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28mm f2.8 Vivitar Close Focus for GH2
  • ShaveblogShaveblog
    Anyone own this lens? I keep hearing raves about the Komine-made Canon FD mount version for DSLR video in particular and whenever it comes up on eBay it sells for way more than I would think a 28mm f2.8 FD-mount would. The consensus is the Close Focus is a freak lens, way better than other Vivitars and better even than some Canon/Nikon glass.

    You can pick up Canon's excellent FD 28mm f2.8 all day long on eBay for well under $100. If you've shot with this Vivitar Close Focus, is it really that much better?
  • 12 Replies sorted by
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev
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    Look at http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/26745-vivitar-28mm-close-focus.html for some opinions.
    viv_28mm.jpg
    500 x 417 - 113K
    viv_28mm_2.jpg
    500 x 455 - 99K
  • lolololo
    i haven´t use the vivitar, but i own a canon fd 28mm 2.8, and i disagree with you by calling it excellent,

    i´m mean the contrast, and the colors, and almost no aberrations... so is not a bad lens
    but the definition, ain´t up to my canon fd 50mmm 1.4 or my zoom canon fd 35-70mm f2.8/3.5

    and from the pics in Vitaliy´s link, i can telll you that the vivitar is probably sharper than the canon, on the gh2 stills thread on this forum i show 2 pics with the canon if you want to check it out...
  • ShaveblogShaveblog
    @vitaliy Thank you for the link, I found that earlier through Google while hunting down info on this lens. The output from the Vivitar Close Focus 24mm looks amazing to the point where it doesn't seem possible to look that good without serious post processing. There's one I'm watching now, I pray it looks as outstanding as the one in that thread.

    @lolo Obviously what constitutes an "excellent lens" is purely subjective, and I appreciate your comments. I do think the FD 28mm f2.8 is an excellent lens, but the reality of old glass is sometimes you get a great example, sometimes not. I went through four FD and FL 50mm f1.4 lenses before finding one that was tack sharp. My first FD 28mm f2 was lackluster, the second was outstanding. Luckily my first 24mm f2.8 was excellent. Sorry yours wasn't. Fortunately the FD 28mm f2.8 is so plentiful and cheap you can afford to cherry pick till you get a gem.
  • CRFilmsCRFilms
    Don't know about the vivitar but this pic is a frame grab of a video I shot with a standard Canon FD 28mm f2.8. The bottle cap is less than a foot from the lens and the lens is wide open. Shot pre hack.
    BotCap.jpg
    1920 x 1080 - 124K
  • ShaveblogShaveblog
    @CRFilms
    Not sure what your point is but thanks for the clip.

    Looks like the Vivitar Close Focus has quite a cult following and is even considered a Series 1 equiv, which would put its usual eBay pricing into better perspective. Okay, worth a bid. Thanks for everyone's input.

  • DrDaveDrDave
    I have two of them and they are excellent. It has a a special color rendering.
  • CRFilmsCRFilms
    @Shaveblog ....hehehe, when I saw "close focus" I thought you were asking about how close you could focus, I didn't get that was part of the name of the lens. >_<
  • ShaveblogShaveblog
    @DrDave Thanks for the feedback. I'm eager to pick this lens up.

    @CRFilms Yeah I figured something got lost in translation, no worries.
  • sammysammy
    i love the vivitar 28 2.8, at 2.8 its soft, but over all great lens
  • kazuokazuo
    The vivitar is shaped and built like the Carl Zeiss Flektogon 35mm, a fabulous macro-focusing lens and probably a predeccessor. I use the Flek alot, both the 20mm and 35mm, both are amazing lenses.

    The 35mm especially blows me away with its sharpness, contrast, and a minimum focusing distance of 0.18
  • sammysammy

    Just got the vivitar 55mm 2.8 by mistake..i won an auction on ebay for vivitar 28-50mm to use it with my isco 36, but the guy sent me the 55m macro instead..the 55mm vivitar macro ,im loving this mistake ..its a great lens, unlike the 28mm, its sharp wide open at 2.8, and can focus much closer

  • stoneystoney

    I have the 28mm f2.0 version. I heard its corner sharpness sucks on FF, but the center sharpness is decent. M43 gets the goody sharp center area. Nokton 25mm is sharper, but this Vivitar lens can be used on other mirrorless mount systems.

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