Vivitar 24mm f/2.0

[munim]

I still have my old Vivitar 24mm f/2.0 from my FE2 days. I'm now using D90 with 50mm f/1.8. On the D90, the Vivitar gives images which

are soft and unsaturated colors. Is this to be expected? Any way to improve it, or should I just keep this lens in a display case?

[james_lai]

<p>Is it like that at all apertures? If so, you may not want to keep using it, but most lenses are best stopped down a few stops.</p>

[tommyinca]

<p>Is it clean? The lens could be 30+ years old. Sometime vapor for the focus grease can get to the inner elements if the lens has not been stored properly. When that happen, you get soft and unsaturated color. The Vivitar 24/2 is not known to be soft and low contrast.</p>

[munim]

James,

I may have to test at all apertures. I think I've tested at f/8.

 

Tommy,

It looks clean visually. I actually bought it when I was studying in Missouri in 1981-85. Forget the exact year I bought it. You're probably right about the vapor stuff. The lens has not been stored in a dry box, and Malaysia is a very humid country. I used cameras for that long but only known about dry boxes a couple of years back. Go figure.

[james_lai]

<p>Raden, unfortunately that doesn't sound too good. I had thought that maybe you were making full use of the f/2 on your lens, but at f/8 usually lenses should be at their best or close to it. </p>

[munim]

Yeah, you're probably right. I should stick to the 50mm lens. I've lost touch of manual exposure calculations in the head, so it's a lot trial and errors to get the exposure right. Actually, I'm taking the Vivitar out because my 18-105 kit lens is sent for repair -- broken plastic mount. I'm thinking of buying a used 18-55 as a stop-gap measure.

[lex_jenkins]

<p>Sounds about right for an older lens. They had less sophisticated multi-coatings and baffling to minimize internal flare. That's what robs photos of that critical "snap", a combination of loss of contrast and color saturation. It's not so much veiling flare as internal flare, which can be minimized to some extent by stopping down. But those lenses will never be quite as snappy as more contemporary lenses.</p>

<p>My Vivitar Series 1 70-210/2.8-4 seemed really good with film but the D2H exploited its weaknesses. While it was never particularly sharp wide open it seemed good on film. But the D2H revealed markedly lower contrast and color saturation along with a slightly cool cast. It's still useful, but requires more careful tweaking.</p>

[munim]

Someone is selling his 18-55 non-VR for $50. I hope it's not too good to be true. That settles this problem.