Vivitar 19-35mm f/3.5-4.5 Series 1 AF

 
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19-35mm $67
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(From Vivitar lens literature) Compact and lightweight, this lens covers ultra-wide 19mm to wide 35mm focal lengths. Series 1 superior aspherical optics improve contrast and resolution from edge to edge throughout the zoom range. Multicoated for reduced flare and increased light transmission.

Vivitar 19-35mm f/3.5-4.5 Series 1 AF

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Vivitar 19-35mm f/3.5-4.5 Series 1 AF User Reviews

7.4/10 average of 7 review(s) Build Quality 6.4/10 Image Quality 7.6/10
  • 6 out of 10 points and recommended by bananitax (79 reviews)

    https://www.nieveaventura.com/author/torpedox/

    reviewed June 9th, 2024
  • 5 out of 10 points and recommended by transiently (31 reviews)
    Lightweight, small, good sharpness at centre and borders at 19mm at all apertures. Nice sunspots from the diaphragm.
    Corner sharpness is weak, and there is also a high level of corner CA against the light. In general it's also pretty weak at 28 and 35mm compared to the short end of a consumer grade zoom. Flare is poorly-controlled. There's the expected fairly high disto

    I used one of these nearly 20 years ago on a 6MP DSLR before 18-55 kit lenses were available. It was not at all bad, but these days these make way more sense on full frame.

    On my 6D I have tried two of them. They are good enough lenses considering their price, age, and size, as long as you don't pixel peep the corners...and as long as you don't overpay!

    Border sharpness is actually better than the Canon 20-35 3.5-4.5. Corners are undeniably weak with this 19-35 though. Mechanically, it feels pretty weak and cheap, but mine have seemed to work OK. One of them never gets the focal length read by the 6D as less than 24mm; I guess it's a chip issue.

    It actually seems to be pretty much as good at 19mm as it is at, say, 24. Above that, I wouldn't even bother using it as it is not as strong as most standard zooms. Colour is quite good.

    reviewed February 11th, 2021 (purchased for $65)
  • 9 out of 10 points and recommended by xavierjouve (1 reviews)
    Cheap, overall sharpness, light weight,
    Some CA, slight vigneting, a little flare sensitive and a distortion is present. But with a bit of post-processing, nothing really important.

    I've been owning this lens since late 90'.

    I've used it quite a lot with a Sony A7 over the past year and took several awarded/exhibited shots with it. Considering today's price it is a must have.

    reviewed April 17th, 2019
  • 8 out of 10 points and recommended by jeep4819 (1 reviews)
    Light weight. Sharp across the frame stopped down. A bargain at the used price
    Non really at the price

    I've been experimenting with older lenses on my Sony A7R and this is one lens that surprised me. At first I first thought it was hopeless until I realised the distance markings on the lens were way out, infinity falling between the 6 and 12 feet markings on my sample. Mine is in Pentax PK mount, in near mint condition, that I use in a cheap PK- FE adapter from eBay, that stays on the lens all the time.
    My main interest is landscapes and this lens gives very pleasing results, I mainly use F8 - F11 and I like the images it produces, distortion and CA's seem well controlled and sharpness is good across the full frame of my Sony A7R. I like the colour also, in fact the images have a 'look' that I like. Plastic build quality, but that means light weight, which seems right to me as the whole point to me of mirrorless is to keep the weight of gear carried down. Used in manual mode only with focus magnification on the A7R
    So something of a bargain for the price that seems consistent throughout the focal range

    reviewed September 10th, 2016 (purchased for $50)
  • 9 out of 10 points and recommended by joe88 (44 reviews)
    very sharp zoom lens
    some few CA's, but not to much

    very usefull,not expensive,high optic performance

    this is a nearly excellent zoom lens for this low price.

    I stop down to f11 and use 400 ISO for very sharp photos up to the corners.

    very content with my item

    reviewed April 27th, 2014 (purchased for $85)
  • 8 out of 10 points and recommended by awalzem (2 reviews)
    Price, light, works on full frame, sharp
    AF is buggy, rattly build

    I bought this after reading a recommendation and was pretty skeptical. However, after getting it I am amazed at how good the quality is. Zooming in to 100%, the image is surprisingly sharp and pretty well saturated, even at edges and in the corners. It really makes no sense to me: why is this lens so little known? (apparently the 19-35mm by Tamron, Promaster, Quantaray, Rokinon, and Phoenix, as well as this one, are made by Cosina, and all use the same glass as the Cosina version).
    Anyway, my plan was just to get this one as a "wide trial" on my full frame camera (Canon 5D), but looking at the pictures I am having a hard time justifying spending $700 for the canon 17-40.
    The AF sometimes won't lock on, and strangely will keep trying to zoom further even when it has reached infinity. I turn it off sometimes as infinity is just 10 feet or so.
    Anyway, I'm delighted by this purchase and really love this lens. There are better options out there for a crop, but on full frame this has to be the best AF bargain that exists.

    reviewed February 21st, 2011 (purchased for $57)
  • 7 out of 10 points and recommended by Niel (12 reviews)
    Full Frame, CHEAP.
    None so far.

    Excellent value for money lens with few vices for the price I paid secondhand.

    Used on both full frame manual Nikon slr (F2) and D50 it's produced photographs that have been used professionally, though if I had the money I'd probably buy a Nikon D, I really can't complain.

    Comes complete with a detachable hood and the aperture ring has a latch for use on controlling bodies, no knocking this one and missing a shot!

    Still got this old plastic fantastic, mounted on my Kodak 14n full frame that's not been out of it's case since I bought my FF Nikon, will I sell it? Hell no!

    reviewed February 20th, 2007 (purchased for $80)