> I was lucky to aquire this lens Thanks mate. I have compared my > photos to those of a fellow pdmler shot with 24-90mm and Im the > lucky one. I would much prefer to have this lens and a fa 24mm > than the 24-90mm. the vivitar gives very 3d bokeh and feel to the > photo similar to the fa 24mm f2 and I am saving for this lens as > it appears to be awesome.
This is still regarded as an unusually good lens (although not perfect). It even received a full review in Shutterbug in 1998, almost 25 years after it first came out (which, just by itself, says something about a lens, right?). The author, Frances Schultz, said: "Some lenses are legendary: the Voigtlander Apo Lanthar, the Zeiss Biogon, the Leitz Thambar, and so on. Usually, their prices reflect their legendary status. There are others which deserve to be legends and are really appreciated by those who own them, but which can still be found surprisingly inexpensive. The Vivitar Series 1 Auto Variable Focus 35-85mm f/2.8 is one of them. Even by modern standards it is fast; it is still remarkably sharp; [...] It was introduced in the mid-1970s, over 20 years ago; [...] Very few zooms of that period were any good, but the performance of this one is impressive, even by the standards of the late 1990s. [...] It is fast and easy to use and delivers excellent results at all focal lengths." I did once post the entire contents of the review previously here on the PDML (check in the archives for "Shutterbug Review of the VS1 35-85/2.8", or I'd be happy to send a copy by email to any PDML-er). Schultz and Roger Hicks also specifically (and positively) wrote about this lens in their co-authored "The Lens Book" (from 1994), which is the one book recommended by Robert Monaghan on his famous "Cult Classic Megasite" ( http://medfmt.8k.com/third/cult.html ). Fred
