Guys,
I've been holding out on you about a rare find that I recently acquired: A
Vivitar Series 1 55/1.2 in K mount. You won't find this lens in any list of
Series 1 lenses. But exist it does; Series 1 is etched on the lens barrel
and molded into the lens cap. If one of you wishes to host the photos on
your website, write to me directly and I'll immediately send you 5 or 6
JPEGs (about 80K each) of the lens from various angles. The Vivitar takes a
58mm filter.
The third-party-lens megasite lists a Vivitar 55/1.2 multicoated lens that
came out in 1976. But the lens is not listed as a Series 1.
Clones of this lens, with current used prices I've found o the Web, are the
Cosinon 55/1.2K, $157 (B-) and Porst 55/1.2K $108 (B/C).
I bought the Vivitar for $132 in January, suspecting that it's a
collector's item. Is it ever: According to the foremost Vivitar amateur
historian--an Olympus devotee--it's a prototype that somehow must have
"escaped" from the lab.
I had hoped to sell it on EBay to some deep-pocketed collector. I figured
on getting--I dunno--somewhere upward of $400. But then I decided that I
want the Vivitar historian to own it. I have benefitted immensely from his
comments about various Series 1, Kiron, and other third-party lenses, and
indirectly, so will many of you. (I've quoted him several times.)
I've sent the collector the photographs and all the factus and figures I
have. He feels that it should be priced "at the lower end" of the f/1.2
normal spectrum, which he pegs at $175 to $200, in Konica and Minolta
territory, as he explained. He added that it's probably not up to the
optical standards of a camera maker's comparable lens.
I have not developed any of the five or six pictures that I've shot using
the Vivitar, all wide open, I could be wrong here: There are two shots of
my daughter, using TMax 3200, that truly suck in their sharpness. But I
can't recall if I used the Vivitar or if I used a nice lens but missed the
focus. (She was walking out of a door.)
I feel the collector's offer is low, especially for a K mount lens, which
as we all know can be used even on the MZ-S.
I know that this guy is not lowballing me. But I owe it to myself to hear
your thoughts. I'm thinking of "settling" for $250. Please, don't anyone
offer me more than that: This guy deserves the lens. Just let me know your
thoughts on the value. Should I let him have it for $200? Tell him $250?
Arrange some creative barter? Or what?
Paul Franklin Stregevsky
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
W: (703) 834-4648
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