Difference between revisions of "Vivitar Professional 135mm f/1.5"

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=Description=
 
=Description=
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Vivitar Professional badging was only used for a few, rare lenses marketed by [[Vivitar|Ponder & Best (aka Vivitar)]]. This badge follows the P&B Vivitar badged lenses and precedes the more common Vivitar branding. The Vivitar Professional 135mm f/1.5 lens is highly sought after by collectors and generally fetches a very high price in auctions due to its rarity. Reviews of the quality of the lens vary. The identity of the manufacturer is unknown, however the lens is marked "Made in Japan". It is unknown how many were produced but second-hand accounts of total production numbers vary from under 100 units to a number in the low hundreds. Only a handful of existing copies are currently documented (see serial number list below for known copies).
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"Vivitar Professional" was a name applied to only a few, rare lenses marketed by [[Vivitar|Ponder & Best (aka Vivitar)]]. This badge follows the "P&B Vivitar" badged lenses and precedes the more common "Vivitar" branding. The Vivitar Professional 135mm f/1.5 lens is highly sought after by collectors and generally fetches a very high price in auctions due to its rarity. Reviews of the quality of the lens vary. The identity of the manufacturer is unknown; however, the lens is marked "Made in Japan". It is not known how many were produced but second-hand accounts of total production numbers vary from under 100 units to a number in the low hundreds. Only a handful of existing examples are currently documented (see serial number list below for those that are known).
  
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What is known is that the lens was produced in 1967-1968, originally for NASA. It retailed for just under $600 USD. According to a review published in a 1967 issue of Camera 35 magazine, the lens intentionally sacrifices resolving power to gain the extra two stops over an f/2.8 lens but the loss is less than the equivalent loss in image quality from shooting film at f/2.8 and pushing it two stops. A quote from the article:
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The lens was produced in 1967-1968, originally for NASA. It retailed for just under $600 USD. According to a review published in a 1967 issue of ''Camera 35'' magazine, the lens intentionally sacrifices resolving power to gain the extra two stops over an f/2.8 lens but the result is better than that from shooting at f/2.8 and pushing development by two stops. A quote from the article:
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<blockquote>This is no general purpose lens. First, It's huge - five inches long, four inches wide, weighing a hefty four pounds, eight ounces. Second, it's pre-set. But this should present no problem, since you'd be foolish to use (and pay the price for) a lens specifically designed for speed at any but its widest apertures. A lens with this much glass area gives less than optimum performance under a bright sun, due to inevitable flare. Even inside use a lens hood. Mechanically, this Vivitar is superb. But this is to be expected, since the lens was originally made for NASA, to rigid government specifications.<ref>Camera 35, Aug/Sep 1967, Page 57</ref>
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<blockquote>This is no general purpose lens. First, It's huge - five inches long, four inches wide, weighing a hefty four pounds, eight ounces. Second, it's pre-set. But this should present no problem, since you'd be foolish to use (and pay the price for) a lens specifically designed for speed at any but its widest apertures. A lens with this much glass area gives less than optimum performance under a bright sun, due to inevitable flare. Even inside use a lens hood. Mechanically, this Vivitar is superb. But this is to be expected, since the lens was originally made for NASA, to rigid government specifications.<ref>''Camera 35,'' Aug/Sep 1967, page 57.</ref>
 
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</blockquote>
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Comments from modern users of the lens confirm that the lens is soft when shot wide open but it's primary value now is as a collectors item.
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Modern users of the lens confirm that the result is soft when the lens  is shot wide open, but its primary value now is as a collectors' item.
  
 
=Specifications=
 
=Specifications=

Revision as of 05:41, 4 January 2012

The Vivitar Professional 135mm f/1.5 lens is a rare telephoto lens marketed by Ponder & Best.

4543535745_5aefd7e2fc.jpg
Vivitar Professional 135mm f/1.5 lens
image by Vilhelm Sjostrom (Image rights)

Description

"Vivitar Professional" was a name applied to only a few, rare lenses marketed by Ponder & Best (aka Vivitar). This badge follows the "P&B Vivitar" badged lenses and precedes the more common "Vivitar" branding. The Vivitar Professional 135mm f/1.5 lens is highly sought after by collectors and generally fetches a very high price in auctions due to its rarity. Reviews of the quality of the lens vary. The identity of the manufacturer is unknown; however, the lens is marked "Made in Japan". It is not known how many were produced but second-hand accounts of total production numbers vary from under 100 units to a number in the low hundreds. Only a handful of existing examples are currently documented (see serial number list below for those that are known).

The lens was produced in 1967-1968, originally for NASA. It retailed for just under $600 USD. According to a review published in a 1967 issue of Camera 35 magazine, the lens intentionally sacrifices resolving power to gain the extra two stops over an f/2.8 lens but the result is better than that from shooting at f/2.8 and pushing development by two stops. A quote from the article:

This is no general purpose lens. First, It's huge - five inches long, four inches wide, weighing a hefty four pounds, eight ounces. Second, it's pre-set. But this should present no problem, since you'd be foolish to use (and pay the price for) a lens specifically designed for speed at any but its widest apertures. A lens with this much glass area gives less than optimum performance under a bright sun, due to inevitable flare. Even inside use a lens hood. Mechanically, this Vivitar is superb. But this is to be expected, since the lens was originally made for NASA, to rigid government specifications.[1]

Modern users of the lens confirm that the result is soft when the lens is shot wide open, but its primary value now is as a collectors' item.

Specifications

  • Badging: Vivitar Professional
  • Manufacturer: unknown
  • Manufacture Date: 1967
  • Focal Length: 135mm
  • Aperture Range: f/1.5 - f/22 w/half-stops
  • Diaphragm Type: preset
  • Diaphragm Blades: 16
  • Filter Diameter: 95mm
  • Minimum Focus: 1.65 meters (5 feet, 5 inches)
  • Mounts: T-mount
  • Elements: 7
  • Groups: 6
  • Weight: 1,970g (2,170g with hood, tripod collar, and caps)
  • Accessories: tripod mounting ring, and detachable metal hood
  • Example Serial Numbers: 197012, 197001, 196811, 19671001 (no "Professional" badging or tripod ring), 1967197 (no tripod ring)
  • Original Stock Number(s): unknown


Photos

4543535745_5aefd7e2fc_m.jpg
image by Vilhelm Sjostrom (Image rights)
4543536743_d0bed2049c_m.jpg
image by Vilhelm Sjostrom (Image rights)
6580842949_01cd0c14c0_m.jpg
Vivitar 135mm f/1.5 ad
image by Nesster (Image rights)


6050782007_b175ea0158_m.jpg
image by Reed Drummond (Image rights)
6051333496_848c6d2c67_m.jpg
image by Reed Drummond (Image rights)
6050781971_6b46cfc459_m.jpg
image by Reed Drummond (Image rights)
6051333112_670bb1589c_m.jpg
image by Reed Drummond (Image rights)
6051333440_f18eb36c47_m.jpg
image by Reed Drummond (Image rights)


References

  1. ↑ Camera 35, Aug/Sep 1967, page 57.

Links

Retrieved from "http://camera-wiki.org/index.php?title=Vivitar_Professional_135mm_f/1.5&oldid=121591"