Oops, have to refill...

[Pherdinand]

...my PayPal account, since I have won a... Carl Zeiss Sonnar 50/1.5! 😀
Although I scr3wed up a bit with the contax IIIa body of the same seller (waited too long), maybe it's better like this - i can use the Sonnar on my Kiev. After all, the camera is just a light-tight box, right? (Sorry Honu, no offense intended!)

And, check this: I didn't even use an electronic sniper! Not needed - there was NOBODY ELSE interested in the item. Huh.

That line in the description "Filter Bezel does not appear will take a filter?" bugs me a bit, but I won't use filters anyway, so I said what the hell. I think it was a good deal. Please tell me it was a good deal. 🙄

PS: thanks Oscar.

 

[pangkievrange]

It looks like it has a dented filter ring.

 

[Pherdinand]

Yep. If that's its only problem, no problem. I have a 42mm slip-on hood; filters, what for.

 

[rover]

With a slip on hood you will be all set. Actually, with a Series VI hood and 42mm slip on retaining ring you will be able to use filters too.

 

[Mike Kovacs]

Yup, that's just like my $20 one I picked-up with edge separation that I fixed. They are superb lenses and the double 12-blade aperture is a marvel to behold in motion. Lots of sample photos in my gallery from that lens.

I have fixed many dented filter rings. I wouldn't try to bang it out though unless I removed all the glass and did a complete CLA on it. Its about the easiest lens to work on that you'll find:

http://host.fptoday.com/melek/zeiss/repair/sonnar-clean.html

 

[Pherdinand]

$20?? :bang:
In fact I know they are good. I had one, with a contax IIIa, already. For a month or two, when it got stolen... Since then, the idea is haunting me.
I will sleep better soon.😀
Thanks for the link and advices.

 

[taffer]

Yeah glad you got it Pherdi !!! 🙂

And btw, the Contax 'a' to go for is the unmetered IIa, way nicer 😉

Oscar

 

[Mike Kovacs]

$20 because of the separation but she is otherwise E+ and with a flawless front element.

If you see rainbow-like, oil-on-water looking patterns on your lens, give me a shout because cement failure is unfortunately common in these late model Sonnars. Its expensive to repair, except for a little trick I learned that seems to work well enough judging by the performance of my lens.

Focal point wanted $300 to recement the inner triplet on this lens.

IIA is nicer but fetches even more $$$. The prewar II fetches even more relative to the lumpy-looking III.

 

[phototone]

If you see rainbow-like, oil-on-water looking patterns on your lens, give me a shout because cement failure is unfortunately common in these late model Sonnars. Its expensive to repair, except for a little trick I learned that seems to work well enough judging by the performance of my lens.

So....tell us how to do it. Pretty please. I have a couple of lenses (not Sonnars), that have this "rainbow like" separation. Please tell those of us who are fearless and ready to try, and willing to sacrifice a lens if it fails. In particular, I have a vintage Voigtlander view camera lens from the 19th century, not particularly rare, but totally unusuable due to cement failure.

 

[Mike Kovacs]

First, it has to be edge separation and the cement has to not be Canada Balsam. For your old balsam Voigtlander lens, you can find people on the net that have removed the element and repaired simply by gently warming it up in an oven. Even complete separation, cleaning and reapplication (preferably with Canada Balsam) of these isn't too bad. You just have to take the pains to make sure that you centre the lenses as perfectly as possible. It helps to have the skills to build a jig for the assembly. I prefer Canada Balsam because if you do a bad job, its reversible, unlike the UV-cured optical cements.

For the edge separation (normally epoxy failure), I followed a lead posted by Rick Oleson in a forum. Remove the affected element and set aside. I took WD-40 (yup no lie) sprayed it into a vial and left it to settle into its two main fractions, heavy and light. I then got impatient and centrifuged it but leaving it for 2-3 days accomplishes the same thing. I took an insulin syringe equipped with a thin, 25 guage needle and drew some of the light, clear fraction from the top taking great care not to draw the heavy junk at the bottom.

Having scratched the paint around the seam of the interface, I very slowly and carefully wicked this oil into the lens. It fills the microscopic void and will by capilliary action eventually cover it all. You do not need much oil, probably well less than 100 microlitres total. Take care to go slow as its possible to get a "separation bubble" that won't ever fill-in.

It has stayed put since December 2004. The Toronto photo.net people I met last month had a close look at this lens and did not notice the repair at all. It is still fine and the oil appears to stay put by capilliary action. It does not appear to migrate elsewhere or cause any sort of fog that I can detect with a flashlight. If I could get the epoxy apart, then I would recement with Canada Balsam but its not easy to get apart and I have no idea how Focal Point does it. (Henry Scherer, Contax repairman won't touch these either)

Finally, note that this type of separation, while it looks bad, has very little effect on the photos taken. If you look in my gallery, my most commented photo "Ally in Blanket" was taken BEFORE I repaired the edge separation, with a nearly wide open f/stop. I used to have a photo online showing how bad it was but I only have the one below handy now where you can see the rainbow patterns in the middle element.

 

[Pherdinand]

Thanks Mike. Something worth to try, if it's the case. I've seen quite a number of old lenses going very cheap because of edge separation.

 

[Mike Kovacs]

Here are some more photos - the element after the oil treatment and the final result after the job was done.

The little blip you see is a small brown patch that is in the rear group. Its apparently very common to see in West German Sonnars.

 

[Pherdinand]

Hey, the Sonnar arrived! It was sent on thursday, and it arrived from the US in five days, amazing.

It is as it was described... glass is fine, all is fine except the filter ring is badly damaged on one side. The front element will need some cleaning too; ethanol should do it. Except the filter ring, it's a beauty! The aperture ring moves very smooth... coating is good, back lens surface is perfect.

Obviously i can't get the lens retaining ring out like this. Maybe i leave it as it is; i don't use filters anyway.

 

[taffer]

Hey congrats Pherdi !!! 🙂

A Series VI filter holder will work on that lens, but some of them may scratch the lens' black 'nose'.

Oscar

 

[Pherdinand]

The black nose? It's badly scratched anyway, Oscar. (Can't make a photo of it right now.)