Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/3.5 VMC Macro Focusing Zoom

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The Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/3.5 VMC Macro Focusing Zoom lens was designed for and marketed by Ponder & Best in the 1970s.

Description

The Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/3.5 VMC Macro Focusing Zoom lens was designed for and marketed by Ponder & Best (later Vivitar) in the 1970s. It was the first Vivitar Series 1 lens and was considered revolutionary for its time. It is also notable as the first macro zoom lens, it's patented ability to switch into macro mode was eventually adopted by nearly every major camera and lens manufacturer in the world.

Vivitar's specifications were turned into a lens design by optical engineer Ellis Betensky of Stamford, CT. Betensky had developed an early auto-optimizing optical design program that he ran on his University's computer. Betensky's design was then manufactured by Kino Precision.

U.S Patent number 3,817,600 was granted in 1974 for the invention of a Zoom lens having close-focusing mode of operation. The patent lists Rinzo Wantanabe of Tokyo, Japan and Ellis I. Betensky of Stamford, CT as the inventors.[1]

The Vivitar Guide, written by John C. Wolf in 1980, has this to say about the lens:

One of the most remarkable lenses ever built, the 70-210mm provides true zooming from long-tele through normal ranges, down to macrophotography (as much as 1:2.2 magnification). To this add incredible resolution and contrast and the convenience of single control focusing and zooming. You have an optical warehouse in one barrel. [2]

And here are some excerpts from a lengthy review in the June 1973 Issue of Popular Mechanics:

...the designers of Vivitar's new Series 1 lenses have come up with the closest approach to my dream lens yet: a sharp (I wouldn't say ultrasharp), reasonable-sized, 70 to 210-mm f/3.5 zoom telephoto that focuses down to about three inches...though I've been reluctant to use zooms before (I've found them awkward and unsharp), I took to this one like a duck to water.

I found the lens as sharp and contrasty as my conventional 135-mm tele at all distances from infinity down to its minimum focusing distance of about 6 1/2 feet...but that's just the beginning of this new Vivitar's close-up capability. Pull the control sleeve back to its 210-mm setting, push a latch button on the left side of the lens barrel, twist two finger grips left to align the yellow "Macro" inscriptions on the barrel and sleeve, and things start happening inside the lens. You're still focused at 6 1/2 feet, but now you're in macro range, ready to focus on any object down to 11 1/2 inches away from the focal plane - which is as little as three inches from the front lens surface. [3]

While this is the original and most well-known Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm lens, it was eventually replaced with other 70-210mm lenses with varying specifications, produced by several different manufacturers.

Specifications

  • Badging: Vivitar Series 1
  • Manufacturer: Kino Precision
  • Manufacture Date: ca 1972
  • Focal Length: 70-210mm
  • Aperture Range: f/3.5 - f/22
  • Diaphragm Type: Automatic
  • Diaphragm Blades: 6
  • Filter Diameter: 67mm
  • Minimum Focus: 1.9 m (6.3 ft) Macro: 29.2 cm (11.5 in)
  • Mounts: Canon FD, Konica, M42, Minolta, Nikon, and Olympus OM
  • Elements: 15
  • Groups: 10
  • Weight: 940 g (33 oz)
  • Accessories: screw-on lens hood was available
  • Example Serial Numbers: 22039107
  • Original Stock Number(s): unknown



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