ethics_gradient
Well-known
Today I got my early (and hopefully not premature!) graduation present to myself, a Canon 7s, 100mm f/2, and 50mm f/1.2 along with a few other odds and ends. Both of the lenses seem to have issues, but I got a decent deal on the package so I think I'd rather try and keep/repair them than send them back.
The 100mm is in beautiful shape, but RF patch does not align at infinity. Looking closely it may have been the victim of an unskilled repair-person: one of the three larger screws towards the rear of the barrel is phillips head, unlike the other two. I suppose another person's screw-up is a can of worms, but assuming they didn't mangle or lose anything, how feasible would it be to attempt the repair on my own?
The 50mm I may just send out, it has a pretty sticky aperture ring, light fungus on one of the internal elements (behind the aperture blades), and a bent front filter ring. I like a challenge, but it seems like the rear retaining ring doesn't want to budge, and I don't want to force the issue with my somewhat oversized spanner. I actually do have the tool to repair the filter ring too, but given that the front element bulges out I don't want to risk trying it on my own. I'd also like to get rid of the infinity lock, I'm guessing that's a fairly easy/standard modification?
Also, is there any trick to getting the cap off of the rangefinder alignment screw on the 7s? I bent a paperclip to use as a mini-spanner but it turned out to be too thick. I did a staple instead, but the darn thing still doesn't want to budge.
The 100mm is in beautiful shape, but RF patch does not align at infinity. Looking closely it may have been the victim of an unskilled repair-person: one of the three larger screws towards the rear of the barrel is phillips head, unlike the other two. I suppose another person's screw-up is a can of worms, but assuming they didn't mangle or lose anything, how feasible would it be to attempt the repair on my own?
The 50mm I may just send out, it has a pretty sticky aperture ring, light fungus on one of the internal elements (behind the aperture blades), and a bent front filter ring. I like a challenge, but it seems like the rear retaining ring doesn't want to budge, and I don't want to force the issue with my somewhat oversized spanner. I actually do have the tool to repair the filter ring too, but given that the front element bulges out I don't want to risk trying it on my own. I'd also like to get rid of the infinity lock, I'm guessing that's a fairly easy/standard modification?
Also, is there any trick to getting the cap off of the rangefinder alignment screw on the 7s? I bent a paperclip to use as a mini-spanner but it turned out to be too thick. I did a staple instead, but the darn thing still doesn't want to budge.