papajim

Does anyone put much confidence in Vivitar brand lenses? I have 2 leftovers from the film camera days and they seem towork well on my Canon t5. Thanks

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Vivitar and Soligor were big name back then. I still have a zoom, but I never use it. If the lens attaches to your camera, you can use it, but it will be manual. Do some test shots and see how you like it.

melismus Loc: Chesapeake Bay Country

There was some good glass in Vivitar's Series One. Otherwise not much.

cjstanley

A few of the Series 1 lenses are very good optically. The only downside might be the less sophisticated lens coatings used at the time. I use a 90mm f/2.5 Series 1 Macro quite often on my Nikon and it produces excellent images.

Al Freeedman

The Vivitar series 1 lenses were made by Kiron in Japan. Very good quality.

For a couple of years Kiron sold their lenses under their own name here

Captain Al

melismus Loc: Chesapeake Bay Country

Some by Kiron; some by other makers.

brent46 Loc: Grand Island, NY

I have a Series 1 200mm f3 that I bought used in the late 70s. Back then I had great results on my F2 with it. I still have it and use it on my D7100 at times. Focus indicator on the 7100 works with it and it meters in manual and arperture priority. I have attached some images taken with the D7100. Keep in mind that these images are cropped.

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joehel2 Loc: Cherry Hill, NJ

You answered your own question when you said they seem to work well. When they are not meeting your needs, that's the time to shop.

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

I use any number of older manual focus lenses. Vivitar (Ponder & Best) was a distributer. They did not make their own lenses. Same with Soligor (Allied Impex Corporation ). Most of their lenses were made in Japan by independent manufacturers and rebranded with the buyers branding. Some (primarily Series One) were excellent for their time & could compete with OEM offerings. Others were consumer grade & not as good. The Vivitar Series One were made by a number of different manufacturers, Kino Precision being the most well known. They also sold their own line of lenses under the Kiron name in the US & Panagor in Europe. I use a rebadged Kino 105mm F2.8 macro from the mid 1980's as my go to macro lens. It is branded as a "Lester Dine" who were purveyors to the Dental profession ( they are still in bsiness). Optically, I will put it up against any current macro lens from any manufacturer. While it may not be IF or have the latest coatings, most shortcomings can be overcome in post. The differences noted by such sites as DxO Mark are based on bench testing & real world shooting can not come close to bench test results. As for your lenses, only you can decide if they meet your expectations. Those older lenses can't be easily used on many newer cameras, and won't retain many of the features of those cameras but it all depends on your abilities. You can see what an older mid 190's lens can do on a modern DSR if you look at my Flickr stream. All of the macro shots were done with that older macro (not the other images though).

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Vivitar never made their own lenses... In fact, they never manufactured much of anything, but were pioneers of out-sourcing.

This doesn't mean some of their stuff wasn't really good. In fact some was. Others mentioned Vivitar Series 1 lenses as an example and, yes, some of those are excellent. Some, but not all of those were made by Kino Precision, who also made their own Kiron lenses, as well as some non-Series 1 Vivitar lenses... Kino was started by former Nikon optical engineers and produced some top quality products. Vivitar also out-sourced lens manufacture to Tokina, Schneider-Kreuznach, Chinon, Perkin-Elmer, Hoya and many others.... some of which now have legendary and cult status. At one time, Vivitar was a big enough name that they could demand innovative, high quality products from those and other manufacturers. But they also produced a lot of more run of the mill, consumer grade items.

It really depends on the specific lenses you've got... but if they work well for you, that's all that really matters.

wj cody Loc: springfield illinois

the vivitar series 1 90-180 f4.5 flat field lens is legendary in the vivitar line up. in good condition, with the correct lens hood, they still sell for hundreds of dollars on the secondary market. 18 elements in 15 groups, designed by perkin elmar in east hartford connecticut, and built by kiron. frighteningly good lens. it took nikon 20 years to match this lens with their 70-180 af close focusing lens.

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

One of the few true macro zooms out there. Shame it only went to 1/2 life size though. I own 2 Kino made "Lester Dine " 105 macro lenses & One "Vivitar Series One" ( also Kino made) 105 macro lenses.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

I used a Canon camera and a Vivitar lens as a crime scene investigator years ago (1970's). The lens worked well to put a number of people in prison while giving sharp photos. Why are you asking? You tell us it seems to work well and then ask us about confidence. If they work well I think I would have confidence in them if they meet your needs. Many older lenses are great lenses. Old doesn't necessarily mean bad.

Dennis

Jim Bob

No, not today.