My Nikkor HC - when it's good, it's great... BUT

A

alexnotalex

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Just sharing my frustration with the fuzzy results I'm getting thanks to the cleaning marks on my Nikkor HC Sonnar... I sooooo want this to be my live-on lens, but just too hard to manage the flare because of the damaged coating on the front element. It looks clear but under certain angles shining light through the lens you can see the orange peel. There is no haze inside, all the other elements are in great shape. Even with a UV filter and a hood, it flares as soon as there's white in the photo.

When it's good, it's very very good
4929907752_4f2b0a3890_z.jpg


Patchy clarity, some fuzz
4929996042_bfd21e4152_z.jpg


BUT Anything white flares out, even on an overcast day.
4929999000_7e4d4f86e0_z.jpg


::Sigh::
Back to the Summar I guess 🙂 the results are more pleasing even when they are less predictable.

best,
Alex
 
The front group unscrews as a whole, and the front element and front triplet are mounted in the fixture- it is not possible to separate them. The design of the front fixture changed when the lenses started to be marked "Japan" rather than "Tokyo". If you can get a replacement front group, you have to be careful with serial numbers.
 
Hey gents thanks for the comments and tips.

I'm pretty sure it's the outside coating by the axis it moves on when I wiggle the lens, I've been cleaning and cleaning with all sorts of crazy stuff but no real impact - apart from killing "all known germs" and getting a whiter smile, both the coating and the marks are intact. Next, cerium power, chrome polish, and a wire brush. Or a new front element or ebay or a pro repolish or a swap with Sug for that angelic glow... Dunno really.

just the front element:
4930338223_dd7eefb66a_z.jpg

4930929820_15b5ec25ed_z.jpg


NOT a nuclear sub:
4930527868_494b320824_z.jpg
 
If you do not like the images that the lens is rendering, and other Members do- sell it and buy another one. The cost difference between getting the front of this one repolished is going to be more than the difference. Trying to find a front group to replace the damaged one could take a long time. And- it has to be in the correct SN group, ie an early lens marked "Tokyo". And there were tweeks within that group. Replacing front optics can be tricky. I've found some "just refuse to work", and is due to slight differences in focal length of the individual components. I just replaced the front element on a Type 1 Rigid Summicron, after boring out the optical fixture by 0.1mm. The diameter of the three front elements I had were all different. And after getting the diameter corrected, only 1 of the 2 replacement elements worked out. But- the images are much improved and the focus is exact.
 
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Sure it is not fungus or some other biofilm, or cement separation?

The only coating I've seen self-destroy with vaguely similar surface damage is on a Schneider Xenar which I purchased already mounted in a engraved Schneider test lab barrel. If that one was no unsuccessful coating test run but happened in the field on a production lens, it must have puzzled the Schneider engineers enough to return it to the lab for an analysis rather than repair and discard it - a sign of something unusual and inexplicable...
 
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It could have been something caustic that got on the front element and worked its way in. I've seen a few lenses do this.
 
Was hard to get the pic of the damage, there's one key angle where it shows. It's clear like water from all other angles, and when it behaves how I want the images are exquisite.

I think it'd spent years in a drawer with big finger marks on the front and that somehow ate into it. That's just speculation, I did remove some fingerprint shaped gunk at one stage.

I showed the moon pic above to some guys at work "wow that's amazing detail how did you get the moon to look like that... a huge telescope... must'v been a really high performance sensor..." haha.

an interesting example of a wonderful lens

best,
Alex
 
I will tell you my problem. I had a good 50f2.0 stolen and ordered another (won) off of Ebay. It came with about the same cleaning marks. I have now won another with Tower camera but feel it is a crapshoot in getting a good one. Maybe just order a VC 50f1.5 new and forget about the older lenses is what I am thinking of doing.
Joe
 
You could mask down the edges of a deepish lens-hood with a black tape 'cut-out' until you are exactly on the edge of the film gate, then make a more permanent card cut-out of the same size. Look through from the back when you do that of course (assuming that's possible on your camera body) - and this also pre-supposes that the front element doesn't rotate.

I mention this idea as I've just got a copy of "An English Eye" and it turns out that James Ravilious made a similar ultra-efficient lenshood for some older Leica lenses. It made uncoated, low-contrast lenses very useable for his style of work, though I don't suppose they looked like your Nikkor !
 
Go on Joe, do it!! let me know how you get on, the new CV stuff is great and reasonably priced.

My current GAS rules are 1. takes no batteries and 2. is under £100 and 3. is older than I am... so new VC kit is out I'm afraid under the current regime... This excuses imperfect equipment, and I'm having fun comparing the results to my Nikon D40 kit.

Maybe this time next year it'll be all new bessas and new asph 'crons... but I'd have to sell my Nikons first!

I do love the moon pic of the lens though.

best,
Alex
 
MartinP said:
You could mask down the edges of a deepish lens-hood with a black tape 'cut-out' until you are exactly on the edge of the film gate, then make a more permanent card cut-out of the same size. Look through from the back when you do that of course (assuming that's possible on your camera body) - and this also pre-supposes that the front element doesn't rotate.

I mention this idea as I've just got a copy of "An English Eye" and it turns out that James Ravilious made a similar ultra-efficient lenshood for some older Leica lenses. It made uncoated, low-contrast lenses very useable for his style of work, though I don't suppose they looked like your Nikkor !
Click to expand...

Interesting idea Martin, when I can avoid the flare-trigger angles it's exquisite (see the barbed wire pic)

Many thanks for your comment.
Alex
 
Stunning.

I've a Nikkor-H-C 50/2 that vintage (in Nikon rangefinder mount) and it's in perfect shape. Actually, its front element is the cleanest of the three Nikkor-H 50/2 that I have (the two other ones are later versions, one being black).

Could be water damage as well...

Anyway, for real photography without flare on any picture, finding another one looks the be the only way to go...
 
Highway 61 said:
Stunning.

I've a Nikkor-H-C 50/2 that vintage (in Nikon rangefinder mount) and it's in perfect shape. Actually, its front element is the cleanest of the three Nikkor-H 50/2 that I have (the two other ones are later versions, one being black).

Could be water damage as well...

Anyway, for real photography without flare on any picture, finding another one looks the be the only way to go...
Click to expand...

Stunning indeed 🙂 Am considering selling limited edition prints of the moon surface pic to fund a mint one...

best
Alex
 
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