Vivitar series 1 200mm f/3.0 focus grip repaired

[Big Dawg]

When I got this lens off of ebay, the vinyl focus grip was split and quite useless. I had a Vivitar 75-205 lens in M/MD mount that was full of fungus and the mount had been destroyed so I removed the rubber focus grip and cut 1/2" of the rubber off one end. It was a perfect match for the Viv 200mm. Took a lot of pulling and tugging to get it to mount but there it is. Much better looking now and the rubber focus grip feels much much better than the vinyl one did anyway.








Now to clean the lens and focus grip then align the lines properly so the waves are gone. More pulling and tugging. All in all I'm very satisfied.

[woodrim]

Excellent idea and excellent job of it. Why didn't I think of that? Some cheap lenses can be bought just to be a grip donor maybe for less than the cost of a new grip - that is, if you could buy one.

[Big Dawg]

[RioRico]

I bought a superb Vivitar (Komine) 90/2.8 macro with the grip rotting away. It was real cheap, US$3 including shipping (as part of a lot). I had no extra grip material around, so I used... duct tape. Good old reliable duct tape. It fit perfectly. The body now has a certain funky look, but it works quite well. Function trumps form, eh?

[JohnBee]

Wow nice job!
Now that's some real DIY'er work!

[dof]

Excellent job!

I have also replaced grip rings with a product called Foamies. It's a foam
sheet available in various colors including black and comes with adhesive
backing. You can buy it at craft supply retailers. It's easy to measure and
cut and goes on easily. The result is better than the original in my opinion.
A nice soft grip-able surface and it looks good too. It can also be used for
some light seal applications.

[Big Dawg]

Thanks guys.