Vario-Elmar 80-200-R ROM back from DAG

[Camaro5]

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Took about a month as a I expected, but Don did a fantastic job.  The lens was in great cosmetic condition to begin with and was sent in for a CLA and to fix a little bit of haze.  Don said the haze was cause by a slight separation in the middle elements which he de-cemented, cleaned, and re-cemented.  Also did the other CLA maintenance and tightened up the focus ring a touch.  

The improvement in the image quality is very apparent.  The shot below was taken on an M10-R at 90mm.  ISO 100 at F8.  I apologize for the subject matter but I just got home after a major surgery and can't really get around too well yet, so this is it.  It's Black Mountain in Southern Nevada and I have a nice view of it from my yard.

Big thumbs up to Don on a great job.  It's pretty amazing to me that a lens from 1999 can still give images this good.  Details and color are excellent.  

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[LeicaR10]

Camaro5,  Don did a great job on your lens.  The image pops and color is most excellent.  I always send my M lenses for CLAs once out of warranty to DAG.  You will be able to create more excellent images.  Thanks for sharing your experience and photograph.  r/ Mark

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[darylgo]

Speedy recovery. DAG has done great things in the past for me. I recently purchased the 280/4 R and  it’s a phenomenal optic.  The 80-200 has been a lens I’d like to own but repair of R due to age has kept me from going through with it.  Knowing that Don can do extensive repair may hasten a purchase.  The combination of optics and mechanics of R lenses is unique in 35mm, now with digital bodies at 40-60mp it’s clear how great these lenses are.  Enjoy your lens. 

[jmahto]

I can vouch for 80-200 various f4. It is a fantastic lens (I use on M240 and Sony crop). I love it’s bokeh too. 

[wizard]

Am 14.9.2022 um 06:09 schrieb Camaro5:

... which he de-cemented, cleaned, and re-cemented

Wow, I did not know that Don does such kind of work, too. Impressive.

[AZN]

On 10/14/2022 at 9:04 PM, wizard said:

Wow, I did not know that Don does such kind of work, too. Impressive.

He worked on my 35mm Lux-R-ROM a couple of years ago.

Bought the lens off eBay.  Looked great and the glass was clean. Up close shots at f2 were fantastic, but distant-focus f8 shots were messed up.

So sent him the lens and he told me the element alignments were wildly out of spec, probably because someone had taken the lens apart to clean it and then just slapped it back together again. Apparently a common problem with eBay lenses (FFS!)

So DAG realigned the elements and checked everything on his optical bench - works properly now 😀

Strongly recommend him as a repairer, but with a couple of caveats:

• Turn-around times are long, especially if you are on the other side of the planet
• Don must be getting old now and close to retirement, so if you are thinking of getting something done then better do it ASAP

[spydrxx]

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When I had a R system that was my favorite lens. I frequently compared its rendering with its Canon counterpart, the 80-200/4 L. Both excellent lenses.