My newest hobby seem to be collecting unknown (for me) cheap second-hand old lenses for Nikon mount. The first I got was a mirror Clubman 500mm f8 which I don't use very often but might become handy if I change my job to the one of a paparazzi. Now I discoverd that my newest 2 aquisitions are actually cult third party lenses for this type of mount. Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f3.5 and Kiron 28mm f2 (this is sooooo soft at f2 that you can make some really nice special effects with it) share some very good user reviews on the net.

Some website says: Vivitar is best known for its cult classic Series I lenses from the late 1970s and 1980s. Vivitar took a rather innovative approach to achieve top optical quality, regardless of the loss of convenience and weight of these lenses.[...]I consider Kiron lenses to be great value for the money. These Kiron lenses are later designs than the original Vivitar Series I lenses, without using quirky odd-f/stops or varifocal zoom designs.

To be honest I was shocked to read stuff like this about some things most people throw away in the AF century. Example pictures for the Vivitar you can find here . As for the Kiron (it really sounds wierd isn't it?) the previous picture and the next one are shot with it. As I learn to use them myself (yes they are Nikon AI mount and one has to set up everyting on the camera) I am not yet very good with them. Today I discovered the use of Exposure Compensation bracketing with this lenses. Impressive revolution belive me. Anyway it is just a warning that my next snapshots might not be as sharp or as well calculated as until now.