| The Big Bucket O' Links > Oswego Photo > Photo Equipment > Vivitar 200mm |
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This is a lens I've found it truly difficult to find information on. Search engines turn up a couple hits, mostly of a generic nature regarding early AF lenses. Otherwise, almost nothing. Herewith what I've learned, in case you want to know. Autofocus lenses were made by various manufacturers just as AF cameras were brought out, as a way to offer autofocus technology to the owners of manual-focus cameras; they incorporated autofocus mechanisms within the lenses. Vivitar sold a number of models, both zooms and primes. The user would center on the object to be focused on and press either AF button on the lens (one on the left side for use in landscape mode and one on top, for use in portrait mode), triggering the lens to focus. It had both momentary and continuous modes, as well as manual (AF off). Technical Specifications
Good Stuff I've been gratified with the results from mine. When I bought it, I simply hoped that it would be an improvement on a zoom; indeed, it is. Contrast and sharpness are really quite good. The manual controls work well, and it doesn't handle that badly at all - it's heavy, but short, and the flat bottom actually fits the hand nicely. It's a half-stop faster than the more usual Nikon 200mm f/4. Bad Stuff The AF stuff doesn't work, which keeps this from being a really cool collectible. Since there's a non-functional automatic focusing mechanism inside this lens, it weighs more than it needs to. Minor annoyance: its focus (like other Vivitars) adjusts the opposite direction from Nikon lenses. Reality Check It was really cheap, and the working bits are all in great shape except the AF. And, if it were a "cool collectible", I mightn't go shooting with it. |
