Lynx 5000 lens transplant

[AshenLight]

Hi all,

I have a Lynx 5000 with a great lens but some mechanical problems (rewind issues) and a Lynx 5000 thats fine except for the lens. Has anyone ever attempted a lens transplant on a 5000 and was it horrendously difficult?

Thanks,

Ash

 

[jesito]

Hi all,

I have a Lynx 5000 with a great lens but some mechanical problems (rewind issues) and a Lynx 5000 thats fine except for the lens. Has anyone ever attempted a lens transplant on a 5000 and was it horrendously difficult?

Thanks,

Ash

I recently got a Lynx, but I think it's a 1000 (lens is 1.8). When trying to unscreww the filter I ended unscrewing a part of the lens... like all the optics or so. Which part of your lens is faulty?

Regards,
Jes.

 

[AshenLight]

I recently got a Lynx, but I think it's a 1000 (lens is 1.8). When trying to unscreww the filter I ended unscrewing a part of the lens... like all the optics or so. Which part of your lens is faulty?

Regards,
Jes.

The shutter blades are sticky as are the iris blades... in fact, the iris only partially opens no matter what stop the lens is set to. The glass is a little sketchy as well. I was able to easily remove the good lens from the 'bad' body and since that went well without any mishaps, I'll attempt the transplant later today. It turns out there was plenty of information online regarding Lynx lens removal.

Thanks,

Ash

 

[kuzano]

I was enamored of Yashicas for a while. I had a stack of them, including two fully functional Lynx 14e models. There was a guy in Arizona who used to make a working battery adaptor for the Yashi's with the big battery in the back. He sawed off a 410 shotgun shell just above the base cap and used a correct voltage contemporary silver oxide battery. Worked great.... use expired shotgun shells, please.

Back to your question. These camera's were so cheap and plentiful that I used to bring the sticky ones back to life with the proverbial "Ronsonol Flush". Ronsonol lighter fluid judiciously applied through various openings in the lens rings. Exercise the lens aperture and shutter greatly while the fluid is still wet. It flashes off fairly rapidly, washing out the old hard grease. It didn't work all the time, but it worked more than half the time. I've used it successfully on Olympus rangefinders (The 10 and 20 dollar ones), and other shutters, including large format.

Now, having said that, Please, Please, Please don't do that on your Leicas, any digital cameras, or other rare or pricey cameras. However, don't be surprised if that's what your favorite, $600 for a CLA, service person uses to limber up your apertures and shutters first before tearing into the inner workings.

Disclosure.... I only offer this suggestion for camera's you are going to throw away if they don't start working.

 

[kuzano]

Let me add something on that Ronsonol Flush method. I do not flood the lens. I may make numerous small injections through holes like the self timer slot, etc. I try to keep the Ronsonol off the lens surfaces, it usually runs out the other side of the rings without running across the glass. I've had Yashicas where the apertures were welded in place by hardened grease and shutters that were not even opening come back to life. BUT again, be prepared to toss the camera.

Yashi's are great but have no value monetarily. You can buy them in a variety of stages of condition day in and day out on eBay. I used to buy them on eBay and sell them to a fellow in Belgium, because most eBayers at the time did not ship internationally and I did.

I still watch them occasionally and the supply seems to be increasing, rather than diminishing. I doubt seriously that I would go to the trouble to turn a screw on a Yashica, but I do think they are fantastic cameras. I did, however, get tired of lugging around the one pound pieces of glass that made up the 1.4 lens by itself, on the 14e. I mounted it to the top of a dolly on wheels and that's the way we travelled.

 

[AshenLight]

I was enamored of Yashicas for a while. I had a stack of them, including two fully functional Lynx 14e models. There was a guy in Arizona who used to make a working battery adaptor for the Yashi's with the big battery in the back. He sawed off a 410 shotgun shell just above the base cap and used a correct voltage contemporary silver oxide battery. Worked great.... use expired shotgun shells, please.

Back to your question. These camera's were so cheap and plentiful that I used to bring the sticky ones back to life with the proverbial "Ronsonol Flush". Ronsonol lighter fluid judiciously applied through various openings in the lens rings. Exercise the lens aperture and shutter greatly while the fluid is still wet. It flashes off fairly rapidly, washing out the old hard grease. It didn't work all the time, but it worked more than half the time. I've used it successfully on Olympus rangefinders (The 10 and 20 dollar ones), and other shutters, including large format.

Now, having said that, Please, Please, Please don't do that on your Leicas, any digital cameras, or other rare or pricey cameras. However, don't be surprised if that's what your favorite, $600 for a CLA, service person uses to limber up your apertures and shutters first before tearing into the inner workings.

Disclosure.... I only offer this suggestion for camera's you are going to throw away if they don't start working.

Thanks for your suggestions. I think I'll try the Ronsonol on the lens I've removed from the Lynx. I just figured I try this on the Lynx since I had 2 of them with, I guess you'd call them, "complimentary failures". Although I don't own a Leica yet, I do send my other rangefinders to qualified repair folks for CLAs. I'm really afraid to attempt any kind of repair on my Zorkis... they may be may favorite RF of all.

Regards,

Ash