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Soligor 80-200mm f4.5 C/D

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Lens mount:

Aperture Range:

Close Focus:

Macro Ratio

Year Introduced:

Tested with...

55mm

Various

f4.5 - f32

3 feet

n/a

n/a

n/a

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     This lens has strong positives and strong negatives.  I was hoping it would be as good as the 28-80 C/D but it isn't.   
     First, the positives:   Wide open in macro mode it is sharp and usable.  Macro with this lens gives a separate focusing range of approx 12" to 6 ft @80mm.  It is sharp and mostly free of distortion with little to no vignetting and fringing in macro mode.   
     And the negatives:  You will see purple fringing and stopping down has little effect on it.  Vignetting is excessive at 200mm.  Backlit images suffer from a pronounced reduction in contrast.  It is worst at 200mm.  Stopping down helps but contrast is never good.
     And, the neutrals:  Contrast is low across the entire zoom range and in macro mode.  The glass itself is capable of producing sharp images but the design hinders its performance. 
    Conclusion:  If you need a cheap macro for flowers and lichen, etc., this lens will please you.  If you are looking for a sharp, general-use telephoto, you are out of luck.  
     Note:  The copy I tested was made by Sun Optical.  

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Macro range, approx. 3 feet - f4.5

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Macro range, approx. 1 foot - f4.5

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