A real poser: Vivitar Series 1 Enlarger Lenses?

16:9 · Apr 24, 2023

In my internet time-travel machine I was getting quite excited about forthcoming releases at Photokina 1978 – what a show for darkroom debuts! – and my attention was snared by a press release heralding a a pair of new Vivitar Series 1 enlarger lenses in the exciting specification of 50/2.8 and 80/4, with variable optimisation for magnification ratios – a novel feature E. Betensky at Opcon Associates (Stamford) incorporated in other Vivitar Series 1 lens of the period. And I wondered where they went? Has anyone ever seen one? Even a picture?!

16:9 · Apr 25, 2023

That's what I thought. Perhaps response at the show was underwhelming – they must have been pretty expensive – and the project was canned, leaving a handful of collectable pre-production prototypes swilling around the world somewhere? I don't have Wolf's Vivitar Guide (in the UK, there's only one copy available for sale and it's crazy money) – but it was published in 1980/1, which would have made Series 1 enlarger lenses current news. Does anyone have a copy they could check for a reference? Thanks.

Paul Howell · Apr 25, 2023

Never seen one, not in the Photo Cornucopia data based.

xkaes · Apr 25, 2023

I have the Wolf Vivitar guide and it lists a Series 1 50mm f2.5 and 80mm f4 enlarging lens with floating elements -- no pictures or details. Since it's Vivitar, IF they were made, they must have been sold under other names. They do not appear at:

http://photocornucopia.com/1061.html

16:9 · Apr 25, 2023

Yes! Pretty sure it was made. Not sure it was sold. Would it be possible to PM me a quick snap of the page? Does it indicate the Series 1 ELs were a current product in 1980, or yesterday's hare-brained prototypes? Galling that there are no pix or deets. But thanks immensely for bringing that to the table: it's the secondary confirmation I was looking for. Now we go hunting properly.

These optics have no equivalents, antecedents or descendants in the enlarger lens world. They must have been aborted.

Winding back the clock, Ponder & Best had just hoovered up a bunch of 1975/6 Componons at a good price, while Schneider was busy building the Componon-S range. In 1976/7 they were rehousing them to sell from 1977-1981 as Vivitar VHE. Suddenly there's this exotic (doubtless very expensive) Series 1 range sucking up R&D budget with Opcon, and when the range is launched it finds itself head-to-head Rodenstock's similarly expensive new Apo-Rodagon 50/2.8 – debuting at the same show. Either they had production problems, or someone pulled the plug. By late '78 they were doing well with the pretty good and not too dissimilar Componon/VHEs – so why rock the boat?

Wait - the 50 was f2.5?

titrisol · Apr 25, 2023

thriftbooks has a copy of Wolf's at a decent price

ic-racer · Apr 25, 2023

1978, all I could afford at the time was the inexpensive Schneider Comparon.

My theory why it never caught on. At low magnification, the prints are small, so imperfections in field flatness are not evident, so it is reasonable to just optimize an enlarging lens for high magnification.

Dirb9 · Apr 25, 2023

I wonder if there's any relation between the Vivitar lenses you're looking for and the Computar 55/1.9, since that's the only commercially available enlarger lens I'm aware of with a floating element, and it appeared around the same time period.

16:9 · Apr 25, 2023

Dirb9 said:
I wonder if there's any relation between the Vivitar lenses you're looking for and the Computar 55/1.9, since that's the only commercially available enlarger lens I'm aware of with a floating element, and it appeared around the same time period.

The 55/1.9 is probably its closest relative: both faster-than-average eight-element designs. The date fits, too. That lens is quite well known. These not so much.

16:9 · Apr 25, 2023

xkaes said:
They do not appear at:

http://photocornucopia.com/1061.html

Paul Howell said:
Never seen one, not in the Photo Cornucopia data based.

Yesterday I added currently available information to the DELTA database. Will update.

https://deltalenses.com/index.php/product/vivitar-series-1-50-2-5/

The British Journal of Photography also refers to them in 1979, confirming the 50mm as f2.5 not f2.8.

The Photo Cornucopia Big List only mentions 4 of the 31+ Vivitar enlarger lenses. To be fair, most aren't very interesting: John's focus was on the good stuff.

xkaes · Apr 25, 2023

The WOLF guide, lists two SERIES 1 enlarging lenses -- no specs -- the VHE line, which are Rodenstock, I think, and a FLAT-FIELD line -- no details either.

Here are a couple of WIDE lenses -- sold under various labels:

http://www.subclub.org/darkroom/lenses.htm

simplejoy · Apr 25, 2023

xkaes said:
The WOLF guide, lists two SERIES 1 enlarging lenses -- no specs -- the VHE line, which are Rodenstock, I think, and a FLAT-FIELD line -- no details either.

Thanks a lot!

Pretty sure they were Schneider Kreuznach Componon lenses as mentioned by 16:9 above!

16:9 said:
Yesterday I added currently available information about them to the DELTA database. Will update.

https://deltalenses.com/index.php/product/vivitar-series-1-50-2-5/

The British Journal of Photography also refers to them in 1979, confirming the 50mm as f2.5 not f2.8.

The Photo Cornucopia Big List only mentions 4 of the 31+ Vivitar enlarger lenses. To be fair, most aren't very interesting: John's focus was on the good stuff.

Very interesting! Don't know any f/2.5 enlarging lens, actually... and I have seen quite a few.

Could the Flat-Field line mentioned by xkaes refer to the 6-element (unkown manufacturer) one?

BTW. I found the image where I compared the Vivitar 50 mm f/2.8 6-element one to the (Tomioka made) Hoya EL 50 mm f/2.8:

Is it possible that there is a connection? Perhaps... but I don't think the similarities are overwhelming. I'd rather suspect that those are different lenses/have different manufacturers. Also Tomioka doesn't seem to be the first production house that comes to mind, when I'm thinking of Vivitar.

And this lens is definitely different from the Series 1 design you found in the photokina reference. Also it's not a 'line' of lenses. As far as I know there's only this one.

simplejoy · Apr 25, 2023

xkaes said:
Here are a couple of WIDE lenses -- sold under various labels:

http://www.subclub.org/darkroom/lenses.htm

Just as an aside for your list: I own the Vivitar 35 mm f/3.5 lens with the recessed body, and I'm pretty sure it's a 3 elements in 3 groups design, just as all the others.

16:9 · Apr 26, 2023

We've not yet done a deep dive into Vivitar enlarger lenses, but here are a few handy tidbits. The timeline of Ponder & Best / Vivitar and their move from LA to CA is well known, and helps date many lenses by the packaging.
1. The well-known key that reveals the secret identity of the manufacturer doesn't work with Vivitar's enlarger lenses. They appear to be chronologically sequenced. If so . . .
2. It appears that Vivitar dropped the LU suffix for later all-silver models (therefore LU models are made earlier than 1979)
3. Post-LU all-silver models were marketed as 'Flat Field' (therefore made after 1979)
4. The catalogue numbers of both ranges are identical, suggesting they were identical apart from the branding.
5. Kino made the early 50/3.5.
6. Schneider made all the VHE's Vivitar sold from 1977-1985.
7. However, the optical components of the VHE's were all made in 1975-76 - the last of the pre-S Componons.
8. Vivitar 35/3.5 were triplets: it's printed on the packaging.
9. The six-element 'fast 50' is tantalisingly similar to the Hoya EL, but can't be conclusively identified as such. That lens came in two versions, [V2] superceding [V1]:
9a - Version 1 (pictured above) was AKA Spiratone Resomax, Jessop, Vivitar, Fujimoto, E-Lucky and Phago - all were serialled. All have straight-8 diaphragms. They date from c.1980-1984. Vivitar marketed it as part of their 'Flat Field' range.
9b - Version 2 (likely upgraded and post-1985) was AKA Spiratone Resomax, Jessop, Vivitar, Fujimoto, Durst Optar and Cambridge EL Pro Cambron - none were serialled. All have straight-6 diaphragms.
19c - I'm still finding new versions of these lenses under different names, and still not sure of the manufacturer. If you have any theories or find any variants Delta doesn't yet know, please let me know.

simplejoy · Apr 26, 2023

16:9 said:
We've not yet done a deep dive into Vivitar enlarger lenses, but here are a few handy tidbits. The timeline of Ponder & Best / Vivitar and their move from LA to CA is well known, and helps date many lenses by the packaging.
1. The well-known key that reveals the secret identity of the manufacturer doesn't work with Vivitar's enlarger lenses. They appear to be chronologically sequenced. If so . . .
2. It appears that Vivitar dropped the LU suffix for later all-silver models (therefore LU models are made earlier than 1979)
3. Post-LU all-silver models were marketed as 'Flat Field' (therefore made after 1979)
4. The catalogue numbers of both ranges are identical, suggesting they were identical apart from the branding.
5. Kino made the early 50/3.5.
6. Schneider made all the VHE's Vivitar sold from 1977-1985.
7. However, the optical components of the VHE's were all made in 1975-76 - the last of the pre-S Componons.
8. Vivitar 35/3.5 were triplets: it's printed on the packaging.
9. The six-element 'fast 50' is tantalisingly similar to the Hoya EL, but can't be conclusively identified as such. That lens came in two versions, [V2] superceding [V1]:
9a - Version 1 (pictured above) was AKA Spiratone Resomax, Jessop, Vivitar, Fujimoto, E-Lucky and Phago - all were serialled. All have straight-8 diaphragms. They date from c.1980-1984. Vivitar marketed it as part of their 'Flat Field' range.
9b - Version 2 (likely upgraded and post-1985) was AKA Spiratone Resomax, Jessop, Vivitar, Fujimoto, Durst Optar and Cambridge EL Pro Cambron - none were serialled. All have straight-6 diaphragms.
19c - I'm still finding new versions of these lenses under different names, and still not sure of the manufacturer. If you have any theories or find any variants Delta doesn't yet know, please let me know.

Thanks for the overview! The Pro El Cambron lens (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/352985395483) and some others looks very similar, if not identical to some JML and D.O. industries enlarging lenses I've seen. Here's a discussion on one of those similarly designed 135 mm unlabeled lenses:
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4195832

And here is a listing where they are labeled JML: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/185014899230

I own a D.O. industries version, albeit a simpler 3 or 4 element f/4.5 lens.

As far as I know JML is/was known to manufacture lenses, not just resell them. So maybe they are behind those (at least the later) 6-element ones. They seem to be around still, so perhaps it's possible to ask them directly: https://www.jmloptical.com/

16:9 · Apr 26, 2023

I've asked the question. Certainly the JML-branded lens is part of the same series. With regard to JML, they could have made it, but did they? My money has always been on Fujimoto, for what it's worth.

Often in this market it's better for companies to let an appropriately setup subcontractor handle production. Even if they're capable of gearing up to do it themselves, it's not always cost-effective – especially if volumes aren't huge. Vivitar was unusually magpie-like in this regard, but it worked for them. Series 1 was different, of course.

Can you share an image of the DO Industries version - 135mm or 50mm?

simplejoy · Apr 26, 2023

16:9 said:
I've asked the question. Certainly the JML-branded lens is part of the same series. With regard to JML, they could have made it, but did they? My money has always been on Fujimoto, for what it's worth.

Often in this market it's better for companies to let an appropriately setup subcontractor handle production. Even if they're capable of gearing up to do it themselves, it's not always cost-effective – especially if volumes aren't huge. Vivitar was unusually magpie-like in this regard, but it worked for them. Series 1 was different, of course.

Can you share an image of the DO Industries version - 135mm or 50mm?

As I've mentioned, I only have a 50 mm f/4.5 one:

I wasn't aware of the fact that Fujimoto had lens production capabilities. I only knew of them as being responsible for producing the enlargers and assumed they were buying their lenses elsewhere, but I've honestly never looked into their history. Of course they might be the most likely candidate then.

16:9 · Apr 27, 2023

I was asked on another forum what sources support the idea of novel Vivitar Series 1 enlarger lenses.
In primary to secondary chronological order:

1. A pre-Photokina 1978 press release reported on the specification in detail, and it concurs plausibly with other Series 1 developments.
2. The British Journal of Photography reported on them in 1979.
3. Wolf's Vivitar Guide of 1980 mentions them.
4. Vade Mecum mentions them.
5. www.deltalenses.com

As far as I can tell, no-one has discussed them since the internet began, until now.

A real poser: Vivitar Series 1 Enlarger Lenses?

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency