Nikon 35mm 1.8 - Misaligned blades - Issue?

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mrronin

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Hello Everybody,

I've seen a Nikon 35mm f1.8 lens on the dreaded ebay with misaligned blades. The seller claims that it won't have any impact on the photos but does it affect the performance of the lens?

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Steve
 
mrronin said:
Hello Everybody,

I've seen a Nikon 35mm f1.8 lens on the dreaded ebay with misaligned blades. The seller claims that it won't have any impact on the photos but does it affect the performance of the lens?

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Steve
Click to expand...


Yes I wondered about that lens as well, not that I need another 35 I'm sure if nothing is broken then it wouldn't be that hard or expensive to fix as long as the price is good.
 
The performance of the lens is inextricably linked to the images it produces and vice versa.

I have seen the pictures in that auction and that degree of misalignment will IMHO have an impact at small apertures on the exposure but can be allowed for, it will also, again IMHO, have an effect on the bokeh, if that is of concern to you, as one of the factors is the smoothness of the aperture circle (which is why many blades are favoured). If you shoot into the light any images of the blades are going to look "odd".
I would also be concerned that the misalignment will at some stage result in jamming or failure of the blades. I am also concerned that the seller quotes the servicing technician who worked on the lens and I would want to know why this issue was not attended to or if he couldn't what else he did to the lens.
Buyer beware.
 
I don't know about the aperture blade issue, and if that would cause an optical problem, but my concern would also be with the ninth picture in the series of shots, that looks like a puff ball pattern of possible fungus. Maybe not.
 
Blades

Blades

The wide aperature nikkors have a complex hickey stick shaped aperature .
The earlier nikkors with the non equidistant markings have a simple shape, dateing far back .

Oil on the blades can make them stick to each other , they are thin metal and can bend . Sometimes a service can correct the aperature blades ,
There is so much for sale , look for a good example with nice glass .
If it's serviced and still has an issue , it's unlikely futher repairs can improve it .
 
I've reassembled the aperture blades on one of these lenses. In my opinion, I don't think it's possible for a blade to be mis-aligned. It may be possible that one of the blades was reversed during servicing, but any competent repairman would notice that before completely reassembling the lens. It's also possible that one of the studs on the blade popped out of its hole (I have no idea what the proper terms for these parts are). If that's the case, then it would be a fairly easy fix. However, I would assume that one of the pins that hold the blade in place is actually broken. If so, stay away from it unless you need it for parts or just want to use it wide-open.

Edit: I can no longer find the listing.
 
Peter Jennings said:
I've reassembled the aperture blades on one of these lenses. In my opinion, I don't think it's possible for a blade to be mis-aligned. It may be possible that one of the blades was reversed during servicing, but any competent repairman would notice that before completely reassembling the lens. It's also possible that one of the studs on the blade popped out of its hole (I have no idea what the proper terms for these parts are). If that's the case, then it would be a fairly easy fix. However, I would assume that one of the pins that hold the blade in place is actually broken. If so, stay away from it unless you need it for parts or just want to use it wide-open.

Edit: I can no longer find the listing.
Click to expand...

This is basically what I was going to write, but Peter beat me to it :)

I'd love to see what all the fuss is about, but I can't find the listing either... :confused:
 
Peter Jennings said:
Thanks for the link! I count only 8 blades, and there should be 9. Not mis-aligned, but missing!
Click to expand...

You beat me again, Peter! That's exactly the conclusion I came to :)

The affect on IQ will be minimal, but still, I wouldn't buy the lens unless it was a bargain.

Edit: the silver colour around the rear optical group baffles me. Looks like the paint was removed or the metal was machined down...:confused:
 
jonmanjiro said:
You beat me again, Peter! That's exactly the conclusion I came to :)

The affect on IQ will be minimal, but still, I wouldn't buy the lens unless it was a bargain.

Edit: the silver colour around the rear optical group baffles me. Looks like the paint was removed or the metal was machined down...:confused:
Click to expand...

Yes I wondered about the silver bit:confused:
 
Jon, I'm not working today and it's raining here, so I've got nothing better to do. :eek:
It's a later lens (no C) so I thought that might have something to do with the shiny ring, but probably not.
 
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