New (USED) Noctilux focus is way off with M8

[eleskin]

It has to be the lens

It has to be the lens

Every lens I have is spot on, 28mm elmarit, 35mm summicron, 40mm Nokton, 50mm Summicron. 90mm Tele Elmarit, 135mm Elmarit with eyes, and 280mm Telyt, all perfect focus.

When I scale focus, not using the rangefinder, it is way off. Any distance on the scale on the lens barrel does not correspond to what is actually in focus by a huge margin. Anything from 15 feet to infinity is not in focus at all.

Seller is a pro photographer whom I spoke with today. He is arranging for Leica to pick up the thing and fix it. I am confident this will all turn out fine.

 

[maddoc]

If your photos taken with the Noctilux look like this:

... than you have a similar problem as I had last year. My copy now works perfect after Leica has repaired it, no more problems.

I hope that it will come to a good end for you, too !!

Cheers,

Gabor

 

[eleskin]

My problem looks like yours

My problem looks like yours

Gabor,

Yes, my photos look just like yours, which means I probably have the same problem. How much did Leica charge you for the repair and how long did you have to wait to get your Noctilux back?

Ed

 

[eleskin]

What was the problem exactly?

What was the problem exactly?

Gabor,

What in technical terms happened to your Noctilux? Were the lens elements out of position to allow proper focus at all distances?

Thanks

Ed

 

[maddoc]

Ed,

one of the glass elements in the front group of the lens had become loose (unscrewed itself ?) in my case.

Because Leica (Leica Japan) had fixed the front-group half a year before this happened, they repaired the Noctilux for free. (fixing that single element, cleaning the lens and calibrating it) I received the lens back after 4 weeks if I remember correctly and since then it works flawless.

Gabor

 

[eleskin]

Well, Gabor, thanks for the information. Ill bet your problem is about the same as mine. Did you problem affect the sharpness of the lens wide open where you could get some things in focus or not? Mine seems sharp, but I am wondering if an element is out of place what impact would that have on sharpness wide open at f1.0.

Ed

 

[maddoc]

Ed,

that was exact the problem I had. Wide-open @ f/1.0 the lens was still sharp but the plane of focus was totally shifted in direction of front-focus (speaking in the range of meters !) and also when set to the infinity mark nothing at infinity was sharp but at ~ 3 to 5m (for f/1.0). Worse was the lens became gradually bad. At first I thought that I had a problem with the rangefinder and changed cameras to test it out but when it happened using different M-bodies, I had sent it to Leica.

I think such a fix costs about USD to 200 to USD 300 if nothing else is broken.

Gabor

 

[awilder]

It's definitely a lens issue and I would send it back to Solms for repair and specify this is for digital, not film use. One thing that confused me, you mentioned something earlier about the cam roller not fully engaging with the cam as if there was lack of contact. Does that mean that correspondingly the rf patch fails to move at some point when you turn the focus ring? If so, then both the cam coupling and optics (due to gross scale focus issues) are off.

 

[eleskin]

awilder:

Well, the cam does make contact with the roller. It is fully extended when the lens is set to infinity. When I turn the focusing ring on the lens it retracts, but not all the way in, only 3/4 of the way. I have never owned a
Noctilux before, so is this normal? With all of my other M mount lenses, the cam retracts fully from full extension, to all the way in.

 

[JWW]

I have a one year old Noctilux and it came with perfect focus from the factory (on M8/M3/MP). I checked the cam and it does not go all the way in.

 

[awilder]

You say the cam doesn't go all the way in, but as long as the polished brass cam turns when you turn the focusing ring from infinity to the 1 m minimum focus you are fine. The cam won't retract as far forward in as a lens with a minimum focus as 0.7 m, that's not even possible. Also, if the rf patch moves throughout the focusing ring's rotation, the cam is at least moving wth the lens extension or retraction. The problem sounds like a loose element or an issue with mounting of the optical assembly in the fousing mount.

 

[eleskin]

Awilder

I guess my observation of the focusing cam was based on the lack of full knowledge I have on how this lens is designed. Yes, a lens element MUST be out of position somewhere. Mr Spock's logic (i cant wait for the new movie), seems overwhelming here. Now all I have to do is wait to hear from the seller on how this will be fixed. He tells me Leica should cover it because they serviced it not long ago. I really want to keep it in that it is in like new condition, and a similar lens I have seen on Ebay was 2,000 more than I paid. If for some reason he does not honor the repair, I think my best course is through Sherry Krauter. The seller is responsible, but if I have to take action, I will. Maybe calling Leica myself with the serial # will help here as well. They just worked on my M8 and did a wonderful job (which I shall mention to them when I talk about this lens. Kindness and praise never hurt to get things done).

 

[awilder]

I recently paid Leica for a focus ring adjustment on a 50/2.8 Elmar-M and it wasn't cheap but it did come with a 1 year warranty on the repair. I was told by Leica USA that the warranty would carry over to another owner as long as a copy of the repair documention was provided. Have the owner scan the repair receipt and send it to you as an email attachment. That's what I did when I sold the Elmar-M.

 

[eleskin]

Well, the seller just contacted me and told me to send it to Leica in Allendale NJ. Leica provided him for me their UPS account number and the job number for the repair that is under coverage. All I need to do is give them a letter spelling out the situation. This will cost nothing for me.

I guess it would not hurt to tell them I use the M8 only and when adjusting the lens, to keep that in mind. Maybe I will also include the Serial number of my M8 (they worked on my M8 a month ago, and did a wonderful job).

This is good news, and the seller went the extra 2 yards to resolve this situation (even calling me twice as well as email). I guess he being a pro photographer as well as myself helped here, and just the fact that the guy is honest and decent. Gives me hope for humanity, and tells me that all on Ebay is not bad, and there are good people out there!

 

[Benjamin Marks]

Ed: Happy to hear it. Sounds like your Noctilux story will have a happy ending. I hope the lens serves you well for many years to come.

Ben Marks

 

[eleskin]

Well, Leica just called me and said this lens must be sent to Germany for the repair. Everything seems to be covered. One thing came up in my conversation with them is that the Noctilux had "Impact Damage" when they repaired it. This was not disclosed in the original description of the lens being "gingerly used". The lens looks mint, with no marks, etc, so I wonder what happened to it. I just contacted the seller to find out what exactly what happened. If I end up with a lens that is almost "Like New" that would be fine. He would have had a hell of a time getting what I paid for it though if he listed "Impact Damage" as part of the history of the lens.
Once my M6, M4-2, 28mm Elmarit, 35mm Summicron, and 50mm Summicron took a dunk in the Nile river in Egypt near the Aswan High Dam because the boat operator intentionally tipped the boat over. Sherry Krauter came to the rescue. All that equipment is in fine shape today, and I am happy with it. Knowing this, should I be relaxed about this or very concerned? I would like to be relaxed.

 

[eleskin]

Message from Seller

Message from Seller

Seller contacted me with the following:

"When I decided to sell the lens I wanted to remove the UV filter as there was some brassing. In the process of removing the filter the front element of the lens moved which is why I sent it to Leica for allignment. I was very surprised when they sent it back to me saying the lens had evidence of impact. I never dropped or banged the lens. The only problem I know of is the aformentioned. I will give Leica a call as well".

Well, again, the seller seems to want to resolve this. I am just wondering why this happened in the first place, both the seller, and Leica, and a lens that I received that did not focus at all with my M8?