Vivitar 70-210 "Series 1" f/3.5 from Kiron

2008-03-18
Vivitar 70-210 Series 1 f/3.5 Kiron
I had few test shots with Vivitar "Series1" 70-210 f/3.5 that I had a hard time selling in a forum marketplace. I finally managed to sell it for a meager $63.00 to another forum member who had enjoyed this fine lens before. I prefer much lighter gear and this lens is the heaviest that I have handled but the color, contrast, sharpness is the best 70-210 that I have handled. According to this site Vivitar 70-210 Series 1 Macro Zooms - Mark Roberts Photography the "Series 1" version I have is the version 1 with serial number starting with "22" made by Kiron, I think the version 3 will be lighter one. Though it is not the best one as reported by Mark in his report, I think this version 1 from Kiron with the exception on weight, produces quite outstanding images. Here are my summary of impressions with few test shots:


Pros:

  • contrasty & sharp
  • great color
  • macro is 1:2.2 is quite pleasant
  • reasonably sharp at wide open at f/3.5
  • focusing & zoom ring are smooth
  • very clean lens
  • bokeh is reasonably pleasant to me
Cons:
  • quite heavy & challenging to use
  • I switch to MF on my K100D body for most shots in the series, AF switch for trap focus will be harder with the heavy weight on this lens

Test Shots:
Vivitar 70-210 Series 1 f/3.5 Kiron Test Shots

Vivitar 70-210 Series 1 f/3.5 Kiron Test Shots
Vivitar 70-210 Series 1 f/3.5 Kiron Test Shots
Vivitar 70-210 Series 1 f/3.5 Kiron Test ShotsVivitar 70-210 Series 1 f/3.5 Kiron Test Shots
Related:

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello Hin,
i bought same lens from ebay and am wondering if there is a way to use thsi lense with a canon powershot a610 digital camera?

your help is highly appreciated.
plz email me via younes.leysi@gmail.com

Younes

Hin Man said...

I am afraid I don't have the answer for you. The lens is in Pentax K mount and I am not aware of an adapter that will fit a point & shoot camera as in your Canon A610. You better go back to your sources which claim that a Pentax K mount lens can work with your Canon camera. I seriously doubt that they will work together. For some older M42 lens, there are adapters to work with some Canon SLR/dSLR mount but I don't know enough to say for sure.

Anonymous said...

I just got a vivitar 70-210 with a p/k inscribed in it but can't seem to fit my k10D, any ideas?

Hin Man said...

Check this post:
http://techtheman.blogspot.com/2008/03/vivitar-28mm-f25-from-kiron.html
on my Vivitar 28mm f/2.5 where I have rough instruction on grinding the extra flange on the base. My Vivitar Series 1 also need that modification

Unknown said...

I've got this exact lens in Minolta mount and it's absolutely my favourite lens out of my kit. Sure it's heavy but that didn't stop me from taking it everywhere with me on a trip to India this summer. The images were worth it.

Anonymous said...

I just got this lens in a Canon FD mount for $10.50 + $12 shipping; wow, a fantastic lens, no one else bid on it. Perfect addition to my AE-1P kit. Just addding a hod & filter will increase the cost tenfold!

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know if there is a lens hood for the Vivitar 70mm-210mm f/3.5 Series 1 (version 1, Kiron, 67mm filter size) out there that was actually made for this lens? If so, where can I go to find one?
Thank you...

patc@everestkc.net

Unknown said...

There was an official Vivitar lens hood, I have one. It doesn't seem to be anything special, it's just a collapsible round rubber shade which clamps onto the filter ring. It has no filter threads of its own and doesn't allow the use of the original lens cap either so it's a bit of a functional frustration. Honestly unless you're hung up on having the "Vivitar" name moulded into the rubber I would just use a regular 67mm prime hood.

Hin Man said...

Thanks for all the comment. I will recommend either a generic 3 stage rubber lens hood that allow you to put on a filter. Or the equivalent 67mm metal lens hood

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Welcome to Hin's Photo Corner, this is my learning blog on photography, blogging and advertising. And I hope you enjoy your visit. For contact, please comment in blog post or email me directly hintheman at gmail.com.

 

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