Inquiry about Vivitar Series 1 Auto Zoom 50-200mm f/2.8-4.0 VMC

Hello everyone,

I recently acquired a lens labeled Vivitar Series 1 Auto Zoom 50-200mm f/2.8-4.0 VMC, with serial number 37000005.
It is in Nikon F mount.

From what I understand, this model does not appear in any official Vivitar catalog or common lens compendiums, and it might have been a prototype or a very limited pre-production sample. The build quality and cosmetics look similar to other Tokina-made Vivitar lenses from the same era.

Has anyone here ever seen or heard of this specific lens?
Do you know if it was an unreleased prototype, a regional release, or perhaps a mislabeled version of the more common 70-210mm f/2.8-4?

Any information, catalog scans, or personal experience would be greatly appreciated.
I will attach some photos of the lens for reference.

Thank you very much in advance!

The "37" in the serial # tells us it was made by Tokina, and the # 000005 suggests a prototype. Sigma had a couple of 55-200mm zooms, but this is a new one to me. It's in NONE of my literature. It looks like you scored BIG.

Where did you find it?

xkaes said:

The "37" in the serial # tells us it was made by Tokina, and the # 000005 suggests a prototype. Sigma had a couple of 55-200mm zooms, but this is a new one to me. It's in NONE of my literature. It looks like you scored BIG.

Where did you find it?

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Thank you so much for your comment. I found this at a garage sale in Japan. It looked like any other zoom lens, but the specs were something I'd never seen before.