In article , Dr Peter Gilbert <peterg@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes
>Hi all
>
>was perusing the typically bare pickings here in Australia for used OM
gear
>at our local camera store last night and saw something which looked
>promising. It was a Vivitar Series 1 short zoom lens 35-85mm constant
F2.8,
>1-touch design, Filter size 72mm. Nice and heavy, metal and glass not
>cheap, nasty plastic. Even comes with a 72mm Hoya skylight filter.
>
<snip>
>
>Now the bad news.
>
>When I tried to pull the zoom control towards me (ie towards
telephoto), it
>doesn't appear to zoom past about the 65 or70mm setting. Is this
something
>that might be fixed easily by a camera technician? Even if it cost $100
to
>fix, it still seems good value if it is a nice lens.
>
Any idea what was causing the jam? If it sounds like glass making
contact with glass - leave well alone and save your money.
>But, on further examination of the lens mount, my heart sank when I saw
it
>had 4 screwheads - I'm sure the combination of more than 4 screws and
>OM-4Ti bodies is a no-go. I'm sure there was a post about this subject
some
>months back and I recall it was due to the small plastic nipple that
resets
>spot meter readings when a lens is removed being damaged by the extra
screw
>head. Is this right?
Do NOT attempt to fit this lens to your OM-4(Ti) until the 4th screw has
either been replaced by a flush fitting bolt. It WILL damage it! You
have no spot meter after the first time it is fitted. (Take it from
someone who has gone through the mournful experience! FWIW, I don't
think it was the screw hole that caused the damage since this had a
chamfered edge to it, but the cross head on the screw itself, which is
quite sharp and can scratch the top off the pin.)
>Does anyone on the list have any thoughts/experience on this Vivitar
lens?
>Is it a "classic", a "dog" or just a so-so average lens?
It is a classic piece of glass in good condition - but it sounds like
the one you have might not be. I had one from new and was always happy
with the results, but gave it away some time ago. Speak to the
sales/repair unit and inquire about the cost of fixing the focal length
shift and exchanging the guilty screw head - if its not too expensive
you could get one of the finest pieces of glass to come out of the
Vivitar stable.
BTW - since you have not fitted this lens to your camera yet, you may
not be aware that it is not actually a zoom lens but a varifocal design.
In a true zoom lens, the focus is maintained as the focal length changes
and some lens performance is usually compromised to achieve this. The
35-85 f/2.8 Series 1 was a 'take no prisoners' performance design that
made no attempt to maintain focus - consequently when you zoom you need
to refocus continuously. With the one-touch design, however, this
becomes far more natural than you would ever think was possible - so
don't let it discourage you too much.
>
>Any comments on how hard/expensive the repair might be to restore the
full
>zoom range?
>
>Is the 4 screwhead setup definitely a no-go with OM3/4?
>
>Has anyone ever tried to fill the offending screwhead hole on a 4-screw
>lens mount with something (small blob of nail polish?) to make it
smooth
>enough to use safely with an OM-3/4?
>
I tried this with epoxy for a while on mine after the camera was
repaired, but I got worried when the blob of epoxy came out once and
decided to contact Vivitar for the fix that they did for free (and on my
70-210 S1 as well). I think the problem was that there was just
insufficient base material for it to key on and make a robust mechanical
fixture that will survive temperature changes. I don't think it would
be difficult for you to find a replacement screw that could be filed
down flush after it is fitted.
--
Kennedy
Yes, Socrates himself is particularly missed;
A lovely little thinker, but a bugger when he's pissed.
Python Philosophers (replace 'nospam' with 'kennedym' when
replying)
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