TT Artisan 28mm f/5.6 front wobble

[AusDLK]

has anyone else experienced this:



i've been contact with TT Artisans about this but they don't seem all that interested in helping me get this taken care of.

considering the relatively low cost of this lens in the first place, the cost of a round-trip to China + whatever they may charge to make a repair, may not be worth it.

any ideas?

 

[enasniearth]

is the retaining ring for the optical unit loose ? or is that play in the focus mount ?
I would ditch the hood as that makes it worse & use as is

unfortunately - since there is a double helix screw for the focus - the machining has to be quite good
even with modern cnc machines - it takes someone testing the fit & assembly
for me on these lenses the killer is that the rear of the mount is bright aluminum & may cause flare

I had one for a while - it didn't have this problem - I ended up selling it as I shoot quite a bit in lower light
& the aperature made me use long shutter times
as I remember it was pretty good for the price

 

[AusDLK]

i think the hood caused the problem. i tend to carry my camera rather haphazedly over my shoulder and no telling how many times the hood was knocked.

there is nothing loose that i can see.

maybe if the indicated cosmetic ring could be removed there would be something to tighten underneath. that seems like it would fix the problem if there was.

i not ready yet to go after this ring to see if it pops off or unscrews. at the moment, i don't have the proper tools either way.

 

[AusDLK]

suspicious

 

[enasniearth]

the retaining ring would be on the rear of the lens not front
if removing the hood helped - once again I would go with that

 

[AusDLK]

the retaining ring would be on the rear of the lens not front
if removing the hood helped - once again I would go with that

removing the hood only reduced stress on the loose part of the lens, did nothing one way or the other relative to the wobble.

everything on the camera side of the lens is tight.

 

[enasniearth]

look at the lens from the back
thankfully they are painting the rear flat black now unlike the one I had
take the front and move - wobble it looking at the back to see if anything is loose
there is an outer spanner ring with 2 holes & 3 screws probably can't tighten it
perhaps the next ring in ?
I really don't know but many lenses the optical group you can separate from the focus mount

 

[AusDLK]

look at the lens from the back
thankfully they are painting the rear flat black now unlike the one I had
take the front and move - wobble it looking at the back to see if anything is loose
there is an outer spanner ring with 2 holes & 3 screws probably can't tighten it
perhaps the next ring in ?
I really don't know but many lenses the optical group you can separate from the focus mount

thanks again for the feedback but nothing moves at all on the rear of the lens

the problem is isolated to the front part of the lens from the aperture ring forward. it is loose in both places indicated by the arrows. that is on both sides of the aperture ring. everything else, including the focus ring, is secure

 

[enasniearth]

my guess
the outer ring with 2 holes & 3 screws unlikely to help - don't do it
around the glass the next ring in has very wide slots still unlikely
next ring may be it - but once again a guess - I guess

leitz machining is among the best
& even that can not be perfect after 70 years

so an aftermarket lens is not going to be up to that standard

does it shoot well without the hood ?
a 28mm f5.6 lens has quite a bit of depth of field
so that would be my iron test on this
perfection is always striven for but seldom achieved

 

[enasniearth]

don't worry about the aperature ring -- on a less expensive lens its always going to have some play

 

[AusDLK]

don't worry about the aperature ring on a less expensive lens its always going to have some play

i concerned that the lens is about to fall apart. it was not always like this and it is getting worse. this is a far worse condition than "play."

certainly not the end of the world if it does...

 

[Duofold RF]

If this lens is indeed a close copy of a Leica design, that large black ring should unscrew just like on the classic Summicron v1/v2, where it secures the name ring/aperture ring assembly.
Try using a rubber plug to see if it turns counterclockwise. If it comes off easily, any play or looseness you’re feeling is likely caused by loose screws or spacing washers under it.

The inside black ring with slots is the front lens group.

 

[Duofold RF]

I’ve always tried to avoid keeping the lens hood mounted all the time—it can damage the front barrel or focus ring if you accidentally knock it against something. The Summicron v4 is notorious for exactly this kind of issue.

 

[enasniearth]

the lens is multicoated - the only reason they include a hood is to mirror it to the leitz summaron 2.8cm f5.6 reissue package
you absolutely don't need it
the optical formula is unlike the summaron - its completely different
the lens I had performed well but to expect a leica copy is not reasonable

 

[AusDLK]

If this lens is indeed a close copy of a Leica design, that large black ring should unscrew just like on the classic Summicron v1/v2, where it secures the name ring/aperture ring assembly.
Try using a rubber plug to see if it turns counterclockwise. If it comes off easily, any play or looseness you’re feeling is likely caused by loose screws or spacing washers under it.

The inside black ring with slots is the front lens group, without unscrew the large black ring on top of it, it will not budge on either directions.

that is my next move. i've ordered a set of these rubber plug things from Amazon and will see what happens. i feel pretty sure that if the lens is going to self-repairable (and not require a replacement part of some kind) the solution will be revealed under that ring

it is concerning that a concentric ring deeper, closer to the glass, turns easily in either direction and does not appear to tighten. that could be B-A-D. 🙂

 

[kxl]

Mine has some very minor play, but nowhere near that kind wobble on your copy.

 

[Duofold RF]

that is my next move……it is concerning that a concentric ring deeper, closer to the glass, turns easily in either direction and does not appear to tighten. that could be B-A-D. 🙂

Where do you purchase the lens? B&H or TTartisans web?

 

[AusDLK]

Where do you purchase the lens? B&H or TTartisans web?

i purchased it second-hand. this problem manifested well after i received the lens.

 

[Duofold RF]

i purchased it second-hand. this problem manifested well after i received the lens.

Disassembly – TTArtisan 50mm F1.2 lens in Fuji X mount
Use this as reference manufacture tends to use similar design philosophy. The front group in this 50mm f1.2 just plug in no thread, maybe that’s why you can move it freely.

 

[AusDLK]

Disassembly – TTArtisan 50mm F1.2 lens in Fuji X mount
Use this as reference manufacture tends to use similar design philosophy. The front group in this 50mm f1.2 just plug in no thread, maybe that’s why you can move it freely.

very cool, thank you. after a quick glance, i'm hopeful!