I firstly tried it with film cameras (a cheap Praktica and a K1000 with an adapter), and found it to be a good moderate WA lens. My usual way to "test" a lens like this one is having a walk with it and taking pictures of places I know. It's probably a hard job listing all the variants of this lens.
Markings are slightly different : Vivitar 28MM 1:2.5 AUTO WIDE-ANGLE N° 22xxxxxx Ø 62MM The sample I bought some years ago looks like the one pictured on the top of this page. When reading this review, please don't forget it's only my opinion on one sample of a lens.
Too big compared to f2.8 counterparts, vulnerable front glass I'd pass on this one, given that Vivitar's 28mm f/2.8 are better and can be had for similar pricing. There are better 28mm offerings to use on a cropped sensor. This lens is best for close distance photography. The 2.5 is center sharp, edge soft.Īnd the 2.5 stop is not useful. Granted, the improvements were slight, but detectable. As well as a Kiron 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 zoom.Īll were tested at f/5.6 and f/8 with a tripod. A Komine-Vivitar 28mm f/2.8 Close-Focus I used to compare, produced better images all around. So, the main issue of focus could be isolated to my worn sample.īut it's shorter distance performance is only average to slightly above. Short distance photos show lesser problems from the added looseness. Focused on landscapes with infinity yielded inconsistently out of focus photos. Therefore, focus ring will not immediately have affect on the front elements' distance. Mine had clean optics and mechanics, smooth operating, and OM mounting.įirst thing I noticed, mine has some left to right play in the front barrel. I concur with Ghostrider's review, and reiterate some same opinions of my sample of this lens. Sharpness: 7 Aberrations: 6 Bokeh: 5 Handling: 7 Value: 6 Camera Used: Sony a6000 Heavy, poor landscape results, f/2.5 isn't sharp or contrasty, soft edges. Even fine lens manufacturers like Kino Precision (Kiron) make some optical dogs, this is one of them.Ĭonstruction, all metal and glass! Decent image and color once stepped down to f/8-11 I’m sure Film performance is more forgiving, but I’m not going to waste my money to find out. Distant subjects require f8 or better yet f11 to produce a reasonably useable image with APS-C format DSLRs. Close-up Performance is acceptable starting at f5.6 as long as the subject is centered in the frame.
Heavy vignetting is also present at f2.5. Optically, this lens is just plain poor at f2.5 and f4 gaining only a bit of sharpness and IQ by f5.6. Unfortunately, I can’t say a whole lot more positive about this lens, The Focusing action is very smooth and heavily dampened giving. It’s made of very thick machined metal and finished quite nicely. The lens is very heavy, in fact too heavy for a 28mm f2.5 lens. My copy is M42 screw mount and is in basically new condition. Sharpness: 5 Aberrations: 7 Bokeh: 7 Handling: 7 Value: 5 Camera Used: K-5, K-3 Poor IQ on digital, heavy, not sharp until f8