Vivitar 500mm Telephoto Lens issues

U

Ugreen

Messages
4
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi all,

I've recently bought a Vivitar 500mm Telephoto Lens and I'm having some issues with it.

Firstly it has huge vignetting issues where only a small area in the centre of the frame is in focus. Secondly it only seems to focus at its smallest aperture (in this case f32) turning up the aperture blurs the focus until at its highest aperture (f8) the whole frame is out of focus.

Now I knew that it was a cheap lens and I'd have issues but what I've been experiencing is far below what I expected. What I'd like to ask is if you think that I'm simply using it wrong or do you think the lens is defective and I should send it back?

Thanks for reading.
 
What camera are you using?
There's no info on your profile page.
 
There are a few different 500mm lenses which have been sold under the generic Vivitar name. Some more details of the specific lens you have would help.
 
When you move the focus ring, can you see the focus changing?
 
You say the lens has vignetting issues where only the centre of the image is in focus. Vignetting is where the edges of the image are dark - nothing to do with focus.

What camera are you attaching the lens to? Digital or film? Full frame or crop? Modern Vivitar lens or heritage lens? Is the lens an auto focus lens - if so, have you switched it to manual? All make a large difference.

And an image taken with the lens would be ideal.
 
Last edited:
Welcome to TP :)

It sounds like one of those cheap generic long telephotos rather than a mirror lens. And faulty - summat's got dislodged inside ;)
 
The lens itself is a non-mirror lens, fixed at 500mm with a t-mount and the camera I'm using is a Nikon D7000. I can't post a link to the amazon page I bought it from but you can find it under 'Vivitar 500mm lens'.

Here are some photos:

DSC_8851_zpsd9tpxkf2.jpg


Above is as best as I could focus the lens at f32

DSC_8848_zpsg7z3xwg3.jpg


Above is the best focus I could get with the x2 teleconverter (which was provided in the box) again at f32

DSC_8854_zpsikjxl5j2.jpg


Again another shot at f32 and for comparison...

DSC_8858_zpsbzpzgtgx.jpg

The best focus I could get at f8

I expected the lens to be on the basic side but from example images other users on the amazon page have posted I'm under the impression that its either me not using the lens right, the lens not being right for my camera or (what I suspect) the lens is faulty.
 
And I forgot to mention - its a manual focus lens, the camera itself is set to full manual and although I can see the focus changing when I turn the focus ring I can only really get focus at f32, and when I do its only in the very centre of the image - the rest gets increasingly blurred towards the frame.
 
Have you tried to focus on something closer, is it better, could be an infinity focus issue, ie, dodgy adaptor
 
That lens is faulty I'm afraid. I've used various lenses of these types over the years, and whilst they are limited, you should be getting far better results than that. As Hoppy says above, and element has been dislodged or possibly even been installed the wrong way around.
 
You shouldn't be getting that sort of problem 'even' with a cheap lens. It should all work properly even if it's not the best image quality. Return.
 
Thanks for the comments everyone - it's been re-boxed and is on its way back for a full refund.

Although my aim was to try photograph the moon (and maybe a few other basic shots, nothing too technical), I didn't fancy investing in a mirror lens due to the 'donut' focussing effect and I don't have the £8k needed for a decent 500mm lens. I do have a Mamiya 210mm prime with an Nikon adaptor though - what's the consensus on Teleconverters? I've seen a used 2x Nikon converter and a Sigma for sale at a reasonable prime, would these be worth investing in?
 
You should be able to get a Sigma 400mm APO or maybe a Sigma 500mm in Nikon fit for not much over £100. older lenses but deffinately better than the cheapo ones, will also autofocus on the D7000.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top