Are there any FSU lens repairmen left?

[januaryman]

I read with some surprise a while ago that Brian Sweeney no longer is on deck - or perhaps has retired from fixing FSU lenses.

I am stuck with a Jupiter 3 needing collimating and I've been thinking a new front element might be in line. I may order the optics from a Russian seller on ebay. But there is no way I'm going to attempt this task. Are there no good repairmen left that are willing to work on these great but faulty FSU lenses that we have?

 

[ruben]

What about Oleg ? have you contacted him ?

In case he is not available, the problem is basically the cost of the service. I will explain myself.

There are several respectable FSU dealers who lean on their own local repair contacts. But they rarely will accept a specifically repairing job due to their immediate understanding that you are looking for a cheaper price than buying a new piece.

So then you are left with the option of offering a high price to seduce them, but later you understand a new piece may be a better path.

If Oleg is not available for the job, and you have no alternative but purchasing other type of lens that will fit without the collimation - then I will give you the names of several sellers who seem to sell very good merchandize - i,e, they have very good repairing services behind.

But prepare yourself that the cheapo path will be closed.

Good Luck,
Ruben

 

[xayraa33]

Try Eddy Smolov in NY

 

[ruben]

Try Eddy Smolov in NY

This sounds good to me too.

 

[xayraa33]

This sounds good to me too.

Actually Ruben, for our american friends there is also Essex in NJ and Ken Ruth in California who do work on lenses.

the cost might be worth it even for FSU glass.

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

I would have thought fixing things as cheap as this would be a 'labour of love' - and hardly worth a technician's hourly labour charge?
Dave.

 

[xayraa33]

I would have thought fixing things as cheap as this would be a 'labour of love' - and hardly worth a technician's hourly labour charge?
Dave.

If you lack the skills and you luck into a nice J-3 when fixed properly, it is worth it IMHO.

remember all the broken Nicca/Tower camera bodies that were chucked into the trash bin in the 1960s because people thought a japanese Leica copy was not worthy to be sent to a camera tech at the time.
camera stores did this routinely on trade ins in North America, just the Nikkor lens was saved.

 

[januaryman]

I found the Eddy Smolov address and this interesting article when I Googled him.

Thanks. That was helpful.

 

[payasam]

Yuri B. of www.fedka.com (New York City) has a repair person who might do a J-3.

 

[wolves3012]

Kim Coxon (on here) may be willing to do it. He did a great job on collimating a Jupiter 8 for me.

 

[januaryman]

Kim is in the UK, right? No good for me.

Yuri has a guy who did my J8, but it took a while and was a bit pricey.

I'm thinking of buying the optics part from Leon on ebay, who offered to do the replacement for no additional charge above purchase price and shipping. But first I'm looking critically at a roll of test shot to evaluate the condition of this lens as-is. I may keep it as is as a slightly soft portrait lens. Here's a quick shot I took the day I got it:

 

[gb hill]

The J-3 unscrews easily by twisting the front element. Unscrew it to see what thickness the metal shim is. Mine was too thick causing it to front focus. Brian told me I needed to make a shim about half the thickness. This will place the rear element closer to the film plane making the focus more correct. I did this and have been pleased with the results. Were you focusing on the 1st or 2nd horse? If the 1st horse, the lens looks fine to me.

 

[januaryman]

I was focusing on the first horse. Thanks. I think I may leave it alone. If ain't broke... you know. It's ugly, but it works well enough. Thanks all for the info and advice!

 

[januaryman]

Yes, I found that New York Times article, too. Just be aware that the address is old. You'll want to contact Eddy at 123camerarepair@gmail.com for his current address in Brooklyn.

Eddy did the overhaul on the Kiev-4A shown in my avatar; he did a fantastic job for a very reasonable price. I've got two more Kievs I'm sending when I get back to work fulltime.

Ah ha! I'm glad you gave me that email address. I will update.

 

[uinku]

Yeah, keep us updated. I have a J-3 that needs Brian's work as well, but if he's not around.. 🙁

 

[johannielscom]

Another vote for Fedka.com and Yuri. He had a repairman who fixed my FED S and FED 50mm 2.0 lens, and collimated to the body.

Have yet to see the first shots, but cannot believe something might be off since the whole set is in a very good condition now, smooth as butter. Lens elements are as clean as they'll get for a 70 year old lens. Yuri told me one element was put in the wrong way, seems someone had been tinkering with it.

Lens CLA and collimating can be ordered through Yuri's website, very convenient and trustworthy.