Oil marks on blades of Summilux 50/1.4 Asph.

[Gilo25]

I noticed that my Summilux (which is only 3 years old) has already developed some traces of oil on its blades. I am not planning to do much about it (also because where I live I can't possibly find any decent service centre), but does anybody have an idea if this is normal, why it happens and how does one prevent it from getting worse?
Thanks to all!

 

[x-ray]

I've seen and owned quite a few lenses that had light oil on the blades. In an auto aperture lens like canon of nikon slr lenses it's a potential problem. In manual aperture lenses like view camera lenses and leica M it's not really am issue. I've never seen a manual aperture lens fail from oil on the blades.

The mechanism that moves the blades is lubricated and heat can cause the lube to flow onto the blades. There's nothing to do other than never leave your equipment in a hot car or trunk of the car. It gets extremely hot during summer months in many places and this can damage other components, your film, lenses and cause lubes to flow.

 

[sc_rufctr]

The same thing happened to my Hasselblad 903 but some of the oil ended up on one of the elements.

At first I thought it was fungus so I sent it for a service and clean.
The tech told me via the telephone that it's not a serious issue but it will affect image quality.

So considering the value of your lens I would send it in for a service to Leica in Germany ASAP.

 

[Gilo25]

Thanks to all. In my case the oil is present on some blades, but certainly not in a quantity to make it leak onto the elements. So I am not sure the problem warrants an immediate service in Germany (also because sending there and back from the Philippines would probably cause more damage to the lens than the oil - let alone the hassle with customs when the lens gets back). But I will do try and service it next time I am in Europe.

 

[Dez]

Unless you see any transfer of oil onto the adjacent elements in the form of internal fog, it is almost certainly not worth any effort or expense to clean the oil off the aperture blades. This transfer appears to be rare, with the possible exception of some old Canon RF lenses, notably the black-bodied 50mm f1.8, where this fog can actually erode the antireflective coating. A significant fog problem would probably take decades to develop, so I would not be too worried if I were you. Certainly paying Leitz's astronomical service costs is probably a non-starter.

Cheers,
Dez

 

[DNG]

Surprised nobody suggested to store the lenses at f/16 or f/22... to prevent this.. The oil is at the edge of iris.. the blades are stored "overlapping" when they are wide open (f/2, or f/1.4.. whatever the max f/stop is). And, the oil for other parts can seep onto the retracted blades...

Non the less, even a new lens stored wide open, should not exhibit this so early in ownership.

I too recommend a trip to a repair to fix it..

 

[rscheffler]

If you have it repaired the next time you're in the EU, keep in mind that Leica offers the option to pay for faster service, at two price levels for two or five business day turnaround. It's not inexpensive, but I have done it on a couple occasions with fairly tight travel itineraries. I'm not sure of the current cost or details of the service, therefore it would be best to contact Leica Germany for confirmation. I did it via a Leica store and had them handle the shipping back and forth.

If you decide to ship the lens to Germany, take note that they require paperwork in advance of delivery for customs clearance into the EU. The pro forma invoice document can be downloaded from http://us.leica-camera.com/Service-Support/Repair-Maintenance

Personally, I'd be reluctant to send the lens in, if you use it a fair amount. Service turnaround will likely be long and as has been noted, not guaranteed to resolve the problem, which is probably triggered by the climate of your location. Of course, the problem is oil on aperture blades will degrade resale value, therefore you're likely to want to have it done eventually...

 

[Gilo25]

Thanks again to all for your insights. Here is a picture of the actual problem, just to give you a more concrete idea.

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[vpr]

Well... i feel you pain

my ASPH is also three years old, and it shows oil in the same way, but a bit to a smaller extent. Also stored it wide open (i never knew the trick above)

Warranty is long gone, so I have already disassembled it partially for fixing a wobbling focus ring and wobbling front issue, and i noticed how much light oil is on the inside parts.

Also i have found inside some ultra small aluminum CNC shavings, which could have completely blocked the heliccal.

And the saddest part is that it's my only lens from Leica that i have bought NEW and rarely used...

Build quality on modern lenses is really crappy, this is sad and it seems that it's profitable for the company.

 

[Dez]

WOW! That is really unexpected in such a fine lens. Warranty or no warranty, the presence of metal shavings would seen to be a good reason for Leitz to service it for free. You might want to refrain from mentioning that you disassembled it, however.

Cheers,
Dez

 

[mfruitman]

If you search the forums this is not the first time someone has reported oil on the blades of the 50 'lux ASPH within only a short time of owning a new copy. It seems this particular lens is more prone to it on average.

I can also speak from experience - within less than a year of owing one, my copy of this lens has developed oil on the blades. I store it in a camera bag wide open and it has never been exposed to high, prolonged temperatures. I spoke to a Leica technician in my city and he said that it's very unlikely to ever affect image quality and make its way onto the glass. If I ever decide to get mine cleaned it would probably be at a point when i'm considering selling it or if it becomes a real problem first.

I've attached a photo of my lens for you to see.

 

[Gilo25]

Thanks to all. It really seems it is a manufacturing problem affecting a large number of newly produced Lux 50/1.4. Considering their price, I think Leica should have the decency of offering to service them for free, if the problem occurs in such a short period of time. A 2 year warranty period on such expensive lenses is just not good enough.

 

[telenous]

I had a Summicron 28 with this problem. I bought it cheaply because of it and sent it for an expensive spa treatment to Solms. It came back after a month or so like spanking new. But, lo and behold, a couple of years later it presented the same problem. (The weather here is hot.)

Surprised nobody suggested to store the lenses at f/16 or f/22... to prevent this.. The oil is at the edge of iris.. the blades are stored "overlapping" when they are wide open (f/2, or f/1.4.. whatever the max f/stop is). And, the oil for other parts can seep onto the retracted blades...

Non the less, even a new lens stored wide open, should not exhibit this so early in ownership.

I too recommend a trip to a repair to fix it..

^ At some point I had a chat with Peter Grisafi at CRR Luton and he recommended exactly this. Store the lens with aperture closed down, especially if you live in very hot climates.

.

 

[maddoc]

This is very interesting because I heard exactly the opposite (albeit from another source):

Always store (old) lenses with the aperture fully open to prevent out-gassing of lubricants from the surface of the aperture blades. The out-gassing lubricants will condense on the inner glass surfaces and slowly a film forms, the haze.

If you keep the lens stopped down you increase the (visible) surface area of the aperture blades and therefore increase the evaporation rate of lubricants.

^ At some point I had a chat with Peter Grisafi at CRR Luton and he recommended exactly this. Store the lens with aperture closed down, especially if you live in very hot climates.

.

 

[telenous]

This is very interesting because I heard exactly the opposite (albeit from another source):

Always store (old) lenses with the aperture fully open to prevent out-gassing of lubricants from the surface of the aperture blades. The out-gassing lubricants will condense on the inner glass surfaces and slowly a film forms, the haze.

If you keep the lens stopped down you increase the (visible) surface area of the aperture blades and therefore increase the evaporation rate of lubricants.

Hey Gabor, I've heard of that one too 😀, somewhere here in the forum. That's probably related to older lenses with a propensity to fogging. I am not sure but I have an inkling that older lenses used different lubs (more gaseous) too? I could be wrong. We don't know how contemporary Leica lenses will fare in that respect (fogging) in fifty years time, but right now the major nuisance is when lub slowly spreads on the blades, and, at least to me, this happened when the aperture was fully open. FWIW.

.

 

[maddoc]

So it seems, old lens = open, new = stopped down? I will try to remember this ... 🙂

 

[telenous]

So it seems, old lens = open, new = stopped down? I will try to remember this ... 🙂

Exactly. Ignore my sage advice at your own peril. 😀

.

 

[Gilo25]

I just wanted to update all those who contributed and are interested that I asked Sherry Krauter and Don Goldberg and they both suggested to leave the lens alone for now as the oil on the blades is too little do any harm according to them (by the way at the back the blades are clean).

 

[gzz]

Well... i feel you pain

my ASPH is also three years old, and it shows oil in the same way, but a bit to a smaller extent. Also stored it wide open (i never knew the trick above)

Warranty is long gone, so I have already disassembled it partially for fixing a wobbling focus ring and wobbling front issue, and i noticed how much light oil is on the inside parts.


Build quality on modern lenses is really crappy, this is sad and it seems that it's profitable for the company.

VPR,

New member here trying to save some repair cost like you did. I am trying to fix the wobbling front issue and wonder if you could provide some guidance. I have had the lens disassembled to remove the hood, aperture ring, and the focus ring. I am puzzled on how to access the screws holding the focusing helicoid to the base. It seems to me that the front of the lens group can be twisted off to provide the clearance, but it did not budge after a couple of quick tries. I don't have an allen wrench small enough to loosen the three tiny bolts on the top. I wonder if that is the reason, or it simply needs a harder twist.

Many thanks.

 

[smile]

VPR,

New member here trying to save some repair cost like you did. I am trying to fix the wobbling front issue and wonder if you could provide some guidance. I have had the lens disassembled to remove the hood, aperture ring, and the focus ring. I am puzzled on how to access the screws holding the focusing helicoid to the base. It seems to me that the front of the lens group can be twisted off to provide the clearance, but it did not budge after a couple of quick tries. I don't have an allen wrench small enough to loosen the three tiny bolts on the top. I wonder if that is the reason, or it simply needs a harder twist.

Many thanks.

Hi there. Did you manage to disassemble the device? Can you submit some photos if available?