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

[weiljr at earthlink.net (Joe Weil)]

Is Rainier Burzynski still active? About 10-15 years ago he made a collar 
that fits on the lenses you mentioned. I purchased one for the 100 Macro 
Elmarit and it worked well. A quick web search on his name has posting from 
the early 2000's so maybe he is done. Though there might be some of his 
items on ebay. 



-----Original Message-----
>From: Frank Filippone via LUG <lug at leica-users.org>
>Sent: May 18, 2019 10:38 AM
>To: lug at leica-users.org
>Cc: Frank Filippone <red735i at verizon.net>
>Subject: [Leica] Alternative to STA-1 tripod collar for the 80-200 F4 Vario 
>Elmar R lens (14636)
>
> 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
>
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