Think twice before sending a lens for a CLA ...

[ray*j*gun]

The majority of the people on this forum learned the term "CLA" online, barely understand what it means and are far too eager to send everything they buy off immediately for a "CLA".

First of all, it is better to leave well enough alone, and if something is wrong, you get it "repaired".

Everybody is "CLA" happy. There is no point in dismantling old mechanisms and having some bozo do a "CLA".

Do very minor repairs as needed. If it's working, don't "fix" it. As you can see, once someone who doesn't know what they are doing destroys something, Humpty-Dumpty doesn't go together again.

If there was a minor spot of fungus in an old lens that didn't make a difference in the images the lens produced, I would not have it opened up and messed around with.

This is a pretty big forum, quite an indictment "the majority of the people on this forum....." and "everybody is CLA happy....blah blah blah....."

 

[Boris Stupak]

https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&tab=nw#hl=en&newwindow=1&q=site:rangefinderforum.com+cla&safe=off

 

[sc_rufctr]

Minolta Rokkor 21/2.8 after being "serviced" in Braunschweig, Germany ... Snip...

Full thread over here:
http://forum.mflenses.com/received-my-21-2-8-rokkor-from-a-skilled-repairperson-today-t61771.html

That's just ridiculous. Whoever did that should hang their head in shame.

It's fairly easy to clean fungus without damaging the delicate coatings of older lenses.
In the worst cases you can use a 50/50 mixture of amonia and hydrogen peroxide. That will dissolve really nasty fungus from just about anything.
You just have to patient and work methodically.

I hope they compensate you appropriately.

 

[Gumby]

Well, I have never regretted having my kit CLAd - absolutely essential to have kit in proper working order - particularly if you earn a living with it as I do.

Clearly people like Roger above have an axe to grind about this matter - fair enough we all have our pet peeves - but as indicated the OP had fungus on his lens and, quite rightly, wanted it removed.

I am not familiar with the guy that did the job but if there is a moral here it's to use someone good and don't choose the cheapest option.

I'm with you 100%... except the comment about Roger. He wrote the truth when he wrote, "Most people, though, are unwilling to pay a skilled repairer the kind of money that is required ...".

 

[kbg32]

Was this a reputable repair place that has dealt with the issue that you sent the lens in for? Was it recommended? What they did is a shame. They should offer you replacement value of the lens, but we know that will not happen. What kind of warranty/guarantee do they give with their service? Read the fine print. It might absolve them of any wrongdoing unfortunately.

 

[tunalegs]

Fungus in lenses is often not worth worrying about. I have a few lenses with a bit of fungus and they work fine. I sold a Schneider Curtagon to somebody for cheap because it had a lot of fungus, and when they posted pics they had taken with it, I wished I hadn't sold it!

The repairer probably tried to remove some etching the fungus left behind to make the owner happy, and ended up making things worse than if the lens had just been left alone.

 

[stompyq]

The majority of the people on this forum learned the term "CLA" online, barely understand what it means and are far too eager to send everything they buy off immediately for a "CLA".

First of all, it is better to leave well enough alone, and if something is wrong, you get it "repaired".

Everybody is "CLA" happy. There is no point in dismantling old mechanisms and having some bozo do a "CLA".

Do very minor repairs as needed. If it's working, don't "fix" it. As you can see, once someone who doesn't know what they are doing destroys something, Humpty-Dumpty doesn't go together again.

If there was a minor spot of fungus in an old lens that didn't make a difference in the images the lens produced, I would not have it opened up and messed around with.

+1 on this. All that was needed was to get a magnifying glass and burn off the fungus aka kill the mycelium. I did this to a 55mm micro-nikkor about 15 years ago and the lens is still purring with absolutely no increase in the size of the fungus spot. Of course it will not have any effect on images. A real pity

 

[colyn]

I make a habit of not buying a lens with fungus. If I do buy and the fungus was not mentioned in the description I send it back. Let someone else deal with it.

Once fungus etches the coating or glass the damage is done and any attempt to clean it usually makes the damage worse..

The only "real" way of removing it is to send it to someone who is experienced in cleaning and recoating the element(s). But...is the lens worth the cost or can it be replaced with a like one for less???

With that said...I do agree in part with the idea of not CLAing. If it is working leave it alone but if it is not working properly get it serviced. Just because the slow speeds are out or slow does not mean the higher speeds are working fine. I have found in most cases the faster speeds are also out of tolorances and while it may or may not affect exposure it will when using less tolorant films..

 

[Roger Hicks]

. . . Clearly people like Roger above have an axe to grind . . .

Yes. The axe is, "get it done properly (which is expensive), or not at all". Which bit are you arguing with?

Cheers,

R.

 

[Ansel]

Yes. The axe is, "get it done properly (which is expensive), or not at all". Which bit are you arguing with?

Cheers,

R.

Which is more or less what I was saying....

So why argue against me with your "standard response to this argument"?

 

[Nokton48]

John Van Stelton is an expert in restoring and repairing optics.

Here is what he says about fungus. Click on "Fungus and Haze Removal".

http://www.focalpointlens.com/fp_intro.html

I wish you Good Luck resolving your issue. The lens has a street value of $300-$450 (I paid $350 for mine, in sort of rough condition), so it may be cheaper to simply buy another better one.

 

[BLKRCAT]

John did work on my summicron. While not having any fungus it did have some coating failure and a couple cleaning marks on the front element.

The cost of the repair was fairly high. Almost $300 but worth it in the end.