovely.

[killwilly]

I bought a Vivitar 28mm M42 lens from a charity shop, which is in all-round excellent condition. Close focus is perfect, but unfortunately I am unable to Infinity focus for a distance greater than 50-60 meters, no matter what aperture I use.
I have removed the rubber cover to the aperture ring and found 2 small screws, one above the infinity focus mark and one above the letter "M", (see photograph below). Could these in some way be the focus adjustment, if so can anyone please point me to a tutorial how to correct this problem?
Any help would be very much appreciated.

[pentaxpete]

New member of this site -- I have a couple of VIVITAR lenses-- a 17mm f3.5 and a135mm f2.8 ( given yesterday with a COSINA CT-1)
My MX + 17mm f3.5 VIVITAR


My LATEST addition the 135mm f2.8 VIVITAR Pentax 'K' fit.


ATEST shot on the 135mm at full aperture, f2.8 on very outdated Fuji Super G Plus 200 film rated 80 ASA, home-processed C41


17mm f3.5 by available light on my K10D at f5.6

[Jonathan Mac]

I have the same Vivitar 135mm lens, Pete, and it's a very good one. I'm sure you'll get some good shots with it. Handsome MX too.

[Nikonshooter]

Have anyone here ever use the Vivitar 85-205mm 3.8 lens. It's really nice to use. I just added the lens to the database for anyone who can add a review.

[pentaxpete]

The famous Raffle during the 'Tea-Break' at a British Camera Club -- no Camera Club in UK is without the 'Infamous Tea-break' -- even during the Battle of El Alamein the British Army stopped for a tea-break and we STILL beat Rommel !! 17mm f3.5 Vivitar at full aperture, available light.

[videomi]

Just bought the 70-210 Series 1 Tokina version lens off E-Bay along with a Komine made 28-90mm Series 1 f/2.8. I love the 28-90 but am not sure about the 70-210.

It totally threw me how it seems to zoom backward (I read it in many reviews but it STILL was a disconnect when I used the lens today). The iris also seems to be much more "steppy" than that of the 28-90. Could be that the 70-210 is older? Or is it the difference in the manufacurers??

Just curious about others who might have both these lenses? There just seems to be a huge difference in how they feel "in-hand." One feels and responds great, the other just seems...well, weird and less professional. I had read a lot about the feel of the Tokina Series 1 version and most reviews were very positive. Of course, if the images are consistently good, then I'm sure I could get used to it.

But looking for feedback from Vivitar veterans. These are my first Vivitar lenses.

Chris Blair

[Cee Cee]

I have both those lenses, the 28-90 is a great lens, you need to be careful outdoors though, it flares pretty easily, best to get a lens hood for it. I haven't had the 70-210 for very long, at first I wasn't all that impressed, I didn't think it had any thing to offer over my Pentax A series 70-210 f4,(which is one of my favorite lenses), but it does render a little differently and is a little sharper, the more I've been using it the more I've been appreciating it's qualities, it also flares a bit so once again a hood is best for outdoors, but you cane also use this to advantage sometimes. I've posted a couple of shots with this lens on the previous pages.
My 28-90 was giving incorrect exposures due to sluggish aperture blades so I've removed the auto aperture arm and use it fully manual ( green button metering) if not for that It would be getting a lot more use. I'll try to find some shots to post.
cheers

[videomi]

Yes I have lens hoods for both so good on that count, plus I have rails and a Matte Box (that has adjustable gaskets that allow the zoom to extend and contract), so covered there. But what I was really more curious about was the big difference I see in the "feel" between the two lenses I have. The 28-90 has a great feel and even though the aperture isn't de-clicked, it's still smooth and quiet. While the 70-210 I bought has sort of loud, clunky aperture action....and the zoom function just baffles me that you push it toward your subject for wide-angle, and away for zooming. Those were really what I was wondering about. Do I just have a mechanically rough version of the lens or is this normal? The lens looks brand new...came in it's original box with original packaging, manuals, warranty cards etc. and looks pristine, from the glass to the housing.

[Cee Cee]

I would think its just the difference in manufacturer, they're made in different factories so they are bound to feel different, my 28-90 seems smoother to operate for sure, but my 70-210 is well used, so hard for me to make a comparison, the shutter ring feels fine, but it is a more defined click, its going to depend on the size of the ball bearing & slot and the spring they use, I also have a Viv Tokina 75-205 and its has a similar feel and a Tokina 28-200 and its aperture ring is even clunkier. It may be because of the newness of the lens if it hasn't been used much, it may get better with use.
As for the zoom direction, I use a lot of different lenses so I'm not really conditioned to expect something to work in a certain way, I usually fumble about until I get the right ring turning in the right direction
cheers

[videomi]

Yeah I practices with it some this morning and have gotten more used to it. Guess I'm spoiled by modern two-touch zooms, but boy I love the focus rings on older lenses....and now that I've used the one-touch more, my brain actually sort of likes doing everything with one ring.

On the aperture...I'm going to declick it. I found an assembly manual on the Kiron-Klub Yahoo group and in the past I've disassembled and reassembled some .$0.99 lenses I've won on Ebay, so I feel pretty confident I can easily fix that issue.

The build quality on these older lenses is striking compared to modern lenses. It's hard to believe how good a 35-40 year old lens performs... and even harder to justify the price of modern lenses when you can buy 3 or 4 of models of a vintage lens and get great quality and have spares to boot!

[Nikonshooter]

Went out today to use my 70-210mm 3.5 lens.
















I was surprised to still find flowers out.

[Arjay Bee]

Out with the Vivitar (Komine) 75-250 today. Just a couple of snaps:





Great to see this thread still attracting interest.

I bought a Vivitar 28mm M42 lens from a charity shop, which is in all-round excellent condition. Close focus is perfect, but unfortunately I am unable to Infinity focus for a distance greater than 50-60 meters, no matter what aperture I use.
I have removed the rubber cover to the aperture ring and found 2 small screws, one above the infinity focus mark and one above the letter "M", (see photograph below). Could these in some way be the focus adjustment, if so can anyone please point me to a tutorial how to correct this problem?
Any help would be very much appreciated.

Not sure there is lens specific help for this issue but if you mark current locations carefully and go slowly then for the price the best way to go may be to try and see what you can adjust yourself. There are lots of tips on adjusting infinity focus out there in web land.

Have anyone here ever use the Vivitar 85-205mm 3.8 lens. It's really nice to use. I just added the lens to the database for anyone who can add a review.

I have had a couple of versions of that lens - they are interesting lenses that go for not much money and punch above their weight as the saying goes... Several manufactures under the Vivitar banner so be careful which one you are buying.

[Arjay Bee]

Vivitar (Komine) 75-250



Metallic Starlings nesting in Eucalypt Tree

[dunerunner]

This one has been cropped some.
105 series one macro