Leica Elmar 24mm Asph ring falling of

[Bapu]

Hi,
My Elmar 24mm had a rattling sound which was originating from the front ring of the lens, where the name and serial number is printed, see enclosed pic.
The ring was glued with three dots of glue and this was not sufficient for holding it.
Anyone else who have similar experience?
I will send it to Leica Wetzlar for inspection.
/Bapu

 

[kbg32]

I had this happen to my Super Angulon. It was screwed on though. I careful refitted it and used the end of a pencil with the eraser part, to tighten it. Never had a problem since.

 

[Huss]

I have a Nikon 35-70 f 4.5 lens that did the same thing. I bought it at a flea market for $1. I just glued the trim ring back on. I would suggest to do the same, it is just a cosmetic piece with no affect on functionality.

 

[rscheffler]

I had the front assembly consisting of the name ring, filter ring and hood of a chrome 50 Lux ASPH spontaneously fall off while out on a photo walk. Luckily was on a sidewalk and heard it hit the cement. Thankfully wasn't on a trail or grass where I probably wouldn't have noticed.

Anyway, those parts were held onto the main part of the lens with a single tiny lock screw and three dabs of glue. Couldn't get the screw to thread back in again. Seemed like the thread was too loosed or stripped. The lens was still usable so I gaffer taped the hood back on and used it for a couple more years until the main body of the lens worked itself loose, lost any sense of RF calibration and had to go to Leica anyway...

A couple of my other Leica M lenses are starting to get slightly loose with play in the body... Seems with regular use they probably need servicing to tighten everything properly every 3-5 years.

 

[FrozenInTime]

Had a similar thing happen to a 21mm Elmarit E60 : the hood retainer ring held in place by nothing but glue :-(

 

[David Hughes]

You were all lucky you weren't using an old ex-USSR camera and lens as by now there would be at least a dozen rants about QC and wasting your money on cheap rubbish when you could buy a seriously expensive top quality camera...

Or did I miss something?

Regards, David

PS This is not aimed at posters here but at those who think all USSR stuff fails regularly and nothing else does. As I see it accidents will happen and age, abuse, wear and tear etc happen to all cameras and should be expected.

 

[rscheffler]

My experience with Leica cameras (digital only) and lenses is only just over 5 years. I really enjoy the feel of the equipment, but compared to my Canon gear, don't believe Leica's is particularly more durable or without need for servicing longer than Canon's. There are a few Canon lenses I use nearly regularly and have held up well for over a decade, but there have also been a few that I've had to service a couple times already (worn out USM, IS or was starting to come apart - happened twice with the 50/1.2L).

With the hood and front assembly falling off the 50 Lux ASPH, and reports from others such as these here, it does make me wonder sometimes about the design/construction decisions made by Leica as not being particularly well thought out or even sufficiently durable. I don't expect the gear to be bomb-proof. But when one pays the premium for Leica, there is s certain expectation that build quality should be of a 'premium' (superior) level vs. the general photographic industry. In some ways, I suppose it is (feel in-hand, in use), but not necessarily in all respects (longterm durability).

 

[x-ray]

After owning my V4 35 Summicron for a few years it started coming apart. I was told by a repair tech that leica started using glue to hold things in lace rather than set screws to save money.

I have the same 24 and rarely use it so it's unlikely I'll have a problem.