Vivitar series 1

[korin]

<p>Am i to understand there never was a 300mm for FD. A friend says he has one in a box? My guess is its not series one. Is it worth having?</p>

[steven_clark]

<p>Is it cheap or free? Third party lenses in old lens mounts don't seem to have much resale value, so I wouldn't pay much money for them. Would I use them? Of course! It just one roll of film and process-only to test several lenses in a lens mount, and if they work what's the problem? Who cares if there might be something a tiny bit sharper if you never notice the difference and you don't own it. It also seems to be relatively hard to completely hose the design for a prime lens unless some serious noticeable corners were cut, zooms on the other hand were often not all that great even from the first parties in their early days.</p>

[SCL]

<p>Vivitar did offer several 300mm prime lenses, but I don't remember ever seeing any which were part of the series 1 variety. Most of their 300mm prime lens offerings were consumer grade and not very fast. Canon produced a marvelous 300/4L lens for the FD which I owned for a while, and years ago I also used a Nikon 300/2.8 on my FD bodies with an N/FD adapter. Big and heavy, but boy did it deliver...and was a snap to focus due to the wide aperture.</p>

[awahlster]

<p>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivitar</p>

[korin]

<p>Thanks people. You've confirmed what i thought but i have not seen the lens yet! Maybe its 200m who knows. But if people say they have lenses you have to investigate. I know someone with their fathers hasselblad sitting on a shelf!</p>

[User_502260]

<p>Vivitar made a 300/5.5 for the T4 interchangeable mount system and a 300/5.6 for the TX interchangeable mount system. The T4 model has a tripod mounting collar. The TX model does not. Both of these were made by Tokina and have 37 as their first two serial number digits. There was a Fixed Mount 300/5.6 which is, I believe, the same as the TX model and also made by Tokina. I have this lens in Minolta mount. These three lenses are capable of good results if stopped down a little. The problem is that they are difficult to focus with the standard combination split image/microprism screens. If I use them with a camera that has a plain matte or grid type screen then focusing is much easier and the center does not black out. I will repeat the often heard saying that the sharpest lens is a good tripod. This is especially true with a 300mm lens. There were undoubtedly older pre-set 300mm Vivitars but these would be very old and are not often seen. </p>

[mark_pierlot]

<blockquote>

<p> Canon produced a marvelous 300/4L lens for FD.</p>

</blockquote>

<p> <br>

It is, indeed, marvelous, and delivers IQ that's just about as good as does the venerable FD 300/2.8 L. But, unlike its much bigger sibling, it's readily hand-holdable, and relatively inexpensive.</p>