This lens is good. But unfortunately its falling apart. the focus ring is not working and the lens is opening up at different areas and it does makes sense now the cost of the lens and its construction.
Construction elements are strong but the construction technique is more like a LEGO.
I have contacted the seller but i am just thinking i burned my finder trying this lens. If nothing works with the seller, i may try local shops to fix this for the lens is brilliant for the price but the quality is only as good as the price.
May be i got a lemon.but just be careful that the construction of this lens is not really TOP notch
yeah..will post it..i didnt want to keep it open and i basically screwed in back..but its falling apart. The filter element keeps rotating and the lower part of the lens basically came out while using the MF ring.
I could see the lubricant and basically if i continued to rotate i can separate the front and rear element.
It definitely looks like refurbished to me rather than new in box. I am going to talk to the seller for a resolution.
I dont remember the SN. But i finally fixed it myself. The best thing about this lens is it has very simply mechanism of focus and lens arrangement.
It took some time to understand and work on ensuring infinity focus but at the end of the day this is one lens you can completely work on with standard set of micro screw drivers.
Its just that easy. The front hood mount probably lost its grooves that it keeps rotating but that does not impact anything. So the lens is back to working order and shooting fine.
Advice is:-
Ensure those tiny three screws you see on the focus ring is TIGHT. You will realize that these screws get lose on operation and suddenly while trying to focus you will inadvertently dislodge the mechanism inside which in turn will make the lens open in the middle when you twist the focus ring.
I had no patience or i didnt want to spend another 100 dollars shipping and hassle having got it from Hongkong. So i decided to DIY and learn a little bit, and i actually learnt a lot.
This lens can be opened to the bare level with your box screw drivers
And the overall logic of putting this lens is exactly LEGO like. Nothing complicated and nothing feels high end. Except for the glasses and the open aperture which makes it the best buy for this price.
The pictures speak a different word while the lens itself is not super good quality. You cannot abuse it like you do with even your cheap canon lenses.
Lesson learnt:-
Tighten all the screws you can visibly see in this Mitakon.
Always be gentle. The hood mount is so flimsy and if you rotate a mm further you are basically breaking the cheap plastic grooves.
Dont every worry about working on this lens mechanically. All you need to know is basic rules of LEGO. I should have taken pictures but i will anyway redo it as currently it slightly focuses beyond infinity. I am not touching it now but when i do it, i will share detail pictures.
The lens is back to working order .....here are few after the fix.
This is the newer version with bigger filter thread. I will definitely put some documentation when i take them apart. I am in no way selling it for the quality is top notch(i meant the pictures) wide open.
And i am just waiting to upgrade to A7S from A7r and i am sure i will enjoy it.
I am so into DIY for a whole lot of things and spending few hours figuring out a lens is so much fun. I remember when i picked up a 50dollar lens just to open it and see how things are put in place .
This lens is constructed in a way that you will hardly find a way you can dislodge dust into the elements while you can complete split open the lens and its focussing mechanism.
Heavenhated wrote:
I dont remember the SN. But i finally fixed it myself. The best thing about this lens is it has very simply mechanism of focus and lens arrangement.
It took some time to understand and work on ensuring infinity focus but at the end of the day this is one lens you can completely work on with standard set of micro screw drivers.
Its just that easy. The front hood mount probably lost its grooves that it keeps rotating but that does not impact anything. So the lens is back to working order and shooting fine.
Advice is:-
Ensure those tiny three screws you see on the focus ring is TIGHT. You will realize that these screws get lose on operation and suddenly while trying to focus you will inadvertently dislodge the mechanism inside which in turn will make the lens open in the middle when you twist the focus ring.
Here is what happened and now i am basically an expert. I fixed the infinity focus problem as well now.. Basically if you want this lens to focus even closer but ready to lose infinity focus, i can help
I can call myself expert for i now completely understand its operational and purely mechanical construction.
Things are back to normal now except for the annoying hood mount which is basically kaput to me. It keeps rotating and is no longer tightly coupled with the lens body.
I am not sending it for repair and i will post the full details of what to and how to open this lens
You see the small screws in the bottom right, make sure you have these screws tight. This is the primary cause for this stage and the mechanical lever that helps in moving the lens basically came out of the groove as i had no clue i was not focusing but opening the lens.
The lens has no flaws as long all the screws are tight
The lens has no flaws as long all the screws are tight
Whoever assembled the lens must have forgotten to use threadlocker. Fortunately enough that stuff is pretty cheap and easy to get. Great stuff for just this kind of things.
Its not the thread locker that is the issue. It is the design itself. the focus ring has three small screws. These screws are part of assembling and disassembling.
To open the lens the order of removal is as follows:-
- Mount screws - 3
- Mount holder where the scale rests - 3 screws
- Then there is the focus mechanism cylinder with two T shaped pins bolted by tiny two screws.
(more on this below)
- Now without removing the focus ring screws, rotating the focus ring will dislodge the lower compartment that has the focussing mechanism. The mechanism is simply to move the lower lens in vertical axis.
- Removing the focussing ring screw will expose the lower compartment.
- The lower compartment is made up of two sections. These two sections will help you fix the focussing distance between infinity and close up focus. This is what you use to adjust your lens to focus to infinity and beyond. Its like the main cylinder is connected to a focussing cylinder.
How the focussing works:-
The lower screw compartment has groves inside where the T shaped section slides into. What this basically does is to hold compartment from rotating while allowing the focussing cylinder to push the rear element in and out. This way the lens does not open.
Unfortunately when i was using the lens the T shaped pin basically got dislodged and i had to go through the entire opening of lens to get them into the slot as well as adjust for infinity focus.
The threadlocker is not needed here as the mechanism is set in such a way that there is a small screw in the focussing thread part attached to the cyclinder which limits total movement in both directions. This is the maximum the lens can rotate which inturn protects the lens.
My issue was the focussing screw came loose along with the internal T shaped pin screw which basically openend the lens in the middle.
Hey man, you're a better person than me. I sent mine back to hk last week
Same exact issue. The focus ring was wiggly out of the box, but it unraveled and unscrewed after my 10th shot. The image quality is amazing with the a7s, I miss it already.
Hey, I have a friend in hong kong, he made the purchased, then sent it to another friend over to the states. Human trafficking lol. We paid $830 for it, i believe its the dark knight version. IQ is great but build is complete sh*te. Or maybe its a damn lemon, I don't know. I was disappointed.
Ok The good part now. Steve from ZY saw the video and pictures and has agreed to replace the lens without any evaluation. He has agreed to send me a new lens from the factory and take the current one for testing.
I am sending the lens tomorrow and will keep you posted.
Its good to have seller support for these lenses from HK. Hope all ends well.
