| Latest Review Posted | Vivitar Series 1 (Version 1 - Kiron 22xxxx) 70-210mm F3.5
I just want to begin by saying, I despise zoom lenses! That being said, I love this lens.
My journey began with a Pentax 135mm f/3.5. It's a nice lens, but slow. The fastest 135mm I could find was an f/2.8 (maybe I just don't know where to look). However, frustration set in when I discovered that faster doesn't = sharper. I didn't feel like sacrificing sharpness for light.
I came across this lens and was attracted to the fact that it is a 70-210mm with fixed aperture at 3.5 (i liked that it dies not get darker as you zoom in) even though I've heard that the 2.8-4 variable aperture series 3 is sharper. What the hell, I don't like Zoom lenses anyway, and i didn't see a series 3 available. I was also curious to check out the macro on this lens.
I really like it. I've put my Pentax 135mm f/3.5 prime on the shelf. Yes, the prime is lighter and much easier to carry around, but this is much more versatile and I don't really carry my camera around.
Most of my shooting is in a studio or on set, so weight and bulk doesn't bother me. And let's face it, this is mainly an outdoor lens, so even with a 2x-1 teleconverter on it, I get plenty of light in this f/3.5.
When I say versatile, I mean that, between the macro and the 2x-1 teleconverter, I can shoot everything 3" - 300' in front of my lens.
No, I wouldn't carry this lens all by itself. And no, I wouldn't want it to be the only lens in my arsenal (I have Pentax 50mm f/1.4 and Vivitar 28mm f/2.4 as wel... |
