Canon LTM New to me Canon 7S, 50mm 1.2

[dbla]

So I just picked this up at an estate sale, and I have some questions...

I've always been a rangefinder shooter of some sort... Put a lot of rolls through my old Fuji GW760, a couple of vintage 35mm rangefinders (models escape me...)

But I found this set at an estate sale today, and I couldn't pass it by:

Canon 7s body, with a 50mm f/1.2

So my question for ya... This lens is apparently a really nice one, 50 1.2, I can dig it... BUT the middle optic is super hazy...

Otherwise it's in pretty good shape, aperture blades are clean, etc etc...

I took the lens apart, according to some directions I found online... It comes apart pretty easy. The haze is on the interior rear element, BUT I couldn't get it to clean off... Any suggestions? And really, should I just send this whole kit in and have all of it CLAed??

Anyway, looking forward to getting some film through this, I have a trip coming up to Rome in March, be fun to shoot this.

 

[nhchen]

What a great find!

Unfortunately for your lens the only way of removing the haze would be to polish it out, that's what I had to do for the one I got a few years ago. And even now some haze comes back on the same element every few months, but I can be easily wiped off.
Nathan

 

[johannielscom]

Nice find, and a lovely lens!

I have a DIY pictorial up on my web site, proceed at your own risk but it can be done at home!

http://www.johanniels.com/camera-ge...anon-diy-cleaning-a-1-2-50mm-rangefinder-lens

 

[dbla]

What a great find!

Unfortunately for your lens the only way of removing the haze would be to polish it out, that's what I had to do for the one I got a few years ago. And even now some haze comes back on the same element every few months, but I can be easily wiped off.
Nathan

Is it easy to polish it? I tried with a bit of lighter fluid but I'm not sure I made much of a difference.

 

[kb244]

Well then. 😀 It's not a 0.95 but I'm still salivating.

 

[ForestCap]

Congrats on the purchase!
The Canons are reliable and durable shooters. Have fun shooting them!

 

[sevo]

I have some dim memory that fast Canon lenses from that era were subject to internal glass corrosion.

 

[02Pilot]

Some Canon lenses of that era suffer from nasty etching as a result of off-gassing lubricants. Hopefully that's not what you're seeing. My usual hierarchy of glass polishing is glass cleaner/Ronsonol (solvent)/Flitz metal polish (chemical cleaner)/Bon Ami (very mild abrasive)/cerium oxide(aggressive abrasive). All but the first can remove coatings, but they will eventually get the glass clear (I resurrected a Summar with nearly opaque front glass this way). Note that increasing levels of care must be exercised as you go up the scale.

It also looks like you may have some fungus in there. If so, moisturizing hand cream, applied liberally and left for 5-10 minutes, will remove it. Then clean the glass normally (Ronsonol can be used if the cream is persistent).

 

[nhchen]

I used cerium oxide to polish the haze out in mine, took a couple of hours by hand. It won't be as good as someone doing it professional, but atleast mine became useable again. The contrast improved a lot after I did it.
Nathan

 

[johannielscom]

All way too serious sounding and way too intrusive, it's just a simple haze from the lubricants gassing out and it can be remedied easily. Just see the link above

 

[nhchen]

All way too serious sounding and way too intrusive, it's just a simple haze from the lubricants gassing out and it can be remedied easily. Just see the link above

It may have just been haze from the lubricants originally, but when it hasn't been cleaned for many many years the haze etches into the glass.

 

[leicapixie]

The best test of lens is actually taking photos..
I have a Nikkor 50mm f1.4 that has similar haze.
Using the lens one night in awful weather, rain, mist,
eventually too cold to shoot, I went for coffee.
An available light at maximum aperture, of a fellow patron.
He was positioned towards the outer 2/3rds.
The man is sharp. Sharp as any of my lenses!
I did some closed an aperture or two, equally sharp.
Against the light it is flare city.

 

[Peter Jennings]

Test the lens to see how it performs as-is. If the results are acceptable, I wouldn't bother trying to fix it. If you don't like it, sell it. Regardless, keep the camera! A nice 7S is hard to come by. Enjoy it! It's a classic.

 

[dbla]

Thanks everyone. If I WAS to want to get it serviced, whom would you all recommend??

-A