Sunday, July 29, 2012

VIVITAR V3800N


VIVITAR
Founded in Hollywood, Calif., in 1938 by two German immigrants, Max Ponder and John Best, Vivitar is a famous Los Angeles photo marketing firm that competed with the big boys as major 35mm SLR lens makers from about the mid 1970's to the late 1980's with their Series 1 lenses. Any mechanical engineering product with a german touch  will definitely have that classy feel.Vivitar products were widely used by both professionals & serious hobbyist .
Vivitar has grown from a regional distributor of photographic products to an international imaging technology leader. Originally known as Ponder and Best, the company became Vivitar in 1979, with its own brand name and an impressive list of patents and technological innovations. No, Vivitar did NOT  own their own lens factory.  Instead Vivitar hired the best lens designers they could find (using then state of the art computers in the USA)  to make the best lenses they could under the premium "Vivitar Series 1" brand name.     Super lens designs were produced, some which had never been seen before.   Series 1 lenses of this period were very good lenses indeed, often as good or even better than major lens manufacturers. .  Vivitar accomplished this with innovative Series 1 lens designs from great lens designers,  demanding quality control, and having independent lens manufacturers bid to make those lenses to Vivitar's specifications.   Interestingly,  a particular lens could be made by one lens maker one year, and by another winning bidder lens maker to the same specs the next year.  Contrary to popular opinion, you will soon realize when checking serial number codes that all Series 1 lenses were not made by a single manufacturer.  In fact, many lens makers produced classic Series 1 lenses.
Special Thanks to   my friend Suchismita  Biswas  for allowing me to shoot in their home , this camera actually belongs to her father  who himself is an avid photographer , while having conversation with him  regarding this camera I told uncle that  you own history  .
Smart phone generation  people who are obsessed with megapixel  will find it hard to believe that such a state of art mechanical engineering product  with fine aesthetics  ever existed .

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