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For Trade No longer want to trade -- Vivitar 75-205mm f/3.8 Macro Nikon AI Lens

Trader history for Eric S (3)

Eric S

Subscriber
Allowing Ads
Joined
Jan 3, 2021
Messages
93
Location
Santa Fe, NM
Format
35mm
(the community has educated me and I no longer with to part with this lens. Gratefully, Eric)

... anything that would help me preserve, clean, and shoot on Nikon FM2 or F2 cameras.

This lens is in excellent condition, but it's not worth more than $10 (honor system here... if I'm wrong about that, please let me know) and shipping it will cost $8 in a Small Flat Rate Box.

Things that I would take for it...

35mm Film
120 Film (B&W or Color)


 
Last edited:
Hi Eric,
I had a similar lens at one time, and @$10.00, this is a steal. BTW - are you sure it will fit in a small flat rate box? I just used one to mail 5 filters in cases, and it was a tight fit with adequate padding. GLWS.
ronwhit
 
Hi Ron, Thanks for sharing. Maybe I should shoot this lens before I dismiss it? hmmm
Keh.com is offering $1 for this lens... and I looked for them on ebay and they can be had for $10-$20... unless I'm missing something... which I could be. I'm not terribly wise.
 
One question, and one comment.
What camera mount is this for?
And this is pedantic, but a common observation.
It is 120 film, not 120mm film.
Technically it is 135 film, but as 135 film happens to be 35mm wide, people use 35mm all the time.
GLWS
 
MattKing said:
One question, and one comment.
What camera mount is this for?
And this is pedantic, but a common observation.
It is 120 film, not 120mm film.
Technically it is 135 film, but as 135 film happens to be 35mm wide, people use 35mm all the time.
GLWS
Click to expand...

oh... thank you for helping me learn! (sincerely)
This is an F mount for Nikon.
 
ronwhit said:
I had a similar lens at one time, and @$10.00, this is a steal.
Click to expand...
With few exceptions, aftermarket zooms, no matter how good, tend to hold very little value in the used market.
In many cases these low values are undeserved - driven down by the many far less impressive zooms that gave aftermarket zooms a bad name - but only a handful of the really good aftermarket zooms are widely recognized as such.
This lens is a perfect example. People seek out the Vivitar Series 1 zooms because they are widely recognized as being excellent lenses. The 75-205/3.8 doesn't say "Series 1" on it so most people pay it little mind even though it performs just about as well as the Series 1 70-210. They're both excellent performers (I have examples of each) but, to be honest, even the S1 lenses command pretty low prices on the used market. The S1 70-210 can be found easily and often for under $50.

There are examples of old 3rd party zooms (Komine, Kiron, Tamron...) that absolutely blew away similar zooms with a big camera company's name on them but brand fetishism has always been really prevalent in photography and it tends to skew the value of things. It also didn't help that many of the same 3rd party brands also sold lenses at much lower price points that weren't worth their weight in poo.

If I didn't already own the same lens in the same mount I would be snapping this up right now but, honestly, if I were you I'd hold on to it. A fast-ish, constant aperture zoom with good optics is a pretty handy thing to have around and I can assure you the optics in that lens are really pretty good.
 
I don't know how "macro" this lens is, but at that price you might want to just hang onto it as an affordable means of DSLR "scanning", should you ever wish to digitize your film in that way.

I have a Vivitar Series 1 that is not expensive, but is every bit as good as a Nikkor. It just drives me crazy because it focuses backwards.
 
This is a really great Community. Thank you guys. Ok. I'm going to hold on to this lens for the time being.

I have a Pentax ME Super with vivitar glass. It has a 24mm f2 and a 70-210mm f3.5 Series 1 Macro of which you speak. It was a craigslist find. I scooped it up cheap. The body and the 24mm are in weathered condition, but the Series 1 lens is in "like new" condition.

I have been cleaning this kit up and preparing it for re-sale. I shot a roll of film with it, but at 24mm... I ignorantly dismissed the Zoom owed to the marketplace's value.

 
Good Decision! I bought mine from a news photographer and it is a great lens!
P. John
 
At the risk of sounding pretentious, my problem is, I have an Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-D ED Macro. So this Vivitar is highly unlikely to see much time, though it is petite by comparison which is compelling.

And, as for macro... I have a Nikon 60mm f/2.8 Micro AF... so, if I reach for a macro lens, I'm not reaching for this Vivitar either.

This lens came with an F2 I recently purchased. The F2 also came with an Nikon 50mm 1.4 AI lens that I'm super happy to have (my other 50 is the new G lens, and while it's adequate, I'm looking forward to seeing how this AI lens looks at 2.8 or so... I've read that it really starts to shine right around there.

I dunno... I'm glad this is a great piece of glass, but I'd rather see it being used as apposed to being a horse in the barn that never gets ridden.
 
It's your lens. Get rid of it if you want. Maybe give it to a new film shooter that's starting out.

I have an 80-200 f/2.8 Nikon, too, and I almost never use it. Because it is a beast. I really need to sell it.
 
Ariston said:
It's your lens. Get rid of it if you want. Maybe give it to a new film shooter that's starting out.

I have an 80-200 f/2.8 Nikon, too, and I almost never use it. Because it is a beast. I really need to sell it.
Click to expand...

I have an 80-200 f2.8 Tokina in K mount. An excellent lens, but OMG it is heavy! Still, I got it at an excellent price, so I'll keep it for special occasions..... But then I have a Tamron 300mm f2.8. One heavy hunk o' glass and metal! Comes with its little suitcase....with its dedicated Tamron 1.4 teleconverter....takes internal filters....cheaper than 112mm screw in glass! Good that it has its own tripod mount!
 

I am a sucker for the heavy, crinkle finished Nikon lenses. I have the tanker 80-200mm and the 105mm AF DC. I don't know why, but when the itch comes over me... i'm selling everything I own to handle these beauties. I understand other people's criticism of the weight. I shoot the occasional candid event for work, and 3 hours of carrying that 80-200 and I'm questioning my sanity.
 
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