[Leica] Alternative to STA-1 tripod collar for the 80-200 F4 Vario Elmar R lens (14636)

[red735i at verizon.net (Frank Filippone)]

 This is in response to the question: How to use the Leica 80-200 F4 Vario 
Elmar lens on a Sony A7rii camera ON A TRIPOD?? The lens appears to be a bit 
heavy for the camera's lens mount. ( lens is about 1Kg)

Thanks to some reading and some great help from the LUG community, I found a 
first alternative to the STA-1 collar on the 80-200 Lens.

Background:? the STA-1 has long been discontinued.? It is reasonably hard to 
find on the secondary market, and when found, costs about $125-200.? I was 
looking for a lower cost alternative.? But the red dot is a problem.....? I 
found some info that the Canon collar might fit..... but the red dot would 
not.

The Tripod Collar for the Canon 70-210 F4 EOS lens has the same internal 
diameter, and can be purchased for $25-100, used.? It is still in 
production.? There are generic equivalents, made in Asia, which cost $10-20, 
but I do not have one of them to try as yet.? Would the red dot fit or 
interfere?

The short answer is that the Canon Collar, DOES fit.? If you put the collar 
on the lens with the foot facing forward,, towards the subject, it works 
amazingly well.? There is a place around the hinge area that has a 
recess/void in it that fits the red dot just perfectly..? The collar is just 
wide enough to fit between the zoom ring and the F stop ring.? With maybe 
1-2 mm to spare.? Both rings move smoothly when the collar is on correctly.

Mind you, does not work for portrait mode......? but at least I am 50% 
there.... Landscape mode only. But I am on a tripod..... which was the real 
first objective.

When I get the Asian generic, I will see if/how to modify it as required for 
portrait and landscape mode......
Note that I am using the lens on a Sony A7 family camera with a Novoflex R 
to NEX adapter.?? Doug Herr suggested using the appropriate Novoflex Tripod 
Collar for the adapter.... but I do not have it at hand right now, and 
wanted to pursue the lens solution more quickly.? This would allow use of a 
tripod for portrait or landscape modes ( or anything in between).

Comment on Center of gravity, (balance)?? ..? Is this setup front or rear 
heavy?? ...... With this Canon collar setup, with the foot facing forward, 
the CG of the combo with camera attached ( A7rii) is SLIGHTLY ( 3/8 of an 
inch) BEHIND the center of the foot of the collar.? ie, it is very slightly 
back or camera heavy ( lens tips up).? The solution to use the Novoflex 
collar would probably move this to be slightly front heavy....? Will test to 
be sure.

I also put on a ARCA lens plate for ease of tripod mounting.? This is about 
in the center of the CG. It is low and of small weight, and will make 
minimal differences in the CG.

In the future , I plan on using a Leitax flange with the spring loaded 
aperture adjusting feature on this lens, and switch over to a Nikon Novoflex 
adapter.? My lens is an earlier vintage without ROM.? Later versions require 
serious work to make the flange fit, as the ROM wiring gets in the way.

This is written for the archives.? So much of this info is not written down 
and it is hard to redo all the research for these older objects.I hope this 
will help future users.
 
Frank FilipponeRed735i at verizon.net