Decentered Elmarit 21mm pre-asph - what to do???

[rfaspen]

Well. I purchased an Elmarit 21/2.8 pre-asph from Tamarkin about 1.5 years ago. Up until recently, I have only used the lens occasionally for some landscape shots. Seemed OK.

Over this last weekend however, I used the lens for some home interior shots and a couple large group photos. The lens is clearly very badly decentered. It is the lens, not the camera as it shows the defect with mulitple bodies.

It is not just mildly decentered either. Dang !!! :bang: I might post some example images of a wall or something; it will be obvious. The right side of the image is mucho soft and the left much sharper. Really quite badly. It was hidden in my earlier images with infninity focus and f/16. I'm just sick about this.

Tamarkin has a 1-year warranty. Its been over a year. So now what do I do? Can this be fixed? Perhaps Don at DAG? These lenses are not the most expensive of the 21's (perhaps $700-1000) so I hate to think of an expensive repair. Do I have an $875 paperweight? I searched RFF and elsewhere -- not much out there about fixing a decentered Leica lens.

What would RFFers do?

 

[rangefinderlove123]

I'm beginning to wonder if this centering/decentering thing is really and issue.

Looking through my slr most of my lenses are looking to be sharper (or more in focus) on one side compared to the other, and that's just by looking through the viewfinder...

 

[Bill Blackwell]

... So now what do I do? Can this be fixed? Perhaps Don at DAG? These lenses are not the most expensive of the 21's (perhaps $700-1000) so I hate to think of an expensive repair. Do I have an $875 paperweight? ... What would RFFers do?

I believe it can be fixed fairly painlessly. I owned one of these lenses (made in Canada) years ago and got rid of it when the adhesive, not screws, Leica used to put the lens together started failing. At the time DAG told me this was very common for this lens.

Give DAG a call and you'll have your answer in short order.

 

[rfaspen]

I do plan to give Don a call. I've learned that he does not like being bothered with email questions, but welcomes phone calls. Apparently, he has a headset or speaker phone setup that allows him to continue working on stuff while talking to us pesky customers. I won't have a good opportunity to call him until tomorrow.

Bill, any recollection of the cost of the repair you had? I would rather not spend $400+ to repair a lens that sells for $700-900. I'm really kicking myself for not noticing this while under Tamarkin's warranty.

 

[rfaspen]

I'm beginning to wonder if this centering/decentering thing is really and issue.

Looking through my slr most of my lenses are looking to be sharper (or more in focus) on one side compared to the other, and that's just by looking through the viewfinder...

As you can imagine, decentering to slight levels is actually very common. Leica and other "high end" lenses are supposed to have higher tolerances for their lenses. The amount of decentering shown by my lens is pretty bad for any brand lens. It doesn't look like it has ever been opened for service and could have left the factory in this condition (not good). Perhaps the lens experienced a bump? No evidence of any knocks or roughness of any kind.

I hate it when this kind of thing crops up...😡

 

[Bill Blackwell]

... Bill, any recollection of the cost of the repair you had? ...

I never had the lens repaired, but sold it "as-is" (this was many years ago). But I have spoken with DAG enough about these things to believe the repair in your case may be far less than you're imagining (perhaps as little as $100).

Note, I'm not an expert and I don't work for DAG. But he has done allot of work for me over the years - some jobs were massively expensive - others, not so much.

 

[leicapixie]

It can be repaired, Gerry did a friends..
"Damage due to a knock or fall.."
Wasn't that expensive a repair.
I thought it may have been faulty from manufacture!
Leica made 21 Elmarit a few years ago and suddenly it was discontinued and replaced..
Owners rec'd the new but slower replacement in time of warranty.
I could no longer find link/

 

[Mute-on]

Why would you not call Tamarkin and ask if they can help?

Nothing to lose, I would have thought.

Good luck!

J 🙂

 

[rfaspen]

Update:

Thanks everyone. A call to Don (DAG) confirms it is a thing and possible to fix. He did not give me an estimate -- wants to physically see the lens first. OK then. Likely to be between $150 and $200.

I have just been waiting for continental U.S. weather to improve before shipping the lens off.

Hoping (very much!) it is an inexpensive repair. The last 2 years have been financially devastating. Collateral damage from a tragic and unbelievable political situation.

 

[D&A]

Generally, ultra wide angle lenses have the propensity to show decentering. This is apparently due to the multitude of many small elements that have to be critically aligned. This was especially so a few decades ago but still exists. I once had a Pentax 15mm f3.5 lens, one of the earlest ultra wide angle lenses in the film SLr days. It was co-developed with Zeiss. One sample I had had such bad decentering, that Pentax USA immediately sent it back to Pentax Japan. Upon its return it was certainly better but far from fixed and decentering could be easily seen with one side of the frame blurry, even at f8 and f11. Lens was never bumped or damaged.

Would love to hear of your outcomes after sending it to DAG. The quality of his work is superb.

Dave (D&A)