Vivitar 19mm F3.8

Vivitar 19mm F3.8 Pentax KA mount

By Steve Graham

Focal Length 19mm
Aperture - max F3.8, min F22
Magnification 1:6.4
Close Focus 0.2m
Weight 0.184kg

Build

Small, light and compact, with a 62mm filter ring, This lense does not inspire a lot of confidence, despite it's metal shell. The Pentax KA compatible mount is also metal, but proved quite stiff on my Pentax Z1p camera.

Optical

A 8 group, 9 element design, covering an aperture range of F3.8 to F22, the Vivitar seems underendowed with glass considering it's wide angle coverage. Results varied considerably, depending on the aperture used, with heavy vignetting resulting from wide open use. Don't even consider using this lense with apertures wider than F8 - even then some darkening of the corners of the frame is definitely visible. Colour rendition and contrast are quite acceptable however, as is overall sharpness.

Handling

Despite a sticky and plasticky aperture ring, use of this lense is quite pleasant, mainly due to it's small size and smooth, light focusing ring. Markings are provided on the barrel for depth of field at F numbers 4, 11 and 22, as is an infra-red focus mark. The dark viewfinder image is a bit of a pain though.

Compatibility

Exposures when coupled with my Z1p were off by between 0.5 and 1 stop over (confirmed by the use of a handheld meter, and by tests done using bracketing). I'll reserve judgement on the cause of this until I have the chance to test the lense on a KA mount camera body.

Price

I paid 850 Hong Kong Dollars (110 USD) for this lense, which is pretty much the same as quoted by B&H on their web page. No hood or case is included in that price.

Conculsion

A reasonable introduction into wide angles, at quite a low price, but be prepared to stop down significantly, and to bracket to get decent results.

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