Dropped Nokton 50/1.5 VM... what now

[Ionex56]

Long time lurker here, can't believe my first post is about dropping my lens haha

This morning I dropped my Voigtlander Nokton 50mm VM (just the lens itself) from about 4 feet up onto hardwood floor. It hit the floor rear first and put a dent in the rear lens mount. And the floor 😀

I don't notice any change in focus ring stiffness (okay, maybe a tad stiffer) or any other issues, but what kind of tests should I do or what should I look out for? I'm shooting on Leica MP so I don't want to waste too much film, or do tests that don't amount to anything. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Huss]

Post a pic of the damage to the lens.
I would just shoot the roll as normal, develop it and see how it looks. Pretty sure your lens will be ok.

 

[nickthetasmaniac]

What do you mean by a dent in the lens mount? Will the lens mount on the MP?

 

[Beemermark]

You have two choices -1) send to a repair person who will disassemble, determine if any parts need replacing and reassemble or 2) shoot a roll of film and develop.


I can tell you #2 will be cheaper if it focuses and works correctly. If not your out a small fraction of the cost of sending it to a repair person.

 

[Ionex56]

What do you mean by a dent in the lens mount? Will the lens mount on the MP?

The dent is in on the mount itself, not the helicoid that moves in and out. Thankfully it didn't damage any of the bayonet mount "teeth" that lock the lens onto the camera, so while technically it's mountable, though I'm not sure if there will be any adverse effects like light leaks.

I've linked some pictures here (pardon the phone quality pics): https://imgur.com/a/S9FhRQa

Thanks for all your suggestions; I will definitely try to put a roll through this weekend.

 

[Huss]

Ok I see it. As long as the focus throw is not effected - it doesn't interfere with the rf ramp - then I dont think you'll have any issues. You will not have any light leaks.
Shoot your roll and check it out.

 

[nickthetasmaniac]

The dent is in on the mount itself, not the helicoid that moves in and out. Thankfully it didn't damage any of the bayonet mount "teeth" that lock the lens onto the camera, so while technically it's mountable, though I'm not sure if there will be any adverse effects like light leaks.

I've linked some pictures here (pardon the phone quality pics): https://imgur.com/a/S9FhRQa

Thanks for all your suggestions; I will definitely try to put a roll through this weekend.

Ok I see what you've done. Yep I'd just shoot a test roll (maybe include some f8 brick-walls to see if any of the lens elements are out of wack). Hopefully it'll be fine to use.



Unfortunately you've just wiped out your resale 🙂

 

[farlymac]

A hard knock at that angle causing that much deflection of the mount (which is made of some really good brass) can mean lots of internal damage as the shock wave propagates through the rest of the lens. I know from first hand experience trying to repair a lovely Nikon 24mm that had landed on the rear light baffle (no, I'm not the one who dropped it).


After repairing the bends in the baffle, and un-jamming the aperture, I did a test shoot where I discovered that the elements were no longer in proper alignment, and one side of the images produced by the lens were out of focus.


I've seen other lenses where the elements separated with little shock "angels" floating about.



After explaining the 24mm damage to a technician, he said the only reason to repair it was because of its rarity, and even then it was close to being a write-off due to the cost. It still sits awaiting a second chance.


But if you can work that bend out of the mount you could be lucky. My concern is it appears to have also damaged the focus cam, and that's a more direct way for the shock waves to enter the optical block.


PF

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Back in 2004, a friend of mine dropped my DR Summicron from about 5ft onto the marble of one of Saddam Hussein's tertiary military offices. The lens wouldn't mount on a camera at all so I went out into the machine shop, borrowed a set of channel locks, vise grips, a file, and a mallet and set about repairing it myself. Once I fixed the flange enough to mount on the camera, I tested it through the back of my M4 using a Nikon focusing screen I had in my office. I had gotten it so close I couldn't tell if it was off with a loupe.
We had most of the deployment left at the time and there is no Leica repair service in Iraq so I had to do what I had to do.
When I got back to the States, I sent the lens to Sherry to get it properly collimated. I told her about what happened and she said aside from the ugly flange there was nothing more she could do. The lens was optically perfect.
So, bend that flange back into place and go out shooting. You now have a story to tell.
Phil Forrest

 

[Ionex56]

Unfortunately you've just wiped out your resale 🙂

Yep, that's how it be sometimes. Sad that I had just received the lens the night before... This isn't the first time I've dropped a lens (Nikkor-S Auto 50/1.4 non-AI was my first victim 😛) but that time there was obvious damage and the focus ring got disconnected from the helicoid. This time around the damage is more subtle - which in a way makes it a whole lot more worrisome

A hard knock at that angle causing that much deflection of the mount (which is made of some really good brass) can mean lots of internal damage as the shock wave propagates through the rest of the lens.

...

But if you can work that bend out of the mount you could be lucky. My concern is it appears to have also damaged the focus cam, and that's a more direct way for the shock waves to enter the optical block.

Hopefully there's not much internal damage... if I remember correctly brass is a lot softer than aluminium (what the black ver. of this lens is made of) and perhaps deformation of the softer metal absorbs more of the impact energy? Sort of like a car crumple zone. I have my fingers crossed. Also forgive my ignorance, but what do you mean by focus cam is damaged?

Back in 2004, a friend of mine dropped my DR Summicron from about 5ft onto the marble of one of Saddam Hussein's tertiary military offices. The lens wouldn't mount on a camera at all so I went out into the machine shop, borrowed a set of channel locks, vise grips, a file, and a mallet and set about repairing it myself. Once I fixed the flange enough to mount on the camera, I tested it through the back of my M4 using a Nikon focusing screen I had in my office. I had gotten it so close I couldn't tell if it was off with a loupe.
We had most of the deployment left at the time and there is no Leica repair service in Iraq so I had to do what I had to do.
When I got back to the States, I sent the lens to Sherry to get it properly collimated. I told her about what happened and she said aside from the ugly flange there was nothing more she could do. The lens was optically perfect.
So, bend that flange back into place and go out shooting. You now have a story to tell.
Phil Forrest

Wow, that's one hell of a story Phil. I wish my lens had a history like that but unfortunately, it would just be a case of butter fingers before my morning coffee :bang: