I like using old lenses from time to time because I like the feel of MF on a proper MF lens. All really good glass, for next to nothing. And a 50 1.9 MLc thrown in with an FX-3 Super 2000 that needed fixing. I got a Vivitar Series ONE 70-210 f/3.5 MC lens (c/y) for $99.

I think some of these prices are a bit high. all the while telling people it's the photographer, not the camera. I acquired an expensive camera so I can hang out in forums, annoy wedding photographers during formals and look down on P&S users. It won't be as sharp and certainly not as fast as a 135L but hey, 1/5th the price and solid chunk of metal construction, plus full-manual if video is your thing.Īlso vintage lenses are often tiny, the aforementioned 35/2 is just 6cm long and weighs 370g, great for travel.ĥDmkII | 24-70 f/2.8L II | Pentax 645Z | 55/2.8 SDM | 120/4 Macro | 150/2.8 IF a lot of vintage glass is fairly cheap, an 'expensive' lens is probably $300, you can get a great 135mm f/2.8 for $200 if you look around. I have a Russian 35mm f/2 lens that actually has bokeh very similar to what you posted, but only at certain distances, otherwise it's super creamy.Īs for price. The remaining digits indicate the manufacturing serial number.M42 is a very common mount for old lenses, quite a bit of them will work on full-frame, and all of them should work on crop due to the shorter mirror. Obviously, designating the year with a single digit doesn't allow you to differentiate between, say, 19, so you have to infer the decade of manufacture from other evidence (such as when, where and how you acquired the lens, what documentation came with it and the physical appearance of the lens). One digit for the year and two digits (01 through 52) for the week. The next three digits designate the year and week of manufacture. The 1st two digits (or first one digit, in the case of 6 or 9) designate the manufacturer:

This coding system is for all Vivitar Series 1 lenses, not just the 70-210, but it is only valid for lenses made from the early 1970's up to around 1990.

Taken from Mark Robert's website, here's how you can decipher your serial number. Vivitar had contracts with different companies for their series 1 line lenses. Vivitar came out with Series 1 line of lenses in 1975 that was designed to compete with any high-end lens on the market.

Vivitar series 1 lens serial numbers