When I worked at Vivitar, we were taken on a tour of the entire facility
each time we had a sales meeting in CA.
I remember in '77 the tour included the area where the 600 CAT was being
designed. The lens was being developed in conjunction with Perkin Elmer
and some of the PE folks had left PE to go to Vivitar to design the
lens(es).
The 70-210 was initially designed at Vivitar as were most of the lenses
Vivitar had produced by the other companies in Japan. Vivitar was quite
proud of their lens design department, but all manufacturing was contracted
to Japanese firms, Tokina, Kino Precision and others.
For instance, the old 85-205 zoom (once the most popular zoom lens sold in
the US was an entire P&B design. (P&B was the original company, changed it's
name to Vivitar when P&B lost the Olympus line in '77.
I've told this story once before on this list, but there are a lot of new
folks:
In '75, Vivitar had used their computer to modify the way the elements and
groups of the 85-205 lens were moved and were able to develop the 85-205
with what was termed at that time "close-focusing capabilities". It was
quite late in the year (October, I believe) and the lens guys were trying to
get the lens design finished so that the lens could be introduced at the PMA
show in Chicago in March, '76.
In order to get the lens out in a hurry, phone calls to Japan were made
rather than use the mail (this was before faxes). The main thing that was
needed during the phone calls was the appearance of the new engraving on the
lens. Turns out this was a BIG mistake!
When the single prototype lens was shown to the P&B sales meeting before the
PMA show in March, the marketing guys didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
The lens had been engraved in Japan to read CROSE UP!
Brian P. Huber
Troy, OH
bphuber@xxxxxxxxxx
Tim writes:
<< I thought that they did at one stage hire contract lens designers in
the US for some of their lenses and then contracted the manufacture out.
What does your Vivitar book say?? >>
Gary replied:
It says they licensed *some* innovative designs from USA-based firms and
had them produced in Japan under contract, so you are right. Examples
would include the 600mm CAT and at least one of the 70-210mm designs. My
fuzzy memory says that the 600mm CAT was the off-shoot of a NASA
contract. I have a Vivitar Series 1 sales brochure, but I misplaced it.
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