Pesulõks / Clothespin

OM-1N, Vivitar-28CF-F2 @ 2, ISO 400, 1/60, Agfa Vista 400

Like usually happens in springtime, I recently had a severe case of lens lust. For some time I was thinking getting a new lens in 28mm focal length. So far I had this focal length covered by two versions of Sigma F2.8 Mini-Wide. Both of them are rather nice for close up work, but I have never been quite satisfied when using them for landscapes. I was also thinking about getting something that is a stop faster. Because of that, I was eyeing the legendary Zuiko 28 F2, but hesitated to pull the trigger because it costs a bit more than I would have liked.

Due to sheer luck I stumbled upon a mint copy of the rare Komine made Vivitar 28 F2 Close Focus version that was 1/3th of the price the Zuiko is regularly going. There’s not much info about it, but the little snippets I have found all said that this lens is fantastic. Also my other two Komine made Vivitars are excellent. So as the price was really good, I decided to go for it and now that I have shot first roll of film with it, I must conclude that it was a good decision.

This lens has a very good build quality. It’s solid all metal construction. Aperture has well defined clicks and the focusing is very smooth. Lens itself is quite small, like all the Zuikos. Unlike the Kiron made Vivitar 28 F2 variants, this lens has a 49mm filter thread, which means I can share the filters with my Zuikos.

IQ wise this is a stellar lens. Sharpness at F2 is completely acceptable and I would have no problem shooting with it wide open. At F2.4 it’s very sharp and from F5.6-F8 it’s razor sharp from center to edge. It also has the same amazing color rendering that my other Komine made lenses have. I wouldn’t say it’s very natural, but rather aesthetically beautiful. It tends on the warmer side with very saturated and rich colors, especially very deep reds and blues.

At it’s closest focusing distance it achieves a respectable 1:5 life-size magnification so some interesting wide-angle close ups are possible. Also at F2 it is possible to get a good subject isolation. Another strong point of this lens is the bokeh rendering which is superb and has very interesting quality. Overall it has a very nice IQ and rendering at both close focus and landscapes.

In conclusion, a lucky find and I don’t think I will be thinking much about the Zuiko 28 F2 anymore.