Vivitar

Vivitar was an American distributor of photographic equipment from 1938-2008. Originally founded under the name Ponder & Best, Inc., the company was established in Santa Monica, California in 1938 as a distributor of photographic products by Max Ponder and John C. Best. Later they began selling rebranded gear under the Vivitar name and eventually began designing and, in a few cases, manufacturing their own Vivitar gear.

After World War II, the partnership began to import cameras and photographic equipment from Japan. They were instrumental in the introduction of many brands into the American market, including Mamiya/Sekor 35mm cameras, Olympus OM-System 35mm equipment, Kobena 8mm movie cameras, Sankyo Koki/Komura wide-angle/telephoto adapter lenses and a full line of photographic darkroom equipment imported from many manufacturers throughout Japan and later Taiwan. They were also the sole U.S. distributor for Olympus products at this time.

In the early 1960s, the partners created the "Vivitar" brand to compete with major lens manufacturers. The company commissioned experienced lens designers and reputable Japanese optical lens manufacturers such as Kino Precision to produce their lens designs. By carefully positioning their limited product line with key photo retailers, they quickly built a reputation for good-quality lenses at modest prices. The retailers found that they could make good margins while giving good value. As their reputation grew, many contract lens manufacturers sought them out to carry their products under the Vivitar brand. In the 1970s, Vivitar introduced the Series 1 lenses. These state-of-the-art lenses were priced relatively low and often outperformed the optics of camera manufacturers of the day.

After the success of its aftermarket lens line, Vivitar later introduced its own line of 35mm film cameras manufactured by Japanese companies such as Cosina. These include the Cosina-made Vivitar SLR and the Vivitar 35ES/EE series of rangefinder cameras.

The shift to autofocus cameras and later to digital cameras created difficult transitions, leading to a series of mergers, ownership changes, and eventual bankruptcy in 2008.

The company itself is gone now but the Vivitar brand was purchased and continues to be used for marketing photographic gear.

Vivitar Close Focusing 2.8/135

SN: 28xxxxx made by Komine

George

1 Jul 2020