Tripod collar for the 80-200mm?
Want to use a tripod collar for your Vario-Elmar-R 80-200mm F4? "Lucien" notes the following handy tip:
Yes, the Leica STA-1 (#14636) will fit it, but was not made for it. [It was instead made for the 100mm Elmarit-R-APO-Macro.]
[On the 80-200mm] it will be very close to the aperture ring and you will have to cut some plastic every 90° to make room for the plastic red dot.
In Jan 2003, "Justin Scott" <jcdscott@ bigpond.net.au> sent me a note with an alternative tip:
The solution I found to be easier was the removal of the red-dot on the lens instead. It can be re-attached later with Araldite.
Leica STA-1 has been discontinued!
Of course you can still buy used ones, but otherwise the STA-1 has been taken off Leica's inventory.
So what are your alternatives? Why not try a custom made lens bracket instead! These can be made-to-measure either by SRB in England [srbfilm.co.uk] or Isarfoto in Germany [isarfoto.com].
They typically cost @ € 120 Euro and are apparently well made. In April 2003 there was a discussion at <Photo.net: #004rig> about these and other brackets - definitely worth a look if you are thinking of going down this route.
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