Showing posts with label komine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label komine. Show all posts

Comparing Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm Zooms

2008-11-04 Posted by Hin Man
v1 from Kiron

Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/3.5 from Kiron
  • Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/3.5, v1 from Kiron
  • serial number starts with 22
  • best in color and contrast
  • bokeh is very nice, next to Komin and better than Tokina
  • heaviest unfortunately, it is actually not much heavier than Komine copy, but it is bulkier
  • best build quality in construction
  • very inexpensive to get
  • sharpness square evenly with the Komine copy. But I do prefer the Tokina on sharpness when stopped down
  • close up is at 1:2.2 and I think the weight and the bigger size in barrel may hinder the usefulness in close up


v2 from Tokina

Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/3.5 from Tokina
  • Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/3.5, v2 from Tokina
  • serial number starts with 37
  • best in sharpness when stopped down to f/5.6 and smaller
  • lightest of the three and much usable in walk around
  • does quite poorly in close up with magnification at 1:4, I see ghosting in close up
  • color and contrast are reasonable, but I like the Kiron and Komine copies better for color, contrast and saturation
  • best in focusing ring, maybe my copy with Tokina is newer than the other, the focusing ring in my tokina copy is the best among the three versions that I have tried.
  • very inexpensive to get, a less competed model that should go well in terms of cost and value

v3 from Komine

Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/2.8-4.0 from Komine
  • Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/2.8-4.0 from Komine
  • serial number starts with 28
  • the only version among the three that has 'A' settings
  • weight is middle tier in 860g in between 710g Tokina and the 879g Kiron
  • perhaps the barrel are not as big, I feel similar handling to the Tokina
  • close up is found quite decent at 1:2.5
  • I still prefer the color and contrast from Kiron but I will give the Komine slightly better than Tokina
  • sharpness is middle as 2nd runner after Tokina
  • Bokeh is best among the three versions, very close with Kiron copy
  • Some moderate Purple Fringe noted in test shots,
  • best overall due to the 'A' setting, faster speed in f/2.8 in the shorter end.
  • cost more than twice of v1 and v2

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Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/2.8-4.0 from Komine

2008-10-22 Posted by Hin Man
vivitar series 1 70-210mm f/2.8-4.0 from Komine

vivitar series 1 70-210mm f/2.8-4.0 from KomineAfter trying out the first two versions of Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm zooms recommended by Mark Robert, I found a good copy of the 3rd version made by Komine. The komine copy of the vivitar zoom looks so much like the Tokina copy. In appearance, v2 from Tokina and v3 from Komine almost look identical, but there is the red line in lens' front distinguishing it from v1 and v2. I will have a difficult time to decide which one to keep. The Komine copy has the best advantage with 'A' settings and the f/2.8 in the 70mm and it has macro at 1:2.5 magnification ratio.

Test Pictures:

 test picture with Pentax K10D and vivitar series 1 70-210mm f/2.8-4.0 from Komine
test picture with Pentax K10D and vivitar series 1 70-210mm f/2.8-4.0 from Komine
Product shot in 1:2.5 close up

Impressions & Notes:

The komine v3 copy does much better in close up as I see a lot of ghosting in the 1:4 close up with the Tokina, something noticed by others too when I discussed the lens in forum. I should look for a lens hood for the Series 1 as I do have run into glare in the late afternoon washing out some color in the shots.

  • serial number starts with 28
  • the only version among the three that has 'A' settings
  • weight is middle tier in 860g in between 710g Tokina and the 879g Kiron
  • perhaps the barrel are not as big, I feel similar handling to the Tokina
  • close up is found pretty decent at 1:2.5
  • I still prefer the color and contrast from Kiron but I will give the Komine slightly better than Tokina
  • sharpness is middle as 2nd runner after Tokina
  • best overall due to the 'A' setting, faster speed in f/2.8 in the shorter end.
  • cost more than twice of v1 and v2, recent sale goes about $160 to $180 in both ebay and Marketplace.
  • More frequent use of the zoom has shown CA in shots with high contrast area. Not as severe as shown in Tamron 70-300mm Di LD but noticeable.

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Vivitar 200mm f/3.5 from Komine

2008-10-21 Posted by Hin Man
vivitar 200mm f/3.5 form Komine

vivitar 200mm f/3.5 form KomineI have been Komine focus when I look for lens. After having been blessed with Komine 135mm f/2.8 1:2 Close Focusing lens, I am intrigued to see a copy of Komine 200mm f/3.5 in K mount. This 200mm looks very much like my 135mm in the build and design. I especially like the lens with a built in lens hood. When I test the lens with Pentax F-1.7x AF TC that turns this manual focus lens into partial auto focus, I can see the lens quite sharp in the test pictures. I will test it more when I find time.

Test Shots with F-1.7x AF TC:

Test shots with vivitar 200mm f/3.5 form Komine and Pentax F-1.7x AF TC

Test shots with vivitar 200mm f/3.5 form Komine and Pentax F-1.7x AF TC

Test shots with vivitar 200mm f/3.5 form Komine and Pentax F-1.7x AF TC


Impressions & Notes:
  • Lens is reasonably sharp wide open
  • With Pentax F-1.7x AF TC, this lens has been a good 340mm tele that I can use to picture on Hummingbirds and the combined tele-lens is very much hand-holdable
  • Focusing ring is smooth and provide great precisiion and damping for manual focusing
  • Built in lens hood come in veyr handy
  • I find it a bit heavier than the similar Pentax M 200mm f/4.0 but for the Komine Frenzy that I am in, I prefer this 200mm. In fairness, the Pentax M 200mm f/4.0 is very close in IQ to this lens, both are sharp wide open but I think the Pentax may do better in terms of color and contrast.
  • When used with Pentax F-1.7x TC, PF/CA is seen in some of the test shots

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Vivitar 135mm f/2.8 1:2 Macro from Komine

2008-09-26 Posted by Hin Man
Vivitar/Komine 135mm f/2.8 1:2 macro
Vivitar/Komine 135mm f/2.8 1:2 macro
Vivitar/Komine 135mm f/2.8 1:2 macro
Vivitar/Komine 135mm f/2.8 1:2 macronext to Pentax DA 50-200


There is so much that people talk about Kiron or Lester A Dine for the 105mm f/2.8 1:1 Macro as one of the better macro lens to get and I have never heard of a Komine135mm with fast aperture f/2.8 that goes with close up at 1:2. Though it is not a 1:1 macro, I get burned from many user errors in 1:1 focusing with Lester A Dine and I need a 1:2 close up to get my confidence back.

The Komine lens is not a big piece of glass and it is well constructed with metal body and it comes with metal cap from Vivitar. When I put it side by side to my Pentax DA 50-200, I then realize that this 135mm is quite small in size. When I I take out the turn focusing ring to its 1:2 end, it is still very comfortable to hold and obtain focus.


picture with Komine 135mm f/2.8 1:2 macro

picture with Komine 135mm f/2.8 1:2 macro

picture with Komine 135mm f/2.8 1:2 macro

picture with Komine 135mm f/2.8 1:2 macro



Impressions & Notes:
  • This is one piece of Komine glass that I am most likely to keep for bugs
  • Minimum focusing distance is about 0.6m or 2.0 feet, ideal for bugs
  • Bokeh is good to excellent in this Komine close focusing prime in 135mm with fast speed at f/2.8.
  • It works well for me as a short tele-prime while shooting wedding for a couple friends of mine behind the hired professional photographers
  • The focusing ring is the best in class for manual focusing and it is close to one complete turn and I actually don't reckon the exact measure but the lens provides me with great ease in shooting tele-photo as well as macro. This is a rare find for Macro lens that allow ease of use for short tele-prime in 135mm for portraits and candid shots needing ease of focusing from a farther distance.
  • This prime excels in ease of focusing.
  • Sharpness is not the best candidate that I have seen. Wide open aperture is a bit on the soft side. I have to say that it works well for portraits when I tried it in wedding. For macro, I find it a bit on the soft side when compared to my Pentax K 100mm f/4.0 but it is much faster and its outstanding color and bokeh make up the minor weak point in sharpness. I have to say that the sharpness problems that I noted might come from my user error in testing the lens hand-holding in JPG snapshot without PP in RAW.
  • I highly recommended this 1:2 close focusing lens. The only caveat that I see is the lacking of 'A' aperture which will prohibit the use of flash in PTTL mode with macro as filled flash. I will ask and learn if external flash in auto mode can be used with trial and error.


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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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