Super Zoom is Ka-Boom!

My first and (to date) only photograph of fireworks is a summary of the lens that shot it – unspectacular. The lens is a Kiron 28 – 210mm manual focus f 4.5 – f32 with an FD mount for Canon SLR cameras. Can a lens manufactured in the 1980s with such a dreamy choice of focal lengths be as fantastic as you want it to be?



I tend to be a bit romantic about older camera gear – only to find that the “too good to be true” lens really is. Commonly referred to as the Kiron “super zoom,” information on this third party lens for Canon has become scarce. Various postings on Photo.net and elsewhere speculate which company manufactured this lens and user reviews range from good to poor.





I really wanted this lens to be good, so I took it for a spin to shoot “Dirty Blondes” playing a music gig in Wayne, New Jersey this past Saturday. I used my 1973 Canon FTb body with the Canon 177a flash. Film of choice was Fujicolor Superia X-Tra 400 print film. The fireworks were unexpected, the band was great but in the end, The Kiron 28 – 210mm lens was just no fun.

Now a paperweight on my shelf, I’m sure that I will re-visit it in a year or two saying to myself – “It couldn’t have been that bad!”

Pictured:
Fireworks at Packanack Lake, Wayne, NJ - July 18, 2009

The Canon FTb wearing the Kiron Super Zoom

The fabulous Lisa Keane of the "Dirty Blondes"
www.dirtyblondesrocknroll.com/Home.htm