testing the 28-105

First impression is a good one: this Vivitar is in amazing condition, very smooth to zoom and focus. The zoom creeps like pretty much all push-pull zooms, but at a steady pace so no element-rattling 'chunk' to fret about. Images are decently contrasty, and bokeh in standard mode is acceptable if not excellent; in macro mode the shorter DOF helps. It has a very short focus, maybe 40° of rotation to reach min focus of just under six feet - a bit long by most standards. In 'macro' mode focus is about the length of my arm (105mm only) and claims 1:5 on the lens.

As to image sharpness.. well, that will need better testing. Skies were grey all day in town, so it was high iso or bust.   The Guinness tap looks crisp enough at iso1000, but we'll need to check it against the Rikenon 35-135 this weekend. Plenty else to do though, we'll see if I can arrange something..

PS - let's face it, this lens is plenty sharp enough. For critical images I'll be relying on the DA lenses, this is partly for fun and more useful for video. Since I've taken maybe 10 seconds of test-video twice, this is a pretty lame excuse for buying a lens! In any case it's a keeper.