Vivitar Series 1 28-90 2.8-3.5: my new favorite AF100 'variable prime'

M

mcbob

Veteran
I got this lens for nearly nothing some months ago for use on my GH2... on that camera, it simply didn't work well due to very very poor balance... so it sat on a shelf for a few months.

Recently decided to give it a go on my AF100... I figured I usually work at ~25, 50, and 100 lengths most of the time, and it's reasonably quick and dirt cheap.

Whole different beast. Yes, it's push-pull, and yes, it's completely varifocal... but the nice, firm, well-dampened action that was such a hinderance on the GH2 works completely on the AF100... the focus ring is a full four inches wide, and I can grip it with my whole hand... thumb and forefinger can then easily reach the freshly (and simply) declicked iris mid-take, no fumbling. It's stupid smooth, very sharp for a zoom, and feels very much like a broadcast lens, aside from the push-pull zooming (which, frankly, is about as intuitive as you can get).

Anyway, I've done a few small jobs with it now and am very happy. Since it's not so easy to post these mid-approval, here are some links to others' work with this olde-timey gem:

http://vimeo.com/search/videos/sear...c987330/page:1/sort:relevant/format:thumbnail


And as a plus/minus, it flares like crazy. Sometimes positive, sometimes not.

Anyway, there's an opinion.
 
Wouldn't mind seeing some of your own examples plus a photo of the lens (I'm not familiar with it) on your camera.

I agree with the 'intuitive' feel of a push-pull lens. I spent years as a still sports photographer and, before the arrival of super-fast auto-focusing still lenses, the Nikon 80-200 was my go to lens for any sporting event. I still have it - 90's version, ED f2.8 - and recently used it on a waterfowl shoot in the Klamath Basin National Refuge. http://vimeo.com/33060088 I was able to track the birds, zoom and focus at the same time with one hand.
 
As for some examples, check out http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/behindthemic/ tonight or tomorrow... Howie Long's segments regarding the Super Bowl, specifically, which should be online soon. Essentially unlit, available light only with a single reflector, but it's a sample. A few more examples may or may not also be online soon, but we'll see.

Here's the lens in question:
AF100_vivi2.jpg
 
I have the 28-85 and I prefer that it's push/pull because you can focus as you zoom, which is difficult when managing two rings...
 
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