Peter Jennings
Well-known
Has anyone here ever disassembled this lens for cleaning? I have just recieved one of these in Nikon rf mount and it has oily aperture blades and some oily condensation behind the front element group. Does the front element group simply screw out as with the 5cm Nikkors? I've disassembled and cleaned every other Nikkor I've owned and none of them were very complicated. However, this is a unique lens and I thought I'd ask for advice here before trying to open it up.
Thanks
Thanks
Its a very easy lens to work on. The front optical group screws out just like the 5cm Nikkors. The outer 48mm thread and aperture ring stay put while the inner 43mm thread and front optics screw out.
Peter Jennings
Well-known
Thanks for the quick reply! I'll go ahead and give it a try today. I've been shooting with it on a A7 the past couple days and even with the oil issues the results are quite impressive. I think this lens is a keeper.
If you want to completely remove the aperture blades for cleaning, you'll need to go in from the back as well. To remove the optical block from the focus helical, unscrew and remove the rearmost optical group (it just screws off by hand) and then use a pinset or similar to loosen and remove the retaining ring which is visible once the rearmost optical group is removed. It should be straightforward from there.
Peter Jennings
Well-known
Thanks again, jon. I removed the wide rear element earlier and noticed how thin the retaining ring was. I don't have the right tool to remove that without tearing it up. The pins on my spanner are too thick to fit in the grooves. I'll try cleaning it from the front without removing the blades. The oil seems thin and not sticky. It should be an easy clean with a little naptha.
Peter, I use this pinset to loosen that hard to access retaining ring. Its just a cheapie from the Daiso 100 YEN store that I've bent to the right angle and then filed the tips to fit into the grooves of the retaining ring. It does the trick. Just need to grip it as low as possible to prevent it from twisting or slipping.
Peter Jennings
Well-known
Thanks for the tip, jon! We have daiso in Korea, too. The lens is now clean (enough). The oil came off the element and blades easily. I'll let the naphtha evaporate and then screw the front group back on.
Thanks again!
Thanks again!
Papercut
Well-known
Jon and Peter:
Would removing oil on blades of this lens be easiest enough for a first foray into lens cleaning? I've never done that before but have this lens coming and the eBay description says "a touch of oil on the blades". (I don't mind buying the tools to do the job properly.) Or should I just send it off to a specialist (Sherry / DAG)?
Would removing oil on blades of this lens be easiest enough for a first foray into lens cleaning? I've never done that before but have this lens coming and the eBay description says "a touch of oil on the blades". (I don't mind buying the tools to do the job properly.) Or should I just send it off to a specialist (Sherry / DAG)?
Papercut
Well-known
Easy because ... ??? I guess I've been thinking whether the disassembly and reassembly of the optical elements is straightforward or not. But, your comment raises the issue of the blades themselves being more or less tricky. What makes one type easy and another hard? (Perhaps I should pick up some cheap Russian lenses to fool with before I tackle a rare Nikkor LTM.)
Papercut
Well-known
Thanks, pm! Helpful info for a neophyte!
Peter Jennings
Well-known
This lens was easy because, as jonmanjiro described, you can access the aperture blade assembly by simply unscrewing the front element unit. I would not recommend trying to remove the blades and clean them individually. I've done that with a couple 5cm 1.4 Nikkors - but only because they had loose blades. Reassembling them properly and getting them back into the lens body is very tedious work. You can clean the blades by repeatedly applying naphtha and wiping it away with lens tissue. Keep doing it until you see no more oily residue.
Peter Jennings
Well-known
Papercut,
My lens is the S mount version - not LTM. I'm not sure if there would be any difference in the cleaning method. I believe jonmanjiro has both, so maybe he could tell you.
My lens is the S mount version - not LTM. I'm not sure if there would be any difference in the cleaning method. I believe jonmanjiro has both, so maybe he could tell you.
Papercut
Well-known
Peter, thanks for both posts! I had (for no good reason) assumes you had the LTM version.
If you're reasonably handy at fixing things, I think you'll be fine.
One of my first forays into fixing a lens involved removing the aperture blades from a vintage S-mount W-Nikkor 35/1.8. The aperture ring indicated the lens was stopped down to f/22, but the actual aperture opening was about f/8 when comparing to my reissue S-mount W-Nikkor 35/1.8. So after removing them and much head scratching, I finally worked out that the L-shaped aperture blades were slightly longer on one side and had been previously installed upside down! So I installed them the right way up, reassembled the lens, and the problem was solved.
Reinstalling aperture blades takes a steady hand and patience (I'd be happy to share my technique for this if you decide to try), but if the goal is removing oil, I wouldn't feel like I did a proper cleaning job without removing and fully cleaning them and the aperture blade housing area.
I find RF Nikkors to be very logically designed, and I've never had a problem repairing one. I can't say the same about Leica lenses and Canon LTM lenses!
Peter, thanks for both posts! I had (for no good reason) assumes you had the LTM version.
The S-mount and LTM W-Nikkor 35/1.8s are very similarly constructed, especially the aperture mechanism. I haven't checked to be 100% sure, but my guess is that the S-mount and LTM aperture blades are identical.
Papercut
Well-known
Thanks, Jon. I appreciate the advice and your experience! I'll see how the lens looks when it arrives. If I get up the nerve to give it a go, rest assured I'll pester you for your technique on reinstalling the blades.
Peter Jennings
Well-known
I would agree with Jon that the proper technique for cleaning would be to remove the blades, but I don't think it's 100% necessary in most cases. I may eventually do that with this lens if the oil comes back, but for now I'm content. Oil on blades isn't as critical with RF lenses as it would be with say an Auto Nikkor for a Nikon F with auto aperture adjustment.
I agree with you Peter, and its most likely not necessary with Kevin's lens. Just the perfectionist in me speaking
The front optical group of the LTM version of the W-Nikkor 35/1.8 is a tad easier to remove than the already easy to remove front optical group of the S-mount version. Just put a rubber band around the front chrome ring for grip, and then twist anticlockwise.
Papercut
Well-known
Good to know!
It sounds like getting to the blades won't be hard with this lens, even for a neophyte like myself. So I probably should just try naphtha and a Qtip on the surface first, see if that fixes it. Rather than perhaps get in over my head with the blades. Anyway, sorry to Peter for hijacking his thread!
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
I took my 35/1.8 in LTM to Nippon Photo Clinic here in NYC. This is like a Japanese shop in NYC.
Cost was not inexpensive: about $150.00 I believe.
This was for a CLA.
Cal
Cost was not inexpensive: about $150.00 I believe.
This was for a CLA.
Cal
Peter Jennings
Well-known
Anyway, sorry to Peter for hijacking his thread!
Not at all! The more information the better. Thanks to all who contributed!