Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)
Positives:
- True f/1.4 low light lens: I've seen variation of how well I felt some lenses really gather light and this one really lives up to what I hoped for
- Nice contrast & color: The Vivitar behaves exactly as my Nikkors with regard to color rendering and all my shots have had nice contrast. Wonderful performance here.
- Decent build: Ok do its not in the same league as my old Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 which I think would live through a world war, but its not bad. The caps and sunshade are so-so but the metal mount, focus action and glass all seem well beyond the price point.
- Bokeh: I find the bokeh very appealing, your mileage may vary but I like it.
- Sharpness: With proper technique this lens can really shine in terms of sharpness. I did a test against my Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8 and Nikon 50mm f/1.8 and felt that the Vivitar had better center sharpness than either of them. Nailing focus at f/1.4 takes very good technique and practice though.
Negatives:
- Chromatic aberration: It doesn't show up in all shots, but in those with shiny objects or extreme contrasted borders I see a lot of both purple and green color fringing. You have to zoom in to see it, but there can be a lot of it depending on the shot
- Focus pocus: This isn't really the lenses fault but nailing a shot at f/1.4 takes some technique. When I did my comparison shots I mounted my D90 on a tripod and used extreme LiveView magnification to come within millimeters of focus between the different shots taken. Kudos to LiveView it proved to be invaluable for that.
- Quality control: While my lens has been quite good, I've read about others on the Vivitar Flickr group having issues with defective lens coatings or aperture blades that get stuck. It appears to be a minority of the lenses but is worth being aware of. Buying through Amazon and a good reputable shop should help as they're more likely to have a good return/exchange policy.
There are a lot of sample shots with this lens on the Vivitar 85mm f/1.4 Flickr group:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/vivitar_85_14/pool/
Click Here to see more reviews about: Vivitar Series 1 - Telephoto lens 85 mm - f/1.4 - Nikon F
The Vivitar 85mm f/1.4 Series Lens is a bright, compact and lightweight lens.It has a constant f/1.4 aperture. This lens can be used with film and digital SLR cameras. The ideal focal length and aperture are perfect for use as a portrait lens.Front and rear lens caps Series 1 lens pouch 72mm front mount Length -2.8 (71.2mm) Maximum Diameter -3.0 (76mm) Weight -1.1 lbs (510g)
Click here for more information about Vivitar Series 1 - Telephoto lens 85 mm - f/1.4 - Nikon F
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