Cleaning / Repair of 35mm Summicron IV

[agoglanian]

I picked up a user 35mm Summicron IV today, figuring I would be able to just clean it up myself and then get to work with it. So I did just that, and cleaned up the lens myself but I discovered a few issues that I cannot fix.

1) The front group of the lens was very loose and I tightened the set screws myself which holds firmly, but I noticed that the aperture index mark is not aligned, and when I straighten it out it makes the lens hood not mount straight. Not sure what the solution is there.

2) There is some light haze in one of the front elements, it doesn’t seem to negatively affect the image quality from what I can tell, but if possible I would like to have that cleaned out.

3) The lens currently backfocuses on my M240, I confirmed this with Live-view and also on my Sony A7r. I don’t know what it takes to fix this issue though.


Naturally my first instinct is to talk to Youxin and see what he can do about fixing the lens up, but if this is something I can tackle myself I'm not too afraid to try. Additionally, the seller is gracious enough that if it's going to be too costly or too much of a hassle to repair I can return it to him for a full refund. The price I paid wasn't a screaming deal, but enough of a bargain to merit at least trying.

Are these issues easy enough to fix? Or am I better off just leaving it to Youxin?

 

[Dralowid]

From what you have said it looks as if the lens has been 'worked on' and re-assembled by someone who didn't really know what they were doing so on that basis I'd be tempted to send it back.

 

[Vobluda]

Back/front focus with live view?

I picked up a user 35mm Summicron IV today, figuring I would be able to just clean it up myself and then get to work with it. So I did just that, and cleaned up the lens myself but I discovered a few issues that I cannot fix.

1) The front group of the lens was very loose and I tightened the set screws myself which holds firmly, but I noticed that the aperture index mark is not aligned, and when I straighten it out it makes the lens hood not mount straight. Not sure what the solution is there.

2) There is some light haze in one of the front elements, it doesn’t seem to negatively affect the image quality from what I can tell, but if possible I would like to have that cleaned out.

3) The lens currently backfocuses on my M240, I confirmed this with Live-view and also on my Sony A7r. I don’t know what it takes to fix this issue though.


Naturally my first instinct is to talk to Youxin and see what he can do about fixing the lens up, but if this is something I can tackle myself I'm not too afraid to try. Additionally, the seller is gracious enough that if it's going to be too costly or too much of a hassle to repair I can return it to him for a full refund. The price I paid wasn't a screaming deal, but enough of a bargain to merit at least trying.

Are these issues easy enough to fix? Or am I better off just leaving it to Youxin?

 

[Richard G]

Many of them last well. Those that get loose at the front have often been mounted and unmounted by grasping the hood. See this helpful post on pnet from an expert repairer:

http://photo.net/leica-rangefinders-forum/00Xqaq

 

[johnnyrod]

The haze could be a bit of oil/grease that's migrated from the focusing threads or somewhere similar. If so then it needs wiping off with a solvent. If it's silicone then you need a plain hydrocarbon like Ronsol (parafin), if it's a hydrocarbon grease then that will work too or isopropanol will also do the trick. Finish off with some methanol if you have some. If the first two don't touch it then it could be fungus, in which case a mixture of ammonia and peroxide is said to do the trick.

As for the other issues, yes it sounds like it's been meddled with. Worst case you have to send it off for fixing but you could take a look yourself and see if you can work out what has been misplaced.

 

[agoglanian]

Back/front focus with live view?

Well I can achieve perfect focus with live view on my M240 and my A7r, but when I use the rangefinder on my M240 the RF patch is not aligned. When I align the patch the resulting image is backfocused.


I made the attempt to fix and clean up the lens but I didn't want to risk ruining anything, I spoke with Youxin and he is going to check it out and see if it's economically viable. If it is then I'll have him repair it, and if not then I'll have him send it back and I'll get a refund.

 

[f16sunshine]

Well I can achieve perfect focus with live view on my M240 and my A7r, but when I use the rangefinder on my M240 the RF patch is not aligned. When I align the patch the resulting image is backfocused. I made the attempt to fix and clean up the lens but I didn't want to risk ruining anything, I spoke with Youxin and he is going to check it out and see if it's economically viable. If it is then I'll have him repair it, and if not then I'll have him send it back and I'll get a refund.

You know Youxin is great for many camera body and shutter related repairs as well as lens cleaning.
He does not have all the proper tools to adjust and correct focus issues (he'll tel you as much).
You might consider DAG or Focal point.

 

[Harry Lime]

I would send it to Don Goldberg (DAG). He can service it for a reasonable amount of money. You need an optical bench to collimate the lens for proper focus.

www.dagcamera.com


It's a very nice lens and really needs to be serviced properly.

 

[agoglanian]

Ah I see, he didn't mention that previously but we'll see what he says. Otherwise I'll have to either send it to DAG or return it to the seller. It all depends on how much it's going to cost me, I don't necessarily have the budget for a $500+ repair at the moment.

 

[sc_rufctr]

Does this help?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb4gTSG2tbk

 

[raid]

DAG is the best cure here.

 

[Ronald M]

Job for DAG.

All internal haze lowers contrast and color saturation.

Lens needs profesional help.

There is a glue or cement that holds the front on. Mount and dismount from camera holding at the rear.