I think one of the biggest reasons I wasn't getting the offers I expected was that
I don't take PayPal. That cuts credit cards out of the transaction, and only the
cash buyers remain.
cogitech wrote:
Dammit cog - get your act together: you know not to start the pump before you finish the dump! ;-)
Evidence that I do not, in fact, plan these things. Maybe I should.
I'm just pulling your leg. And I'm grateful to you for bringing the Rokkor f1.2 to my attention, as well as lots of other interesting discoveries. This place wasn't as much fun when you were on sabbatical.
Cableaddict wrote:
Once again, it's worth mentioning that the (original) Samyang & the Rokinon may not be the same lens.
There seems to be two versions of budget 85/14 out there:
1: Vivitar Series 1 / Samyang / Polar: Red ring & numbers, single-banded focus ring. This is the lens that initially garnered so much interest, based on test photos.
Well, there's also a "Samyang gold," but the brand name is simply applied with a label. Maybe the "red" lens was a better manufacture, but more expensive, so Samyang switched OEM's to make a better profit, or because they couldn't compete with the new, cheaper lens? ...Show more →
Extremely doubtful. For instance, here is what the Polar looks like and it does NOT have the red ring and numbers but appears like the lenses in your second category: http://slrshop.img4.kr/polar/polar85_sm_001.jpg
Nor have I seen a Samyang branded version with a red ring, have you? The Vivitar seems to be the only one with different cosmetics. Also noteworthy is that the lens design is on the box of all the other brands and is identical design with aspheric element. Finally, enough samples of the various brands have been used and tested by members of this forum and all seem to have the same superior performance which would also strongly point to the lenses being identical.
My Samyang is identical to the Rokinon and others. Curious that the Vivitar version seems to for sale for the highest price, yet is the ugliest of the bunch.
Tariq Gibran wrote:
here is what the Polar looks like and it does NOT have the red ring and numbers but appears like the lenses in your second category: .....
Nor have I seen a Samyang branded version with a red ring, have you? .
Yes, I have. That was my point.
When the Vivitar / Samyang / Polar first it the market, they were all the same, the "red version."
Now only the Vivitar is that version, and it is probably a better lens.
Cableaddict wrote:
... When the Vivitar / Samyang / Polar first it the market, they were all the same, the "red version."
Now only the Vivitar is that version, and it is probably a better lens.
It's only marketing. Also, if they were going to make a 'primo' variant, it probably wouldn't be labeled "Vivitar", unless they could claim that it was made in the late seventies or early eighties.
I dont use teles but when I did 80mm would be about that focal length that I'd switch to AF, but this is because I dont normally photograph static subjects. I applaude their decision to not add AF to this lens because this would make it just another lens and they'd have to compete with the CaNikons of this world. Whereas now they've hit a niche and it looks like they're making a killing.
The Viv, Pola and Sam were all originally the red variant, that's a fact.
The red lenses have always been more expensive, and even the Samyang used to cost more, when it was red. That's a fact.
The red variant looks quite different from the gold, not just in color. that's also a fact.
Vivitar wouldn't be charging $100 more than the others, if it were the same lens. -That's a good guess.
Also, the pics originally posted here, of the red Viv, were outstanding. The shots posted later both here and elsewhere of the gold variant are not in the same league. That could be by chance, but maybe not.
I'm raising a valid question, and no one has yet to post a definitive answer.
So again, what don't you buy? Or, better question, which WOULD you buy, if in the market right now?
Me, I'd order the Vivitar.
I ordered and received the Rokinon because Cogitech's wife's photos with it
were so good and his tests confirmed it is in the same class as the 85/1.2 SSC.
That was good enough for me.
If the Vivitar is even better, that's wonderful.
I _suspect_ the Vivitar is optically the same. I do not know, though.
Cableaddict--pardon me if I come across flippant--but what could whoever makes this lens do to improve it without it making sense to do a wholesale switch across the line?
Cableaddict wrote:
1: Vivitar Series 1 / Samyang / Polar: Red ring & numbers, single-banded focus ring. This is the lens that initially garnered so much interest, based on test photos.
The only versions of the Samyang and Polar I have seen that have garnered positive attention in online tests have been those with a gold ring and the cosmetics most of us are familiar with:
I would be curious to see these "red ring" Samyang and Polar versions of the 85 if you could post some links or pics as well as the tests of those variants. Perhaps they will be collectible one day as images of them seem scarce.
