Cosina 19-35mm f3.5-4.5

Barryboy

Barryboy

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Rob
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Hi... Anyone got experience of this lens. Ive been offered one for £50 and was wondering if it's one of those under-rated lenses that you sometimes hear about or if it's just a pile of poo. I would be using it for moody B/W stuff so really speaking critical sharpness isn't as vital as it is with my 24-70, but even so there's a point where a lens isn 't worth having despite the price. At the moment there are only 2 Nikon fit on Ebay both with BIN price of £100

So if you've ever used one of these I'd be grateful if you could rate it out of 10, with 1 being "I wouldn't give a fiver for this pile of doodoo", through to 10 being "Grab it at that price - these things are little crackers"

Thanks in advance
Rob
 
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I've got one but not really used it that much, from what i have i'd rate it around a 6 or a 7 out of 10. Does the job of a wide angle on FF but doesn't really do anything to write home about, but certainly has it's charms. Stopped down, sharpness isn't too bad from experience (not stellar) but wide open leaves a fair bit to the imagination. I paid £50 for mine too after wanting something cheap and wide to put on a 35mm camera, incidentally i feel it suited 35mm better because it doesn't show up it's flaws so much.

I've never actually done any formal testing with it but would be willing to take some sample shots for you if you like? I have some shots from this lens on film on flickr if you wanted to see those?
 
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What Andy says, almost word for word! Yv's got mine at the moment since I have a Sigma 12-24 that covers UWA duties these days. The Cosina (available as Vivitar and other brands as well as Cosina BTW) does distort a fair bit at the wide end but at that price, I wouldn't hesitate - I paid about £150 for mine brand new about 12 years ago.
 
Sold my nikon 16-35mm VR for £800 and replaced it with one of those for £70. Honestly can't tell much difference between the IQ especially considering the vast difference in price.
 
All good so far, then. If I don't get any negative reports by the end of the week I'll have a punt on it. Thanks, all.

Rob
 
I've been going through some old shots after reading this thread and thought i would upload some. Not normally a landscape guy so might be to everyone's tastes PP wise, i haven't a clue what i'm doing when it comes to that :LOL:

One thing i have just noticed is that my cameras recognise my lens as a 20-36mm instead of 19-35 :/ go figure :LOL:

Southport Pier by andyroberts1868, on Flickr

St Cuthbert's Church, Halsall by andyroberts1868, on Flickr
 
If you can, find the almost identical Tokina looking one, it's a superior lens, well at least in build I never got round to being arsed to actually compare them optically, but I don't doubt the Tokina would still win.

Tokina has a fixed filter thread where the Cosina rotates, and generally just feels a bit more tank like, there's bit more comparison on my site
http://jonbradbury.com/2010/07/tokina-vs-vivitar/

Produced some really nice shots with it, but I like shooting sun in frame, and in autumn it just flared nastily (see below) and doing a direct comparison on the day to the Canon 15mm fisheye which didn't, combined with a 0% Visa offer landing on the doormat a few days later it suddenly got replaced with the Canon 17-40.
Shots taken with it on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=19-35mm&user_id=90098259@N00&sort=date-posted-desc

Think I paid in the £60-70 ball park for it

20100703-IMG_0752.jpg


20100703-IMG_0753.jpg


20101017-IMG_9616.jpg
 
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