Vivitar 70-210mm f3.5 Series 1 Lens Review + Real World Test | Vintage Zoom Lens

The Vivitar 70-210mm f/3.5 Series 1 is a vintage zoom lens from way back in 1978. For all of its age, this lens holds up remarkably well in terms of image quality, and produces quite pleasing results with good sharpness and interesting out of focus areas. It's also reasonably bright with a constant f/3.5 aperture that along with its 210 maximum focal length puts it slightly ahead of 70-200 F/4 zooms that are common today. It's solidly built and remarkably heavy, but at least its reasonably compact, and though it can be a bit tricky to use on modern cameras, it is a cheap and fun lens to shoot with on mirrorless cameras like my Nikon Z6 if you can deal with manual focus. It also has a great macro mode that enables it to shoot 1:2.2 closups.
Note: I mention comparison macro images in the video, but I forgot to put them in. You can find them in the written review: illuminationsfromtheattic.blo...
00:00 Intro
01:10 Overview
04:20 Image Quality
05:59 Build Quality
08:58 Usability
11:28 Features and issues
13:23 Conclusion
Hiking stories, gear reviews, photography and more: illuminationsfromtheattic.blo...
#Lens #Review #Photography #Camera #Gear #VintageLens #Tech

[@worldadventuretravel]

Nice job! I grabbed the f/2.8-4 AF version of this lens today. For anyone that wants a sharp, vintage lens with this zoom and aperture range but with AF, try the Canon EF 70-210mm f/3.5-4.5. ;) It was fun and refreshing to watch your enthusiasm and openness. Keep it up!

[@Spacenoidx]

I love this video and lens. I owned it years ago, you've convinced me to try to get my hands on a copy again

[@pjimmbojimmbo1990]

I first saw this lens in 1978 on a Friends Olympus OM-1. When I bought my first Camera(Canon A-1) in 1981, I immediately bought one of these. When I switched Camera Brands, I bought the 2.8-4 Version of the Lens but never liked it as Much. In 2003, I bought another one of this Lens, but ended up trading it in on some other Equipment. I still have Sweet Spot for this version of the lens. Update: in Jan 2023, I bought a 2nd Hand one for $20. Used on my Z9, it was very Sharp, but it had a few rough spots in the Zooming. After 10 days I returned it. I do have the Nikon 70-200 2.8 FL, and the 1st Gen Vivitar 70-210 3.5, while it wasn't a Nikkor, it was one of the better 3rd Party Lenses back in the late 70s and early 80s

[@johntravena119]

Appreciate that you tested the lens in actual real world situations. I have the Nikon 80-200 4.5 and find the same frustrations with it - mine has bad zoom creep that I’ve semi tamed with a rubber wrist band, still, a prime is not only better image quality but easier to handle, especially if you are shooting video. Love the images you got with this! I grew up west of there near the coast.

[@Milan-wb3ug]

A comprehensive and interesting overview of this once so famous today quite affordable lens. I like your videos.

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Thank you!

[@michellemaecameron]

I love your review style! so soothing. Thank you.

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[@usewisdom]

Thanks for the review. Much appreciated!🎬

[@utube321piotr]

Great job. I just won ebay auction on that lens so look forward to trying it out with my Fuji X-trans crop cameras.

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Congrats, hope you like it as much as I do!

[@NatureScapes]

Nice Video indeed 👌 Loved to watch it my friend 😊 All the best for next video and Have a great day ahead 👍

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Thank you! Hope you have a great day as well.

[@Markeymarc321]

I enjoyed your video. Very well done. I Like the way you filmed the test pictures. Thank you.

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@actionphotopassion5082]

That's a cool review here. I have to say according to your results this little tele is pretty sharp. The macro switch reminds me the same feature on my Minolta lenses. Being an MF lens shouldn't be a problem for shooting landscapes, but for action it's more complicated. I really like your way of recording this video. You got with simple smple shots, nothing too exageratly fancy; really really like the style of filming. Good job here.

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Thank you! I'm glad you liked the video and my style of filming reviews. Yes, it would make a great landscape lens, particularly with a tripod. I love doing these vintage lens reviews because it forces me to spend time shooting with something different, getting used it its quirks and really taking the time to find out what makes it special.

[@Narsuitus]

I have the Kiron-made Vivitar 70-210mm Series I AI f/3.5 Nikon F mount zoom (67mm filter). I think it is the 1st of 5 generations. I use my manual focus Vivitar as a backup to my auto focus Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8 D AF-S Nikon F mount zoom (77mm filter).

[@abhishekvsmalyala]

Dude. I love how pleasant your video is. Subscribed and following - a fellow Washingtonian

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Thank you, and thanks for subscribing!

[@LiTenUpADP]

Great review. I found one yesterday at Goodwill for $9.99 and it was a Nikon/AI. I had no idea about the Macro, thanks for that. You're spot on about seeking out primes instead of zooms. There is an interesting trend this year for trying to get a 'vintage' look. There is no better way than to get a vintage lens. There are a lot of optical 'characteristics' of these lenses that lead to the 'je ne sais quoi' quality of the photos. My first snaps with this adapted to my Fuji X-T1 had that quality - the sharp unsharpness or the unsharp sharpness, I don't know which - but very pleasing nonetheless. The best part of this lens to me is that it forces you to slow down. Vivitar wasn't particularly known for ultra sharp, ultra contrasty lenses. They were mainly a trustable brand that gave good reliable results.

[@theportraitist4888]

Very nice. And very nice image work!

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Thank you!

[@ElwoodPDowd-nz2si]

In the 80's, Vivitar was considered a solid product. Much like Tokina is thought of today. Though the Vivitar had a much heavier build. But that is due to being made in the 70's.

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Yeah, they made some great lenses back then!

[@jameswburke]

Thanks for the Macro info at 11:29 I just bought one with a PK fitting, so using a PK to Sony E adapter for my Sony A7. I'd use a tripod for Macro and the long throw means you don't intimidate the critters. Lovely old lenses and very high quality optics. Grab one while you can ;-)

[@marxiewasalittlegirl]

That's really good macro for a telephoto

[@snydereric6852]

you did an awsome job

[@Ronroncho]

very cool video dude :D subscribed !

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Awesome, thank you very much!

[@Fastinsilence]

Just bought this in PK to try with the Pentax 1.7 x tele with autofocus, should end up with around 350 zoom and around f5.9.

[@bigtog8188]

I picked up this lens several years ago for $20. It's a good lens but kinda difficult to handle. I keep it because of its significance in lens development. I also have the 3rd version of this lens which is easier to handle and has slightly better optics.

[@missgreenbottles]

Beautiful photos. I was thinking of getting this for photography at my local theatre, but after you mentioned difficulty focusing I guess it might not be that suitable in low light with fast moving subjects.

[@nitr4mmedia]

Great shots and nice video. I'm not sure why so many people worry about IBIS; in the good ol' days there was no IBIS. I have the f/4.5 version of this lens and I love it. Paired with my dads old Nikon FG20 it's a good combo. I recently bought the Z fc and FTZ-II and I like it. It's harder to nail the focus sometimes like you say, I too experience that the focus peaking is slightly of. Other than that it's still a neat lens. I also agree the throw of the focus is too short. On an analog camera with the split focus thingy it's fine though.

[@INSTINCT777]

Great review! Is this lens parfocal?

[@user-rm4pd8bh5y]

Ты молодец!)

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

I had so much difficulty filming this review - so many reshoots, natural disasters, everything that could go wrong did! There's a few macro test shots I did that I realized were missing after I had uploaded it, but this video is so huge and my internet so slow that I couldn't go back and fix that. I'll post them on my blog with the written review tomorrow!

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Here's that written review - it has those macro samples and a lot more besides: illuminationsfromtheattic.blogspot.com/2020/09/vivitar-series-1-70-210mm-f35-lens.html

[@mauroleguizamon1460]

Nice video, I think am going to buy this lens for my Sony A7II here in Argentina tomorrow. have a work trip next week and I dont have any lenses, this one is really cheap even here. Saludos!

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Glad you found the video helpful! Hope you get some great photos.

[@Incdvideo]

Down to earth review . Refreshing . Enjoyed .

[@user-mb6ww5gg3d]

nice job！

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Thank you!

[@user-ke1do9wq1y]

Nice.

[@GiorgiNadiradze]

Best €15 euros ever spent!

[@albylizhard]

I loved this video . I just bought this lense , waiting for it to be shipped and looking forward to it . I'm kind of new to tele photo lense so this was a good deal for my buck for sure ( 30 Euros ) and it's oging to be fun start and learn with it on my sony A6000 camera. Just one question : do you think you can shoot the moon on a full moon night ? Is this lens any good at it ? I know for moon pictures you need at least a 200mm lens, this on my Sony would be the equivalent of a 300mm on a full frame . Thanks for your work !

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Glad you found the video helpful! I haven't tried photographing the moon with this lens, but given the focal length and crop factor it should be up to the task.

[@albylizhard]

@@Illuminationsfromtheattic hey man it's me again , I just got the lens and I tryed with my Sony A6000 but I can't get any close to the image quality of your video. I tryed quickly in my backyards with some flowers and stuff but I can't get any close to have a sharp image like yours . What it can be ? Lens seems to be in great conditions, it's a Series 1 Vivitar

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

@@albylizhard I've been thinking about your problem, and if there's no fungus or other obvious flaws, the only thing I can come up with is that one of the lens elements may have been knocked out of alignment. That's just speculation though.

[@pantanshum]

Hi. Can we use this with a Nikon D3200?

[@AdamDumaguin]

Hi! I was hoping you could help me with a problem I have with my Vivitar 70-210mm 3.5. I have it mounted on a Sony mirrorless camera and I'm having problems focusing on objects that are far away. A while ago, I brought it with me to shoot some mountains. However, I cannot get the mountains in focus because the lens is already maxed out into infinity. The only things that the lens can focus on are nearby objects (I'm also not in macro mode.) I don't know if it's because of my adapter or maybe there is a problem with my lens. I was wondering what could I do to make the lens focus on objects that are far. Thanks!!

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Hi Adam, sorry for the late reply - I'm not entirely sure what's going on with your setup there. My best guess is that something is wrong with the lens - have you checked to make sure it's not in macro mode when you're trying to focus on distant objects? If you aren't shooting in macro mode, it could be that the mechanism inside the lens has broken or stuck in some way so that it's unable to switch to the normal shooting mode. Of course, it could be the adapter, but they tend to be fairly simple for manual lenses, and there's not a lot to go wrong, especially that would cause the problem you're experiencing.

[@AdamDumaguin]

@@Illuminationsfromtheattic Hi dude. Thanks for the reply! Unfortunately, I decided to keep the lens. Figured it's probably not a deal-breaker for me. Thank you! Nice channel btw :)

[@ericstraube174]

I just picked up this lens at a thrift. I’m brand new to video/photo. Can you possibly tell me what mount I would need to put this lens on a Sony fx30? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[@Horsestyleshoes]

Is it a Manual or digital

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

It's a manual lens - no electronic communication with the camera.