Voigtlander SC Skopar disassembly

[keytarjunkie]

Hey all. My Voigtlander 28/3.5 SC Skopar has developed some haze (seems to be a common problem with this lens over time). I was planning on opening it up. Perhaps also applying some stiffer grease on the helicoid because the focusing has almost zero resistance.

There are five nearly-identical SC Skopar lenses (21, 25, 28, 35, and 50/2.5) for Nikon/Contax systems, and they are 15-20 years old now, but I haven't seen anyone share info on how to disassemble one. It does appear that they would disassemble in a similar manner to many of the W-Nikkor lenses which are pretty easy to take apart. But I don't want to get too over-confident! If anyone can weigh in with photos or advice it would be much appreciated.

[edit: I found constant exposure to sunlight/UV made a noticeable improvement in reducing the haze, so maybe, don't leave this lens inside for a long time!]

 

[Miles.]

I have no direct experience with repairing these lenses but I’ve heard from a reliable source (Skyllaney Optics) that the haze commonly found in early CV lenses is often within the cemented groups making proper cleaning very difficult.

Good luck and please post your findings as you go!

 

[keytarjunkie]

I have no direct experience with repairing these lenses but I’ve heard from a reliable source (Skyllaney Optics) that the haze commonly found in early CV lenses is often within the cemented groups making proper cleaning very difficult.

Good luck and please post your findings as you go!

Thanks unfortunate news, thanks though.

 

[Retro-Grouch]

I have no direct experience with repairing these lenses but I’ve heard from a reliable source (Skyllaney Optics) that the haze commonly found in early CV lenses is often within the cemented groups making proper cleaning very difficult.

Good luck and please post your findings as you go!

I had the same lens, with the same problem, and was informed of the same disassembly issues by Skyllaney as well. They clearly know their stuff, and were the only folks who didn't request that I send the lens in for "inspection" at $75 to $100. I sold the lens as is, and replaced it with a Nikon 28. Very happy with my choice.

 

[JeffS7444]

I can confirm that the haze in my S-mount 28 mm Voigtlander lens was within the cemented rear optical group. It's easy enough to remove said group, though separating and recementing them is something that I haven't yet tried.

As modern optical adhesives are typically cured using ultraviolet light, perhaps additional UV light exposure could be worth a try?

I didn't spend too much time working on it, but do recall being able to also remove the front optical cell readily enough, and my impression was that there was nothing particularly tricky about disassembling the lens.

 

[Retro-Grouch]

Well, de-cementing the elements requires more bravery than I could muster! When I communicated with Skyllaney, they recommended I search for a trashed lens without the haze, from which I could cannibalize the cell. The LTM version is the same as the S mount, internally, so that's a possibility. However, that seemed like far more aggravation than I was willing to take on. Unfortunate, since the ergonomics and the performance of the Skopar are so nice.