Kiron 24mm f2

<p>I don't see these lenes too often. I picked my copy as NOS from Abe's of Maine for 60 USD about 16 or 17 years ago. These lenses were being closed out. I believe that the Kiron 24mm lens is the same lens as the Vivitar 24. </p><div></div>

<p>Sometimes a 24mm lens is almost too wide. I had to stand in the middle of the road for this picture. Fortunately, the small town of Sturgis is very small so not much traffic and a population of just over 200. Every fall, though, the population briefly swells to over 20,000 as the town plays host to the "Sturgis South" motorcycle rally.</p><div></div>

<p>Don't know how much bike-related business they do the rest of the year, but at least the store is in place.</p><div></div>

<p>These photos, BTW, are CVS scans from Fujicolor 200. </p><div></div>

<p>I live about 35 miles from Sturgis, but usually only pass though it once or twice a year. The rest of my photos were taken in my home town of West Point.</p><div></div>

<p>This lens, BTW, has the typical softness at maximum aperture that one expects with most fast wide angles. Also, I think it has more barrel distortion than you'd see with the more common f2.8 lenses.</p><div></div>

<p>Last one. The Kiron doesn't focus as closely as my Tamron 24mm f2.5 or Sigma 24mm f2.8, but still close enough to show off the dewberries that grow around my house every spring. The dewberries have returned every year since my house was built in 1962.</p><div></div>

<p>Very sharp results, <strong>Mike</strong> and the colour is excellent. The barrel distortion appears to be minimal, compared to some of the wide-angles of that era in my possession. The lens seems to be held in quite some regard, both it and the Vivitar version fetching quite big dollars at auction. The dewberries make me yearn for Spring already...Down in NZ we have only the big brother, the blackberry. Thanks for an interesting post.</p>

<p>Damn ! I hate utility wires.</p>

<p>I thought that first image looked familiar as the thread first opened. A Minolta XE-1 just like mine. One of my favourite 35mm cameras. I would love a 24mm lens for it though as my widest is 28mm.</p>

<p>Interesting to see an American with one as the US model was the all black XE-7.</p>

<p>Nice work with a nice lens.<br>

Hate to admit it, but I've not been to Sturgis although I have seen it in documentary films about the biker gathering, not to mention TV footage from John and Cindy McCain's visit during the 2008 campaign (<a href="http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/erbe/2008/08/06/john-mccains-sexist-gaffe-cindy-mccain-in-a-topless-biker-pageant">link</a>). I think that it may not make my personal "bucket list," but I enjoyed the visit vicariously.</p>

<p>I spent a fair amount of time in SD years ago during the archaeological salvage programs in the Missouri Basin dam-building days. I don't think anyone has ever been able to claim that my problems resulted from that. ;)</p>

<p>Thanks, Rick. At greater distances barrel distortion isn't as noticible, but up close with linear subjects it is. Even here in the U.S. a mint Kiron or Vivitar 24mm f2 can fetch a big price. <br>

Gene- I don't like the utility wires either, but here in the southern USA the majority of our small and larger towns have them instead of underground wiring. Many times I've passed up a photo because there was no way to avoid the wires.<br>

Steve- actually this camera is an XE-5. The XE-5 lacked the safe load indicator and multiple exposure capabilty of the XE-7. The XE-1 resembles the XE-5 more in appearance than the XE-7 does. FWIW, the occasional XE-1 does turn up for auction from time to time, but the last time I saw one in working order the price was too high. BTW, there are still new 24mm lenses available. A number of dealers still have some Tamron Adaptall 24mm f2.5 lenses as NOS. The required Adaptall mount will likely be used, though. I plan to post some Tamron 24mm pictures at a later date. I think as NOS this lens is about 100 USD. I plan to get my oldest son one for his birthday since he has taken a liking to wide angle photos.</p>

<p>@Steve- here's a front view of the XE-5. I think the XE-1 prism is chrome in front, but black on top. I just may have to get one to complete my collection.<br>

JDM- this Sturgis is in Mississippi. The Sturgis in South Dakota has a much bigger motorcycle rally. The Mississippi Sturgis has been having its rally for the past 10 years. Also this Sturgis has a much larger population than the one in Mississippi. I probably should have clarified that earlier in the post. I would love to see that Sturgis too, but traveling to SD is really beyond my budget at the present.</p><div></div>

<p>So it's an XE-5. It looks exactly the same as the XE-1 from the top! Yes, the XE-1 prism is chrome to the front.</p>

<p>All of the top controls and the self timer lever look identical to the XE-1 too.</p>

<p>I bought mine when I realised I couldn't really afford the Nikkor prime lenses I wanted. I found that the comparable Rokkor lenses were between a quarter and a third of the price of the Nikkors so I bought the XE-1 with a 50mm f1.4 lens and added a 28mm and a 135mm. Shortly after that I was given a Vivitar series 1 28 - 105mm lens which is nice.</p>

<p>Nice shots, Mike. Wides are great for indoor crowd shots. Gene's powerline curse reminded me of the cartoonist/srtist Robert Crumb's observations on powerlines and utility poles. Here's a link to one of his powerline/utility pole sketched (scroll down).<br>

http://15dollarcam.blogspot.com/2007/04/rcrumb-made-me-do-it.html</p>

<p>I have the Vivitar version of that lens in Pentax K mount. It is a great lens.</p>

<p>The "Sturgis <em>south</em>" didn't register.<br>

Oh, you know, it's just possible that I <em>have</em> been to Sturgis, MS. At one time or another, I've wandered around lots of backwoods Mississippi. (no comments from the peanut gallery that <em>all</em> of Mississippi is backwoods are needed..) ;)</p>

<p>Okay, JDM. If you've ever driven from Starkville (home of Mississippi State University) to Ackerman then you've passed through Sturgis. Highway 12 connects them. Ackerman, BTW, still holds an old-fashioned (well mostly old-fashioned) camp meeting at the South Union campsite during the last week of July. I haven't been in several years, but this year I may go.</p>

<p>Great images, Mike. I particularly like the first.</p>

<p>I wonder how the Kiron 24/2 stacks up against the Canon FDn 24/2, which is the finest manual focus 24mm lens I've ever used.</p>

<p>Mark- never tried the Canon lens since I don't have a Canon body or that lens, but there may be some members here who have used it. Just my guess from the knowlege that the camera makers lenses usually (but not always) have an edge at wider apertures and tend to have less distortion, I would think that at middle apertures (where most lenses are at their best) that it might compare well. At f4, f2.8, and certainly at f2 I would think the Canon would be superior. Again, someone who's actually used the Canon lens could help us out with that comparison. When new the Kiron sold for around 150 USD, which was quite a bit less than any camera makers f2 as well as most f2.8 versions. I bought mine at the right time when manual focus gear was being closed out and demand hadn't yet driven up the used prices. I would think, though, that even now it should still be quite a bit less than the Canon f2. </p>

<p>Looks like a great lens from your excellent sample pics, Mike. Kiron glass never seems to disappoint.<br>

Yum, dewberries ! Any pawpaws growing around your area ?<br>

<br />I've had a couple of Vivitar/Kiron 28 f/2's and am selling off the last one that developed common oily blade syndrome. The 28/2 focuses under a foot and has weird bokeh.<br />Also selling off a Sigma XQ 24/2.8 Filtermatic . Pretty good performance on the Nikons. I'm not too keen on 24mm as a prime lens, though... getting harder to focus MF lenses as the eysight continues to fail, and the wider you go, the more of a PITA it becomes.<br />Now, the XE-5 I really like. I'm putting one through its paces after resealing with fresh foam and flexing its muscles with the chunky 58/1.2 before that lens goes to a lucky bidder tomorrow. That body has he great, heavy SRT feel plus AE and the smoothest advance I've encountered in a long time. When the fast lens goes, I'll resort to an older MC 1.4 or some screw mounts on the Minolta.</p>

<p>Thanks, all, for the compliments. A couple of posters mentioned the Kiron/Vivitar 28mm f2. Haven't tried that one yet. Maybe someone will post some photos with one.<br>

Gabor- I'll probably pick some dewberries soon. Dewberries are so fragile it's hard not to crush them when you pick them. Don't know anyone close by with a pawpaw tree, though. Later in summer one of my aunts will have some blueberries and I usually get invited to pick all I want. </p>

<p>Kiron lenses were made by Keno Optics in Japan, they made incredibly fine lenses, especially short zoom lenses. I still have my Kiron Macro 105mm f2.8-f32 focusing from 1:1 to inf, I have newer macros for my digital SLR's by other makers but none are better than the above dating back for over 25 years. </p>

<p>Kiron stopped exporting lenses to the west primarily because they were so busy making all the short zooms for Nikon. All of them shorter than the Nikkor 80-200 f2.8 were sold as Nikkors. Most of us were not thrilled by short zoom Nikkors. If you think your earlier Canons were any better in the short zoom category, they were actually made by Tokina!</p>

<p>Lynn</p>

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<p>Kiron stopped exporting lenses to the west primarily because they were so busy making all the short zooms for Nikon.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Lynn, do you have a source you can cite for this information? I highly doubt Nikon sent work out to a smaller firm for their lenses.</p>

<p>I wrote regularly for several photo magazines and had access to information, further I had close relationships with people in these companies, but I didn't talk about that until this was no longer the case. If you had ever seen a lens such as the 43-86 you'd know why this happened.</p>

<p>Lynn </p>