© mike connealy|
Vivitar
35mm Point & Shoot Cameras Not many junk stores are without a box full of cheap plastic cameras. For a dollar or two, you can get a camera with surprising capabilities, and the most consistent performers are likely to carry the Vivitar name. The plastic point & shoots which accepted 35mm film cartridges were sold in great quantities in U.S. discount outlets, but these days, one is more likely to find only cardboard disposables which are often poor performers. The reloadable 35mm point & shoots all featured fixed focus, shutter speeds and apertures, and most offered the option of switching between the normal full-frame 35mm format and a panoramic mode achieved by a mask which produced a wide view by cropping off the top and bottom of the 35mm image. The Vivitars were distinguished by their superior construction, ergonomics, compactness, and lenses that were extraordinarily sharp with remarkably little distortion for a simple lens design. The lens performance was achieved at very low cost in Hong Kong factories using computer-generated aspherical designs molded in acrylic plastic. The aspherical design allows corrections to sharpness and aberration in a one or two element lens which previously required multiple glass elements at considerable cost. The plastic point & shoot cameras are diminutive descendants of the earlier box camera designs which also offered fuss-free operation, and like them, the little point & shoots allow the photographer to focus on style and content without technical distractions. vintage cameras index home |
PN2011This was the first of my Vivitar 35mm point & shoot cameras. For two bucks, it made some great pictures. |
 cv35One of Vivitar's flashier models with a transparent case and built-in flash. | |
 ULTRA Wide & SlimThe latest in the lineup. Increadibly compact. |