Putting together this review of the Vivitar series 1 70-210 f/3.5 lens was way more difficult and time consuming than a review of a 50 year old vintage lens has any right to be. It took me a long time to really get the hang of using it and to figure out how it worked best with my Nikon Z6, so I ended up re-shooting the video review multiple times as my opinions changed. My second problem was the general chaos that 2020 keeps throwing our way. For two weeks in September firestorms threatened to annihilate the entire Pacific Northwest, and the landscape was engulfed in toxic smoke, which really made it tough to film an outdoor lens review in my usual style. Anyway, It’s finally complete, so let's dig into the review.
Image Quality:
For such an old zoom lens, the 70-210 is really quite spectacular on modern cameras. It’s remarkably sharp, particularly when stopped down a bit, and produces great out of focus areas. It’s not as practically perfect as modern lenses, but I didn’t find much to complain about - optical defects like distortion, vignetting, etc. were never a significant problem for me while shooting with it, and in general I’m very happy with its performance.
Build Quality:
Like so many antique lenses, the Vivitar 70-210 has tank-like build quality and feels wonderfully solid. It’s robust design is proven by the fact that after 50 years it still looks almost as good as new. With that said, it is a heavy beast with all that metal and glass!
Handling:
The pump action zoom function took some getting used to, but is intuitive enough once you get the muscle memory down. Focus was a little more tricky, as the focus ring has a fairly short throw. This made it tricky to get accurate focus while hand holding or shooting moving subjects. In-camera image stabilization in my Z6 functioned well enough, but was a pain to use because I had to manually set the focal length for the IBIS whenever I zoomed in and out. However, neither of these issues are problems if you’re shooting stationary subjects with a tripod, which is really what this lens is ideal for. That way you can also stop down for optimal image quality.
Macro:
The 70-210 has an interesting macro function where if you zoom all the way in to 200mm and throw the switch at the base of the lens it transforms into a remarkably capable closeup lens. In this mode the push-pull zoom becomes the method by which you focus, and you can get as close as about a 1:2 magnification ratio. Here’s a comparison between the Vivitar 70-210 at 1:2 and Laowa 100mm at 2:1.
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| Vivitar 70-210 |
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| Laowa 100mm |
Price:
The Vivitar 70-210 is dirt cheap, and goes for around $20 on ebay. That’s an absolute bargain for a lens as good as this.
Conclusion:
The Vivitar Series 1 70-210 F/3.5 is a remarkably sharp and useful lens for landscape photography considering its age and used market value. It’s not great for moving subjects, but is otherwise fairly versatile considering its closeup capability. Personally, I prefer vintage primes to zooms for use with modern cameras like the Z6 for a number of reasons, but if you’re a landscape photographer looking for a good telephoto zoom lens on a shoestring budget, then the 70-210 might be perfect.
Sample images:
