Testing the Vivitar 50mm/f2.8 Macro lens* with A6000.
*Lens is originally for Olympus OM D body and is over 40 years old. Dusted out of camera bag.
Focus mode: Manual with K&F Concept adapter
ISO: 400
Tripod with leveling on 2-axes
Shutter release: 10 second timer delay
Distance from subject to focal plane of camera: 23 1/4" (59 cm)
Lighting: Window side lighting with overhead recessed lights.
f4 @ 1/30 sec. Uncropped but resized image. Minor sharpening.
f8 @ 1/8 sec. Uncropped but resized image. Minor sharpening
dalite wrote:
Testing the Vivitar 50mm/f2.8 Macro lens* with A6000.
*Lens is originally for Olympus OM D body and is over 40 years old. Dusted out of camera bag.
________
Correction: lens is Vivitar 55mm (Macro 1:1), not 50mm. People interested in older, legacy lenses may be interested to research the history of some of these lenses. Little is known of the Vivitar lens except that comments from a former Ponder & Best (remember them?) employee believed the lens was made by a Japanese lens manufacturer called Komine, and based on Vivitar's lens numbering system, No. 28xx.
As for the lens itself, it is rather heavy, yet solidly built, with buttery smooth focusing and deemed very sharp from f4 onwards and sharp at f2.8 in the center. I'll be testing this over some colorful jellyfish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
PS: If one does a Google search on "Ponder & Best" one gets Vivitar info. Very interesting....Show more →
The Vivitar lens, which I remember from my early film days, looks remarkably sharp in your tests! It would be interesting to have a thread of test shots of old lenses, with an Otus or some other more accessible excellent lens at the start of the thread.
Cross post from another thread but my wife and I are expecting our first little one in a few weeks and I commissioned a friend to make us some hand-knitted sweaters for her. They turned out amazing and I wanted a few photos for her to have as well as for Instagram, etc. There's also an image of my pups on guard duty while my wife was trying to relax (poor thing can't ever get much stretch-out time due to the pugs' constant need to snuggle ).
These are straight out of camera, resized and auto levels in Photoshop. Shot with the A6000 and Sony/Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 wide open (such a remarkable lens). Not the best subject matter, but fun for me.
The Vivitar lens, which I remember from my early film days, looks remarkably sharp in your tests! It would be interesting to have a thread of test shots of old lenses, with an Otus or some other more accessible excellent lens at the start of the thread.
_______
Thanks chiron. I expect to do more tests with it, especially utilizing the 1:1 macro. Most of the reviews rated the lens as quite sharp with very little distortion. It would be nice to test it on a A7RII with IBIS and faster shutter speed.
Great portrait of a couple. They must love the image. It is very natural (i.e., they look like real people) while also being very flattering to them. You can see their pleasure in being together. And the warm afternoon light is fabulous. Nice!
chiron wrote:
Great portrait of a couple. They must love the image. It is very natural (i.e., they look like real people) while also being very flattering to them. You can see their pleasure in being together. And the warm afternoon light is fabulous. Nice!
Thanks. It was an engagement shoot I did for them and used my A6000 and my A7. I'm really loving the FE70-200 f4 lens.
). 
