Vivitar Series 1 - 35-85mm f/2.8 - The Real Review

Go and do a search for this lens, I'll wait....

Now obviously you didn't as either you already know about it or don't care to look and want me to reveal all, so here goes.

You'll read a lot about this lens, a lot of nonsense, bad pics, good pics, over excited users who like to use it in the dark, as it has a constant aperture! And then there are those who don't like anything that wasn't made yesterday or only buy things to look at and some who love it, like me and possibly you.

Here it is in all its shiny metal heavy glory, a wonder of engineering with it's own built in compromise, somethings you can't get away from, the design and the look is superb, it weighs approx 1.5lbs in old money, and to put that into something readable, it's roughly the same as 153 sheets of A4 Paper or 255 1p coins or 127 Quarters (US) and I'd rather be carrying this than any of those, one thing is, although it would get tiresome if you had to hold it up for long periods of time but who really does that.

With certain things on the www you'll find that common themes appear, it's like follow the leader and at times you'll get feelings of Deja Vu as there's a lot of copy/pasting on the interwebs, with this lens you'll see the same moans and more moans about nothing really, it is what it is.

A lens made in 1975, whose technology is still used today (Variable Focus) so that can't be an issue otherwise who would still use it these days if it was bad, it is a part of the compromise of the design, the up is cleaner optics, the down is you have to refocus, some don't like that and also don't seem to understand that's the way the engineering works nothing you can do about that, that's just the way it is, it's like moaing about how bright the Sun is!

I read earlier someone who thought that Vivitar made up the term 'Auto Variable Focus' to cover up the fact you had to refocus and thought it was a bad thing, then some dump it on a Digital Camera, start numbing their own brains by looking at tiny squares, pointless and expect miracles because the trend says so, it's BS, experimenting is fine but sometimes using gear outside of its capabilites will always result in bad results/opinions as the way it works gets lost in the nonsense or is just ignored because some don't know how it works and why it does.

I get it, not everyone has an engineering mindset but to say such silliness about VF is pure ignorance and proves no research was done but plenty of affiliate links though....now, you get it.

It should be the other way around folks, I got mine because of what it does as I know why it does it, if I made my decisions on some others opinions I'd never buy anything as they are looking at it the wrong way, no gear is bad if it does what you want it to do, if you think it's bad then it's not right for you, move on, don't see many Bass players buying Drum Kits for a reason.

The lens is soft, so what, look how nice that soft is, and none soft is a click away, it's heavy, some say, maybe go do some pushups, it's made nearly all of metal, big glass, and was made when things were made to last, what did you think it was going to weigh, the same as your plastic copy, not sure that works, anyways when I'm not using it, my Op/Tech Strap keeps it from pulling me over to one side!

Plus I want heavy, stability, mass, and in low light situations, handheld, it's a positive, the tool needs to match the work in hand.

It's been said it has lens creep as a negative, I don't see it like that, maybe gravity is interferring a little and physics, and if yours does it, mine doesn't, how are you using it when it does it, usually when hanging off the shoulder, not being used is common or are you just holding it in both hands, pointing it ot the ground vertically, staring like Uri, willing it to fall, naturally, downwards.

It doesn't take long to find some real nice pictures taken with one of these by some who know how to use it, it's not the lens that takes the picture, it's you, but don't take offence, I'm no good with certain gear or subjects, one just needs to find what they need, to get to the end result.

My own was free, so I'd be a fool not to use it and enjoy it and I would buy one if this one died somehow but it's built to last so could be a while....