p.16 #1 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
metagraphica wrote:
Very nice sebboh. I've been thinking about getting one those Rokkors as well.
Have recently picked 3 Tamron SP Adaptall lenses. A 17mm (151b), a 24mm f/2.5, and a 90mm Macro f/2.5
My most recent lens is a CZ Jena 35mm f/2.8 Flektogon. Now I've got to pick up an m42 to EF adapter so I can try it out.
thanks, i've only used an ugly grade 90/2.5, but it was still a fantastic lens.
that flektogon looks quite attractive. is the build quality as good as it looks?
p.16 #2 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
Tariq Gibran wrote:
That's a nice looking Rokkor!
indeed, it is in very good cosmetic shape, particularly for it's age (silver aperture ring, metal focus ring). glass looks excellent as well, but has a fair bit of dust in it. i'll have to post some pictures with the lens tomorrow.
congrats on the new leica, i've always wanted one of the APO's.
p.16 #3 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
sebboh wrote:
thanks, i've only used an ugly grade 90/2.5, but it was still a fantastic lens.
that flektogon looks quite attractive. is the build quality as good as it looks?
Yep, the Tamron is fantastic, and I got an excellent deal on a practically brand new one. Very happy with it.
The build on the CZ Jena is great. Polished aluminum everywhere except for the mount and nose. It's a beautiful little lens.
I got it off fleabay and the description said 'light haze on internal element'. Well, unfortunately it's more than 'light'.
Not sure if it is separation between lens elements or a really piss poor cleaning job. I can see streaks in the 'haze'.
I'll try some shots with the lens to see how it effects the IQ. If it's bad I'll probably try opening it up to either clean
or repair.
p.16 #4 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
Streaks... a tell-tale sign of balsam separation! That's sad. I have the CZ/Jena Biotar 58/2 of the same look and build and it's sharp as a tack!
If it's like the separated lenses I've dealt with in the past it won't affect IQ too much unless there's bright-light coming in through it - at which point the images will loose a whole'lotta contrast and even "fog up" in some cases - if I can use that term. But like, for indoor shots or total shade shots there's usually not enough difference to distinguish a problem unless you had the identical lens (w/o separation) to compare to side-by-side directly.
p.16 #5 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
Bifurcator wrote:
Streaks... a tell-tale sign of balsam separation! That's sad. I have the CZ/Jena Biotar 58/2 of the same look and build and it's sharp as a tack!
Yep, that's what I was thinking as well, balsam separation. I have read that you can
heat the lenses elements gently with a hair dryer to re-soften the balsam and reset.
I'm guessing the trick would be keeping everything aligned so as not to introduce any
other problems. I was also wondering if I could just heat the entire lens up to say 250
in an oven and if that would soften the old balsam. Not sure what the melting point
of the balsam is. I suppose I'll have to do some research on it.
I just ordered an adapter to so I'll give it a try and see how the IQ is
before I decide to open it up.
I've looked at the 58/2's as well...was thinking about getting a matching one. I'll see
how the 35 works first.
p.16 #6 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
sebboh wrote:
indeed, it is in very good cosmetic shape, particularly for it's age (silver aperture ring, metal focus ring). glass looks excellent as well, but has a fair bit of dust in it. i'll have to post some pictures with the lens tomorrow.
congrats on the new leica, i've always wanted one of the APO's.
I have owned two of these particular Rokkors. First one had a lot of dust in it so I opened it up, cleaned it and it made a huge difference. Second one had stuck aperture blades so I had to completely dissemble it to clean the aperture blades. They are not too difficult to take apart though I did have a heck of a time getting the focusing helicoid back together on the second one.
Picked up the APO for $500 so it was hard not to buy.
p.16 #7 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
Tariq Gibran wrote:
I have owned two of these particular Rokkors. First one had a lot of dust in it so I opened it up, cleaned it and it made a huge difference. Second one had stuck aperture blades so I had to completely dissemble it to clean the aperture blades. They are not too difficult to take apart though I did have a heck of a time getting the focusing helicoid back together on the second one.
Picked up the APO for $500 so it was hard not to buy.
sweet deal!
i figured i would clean it and maybe upgrade the number of aperture blades if my attempts at such things with less expensive rokkors of similar design work out. is there much difference in assembly of the rubber grip versus metal grip 58/1.2s?
also, why the difficulty with helicoid on the second one?
p.16 #10 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
metagraphica wrote:
I was also wondering if I could just heat the entire lens up to say 250
in an oven and if that would soften the old balsam.
Sounds like a bad idea to me. The helicoid grease may melt and end up leaking onto the lens elements and/or aperture, not to mention other effects that the heating could have. Here is a recent discussion relevant to your problem: https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1000536
p.16 #11 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
crazeazn wrote:
yall have great stores, i almost never see anything leica/oly/zeiss/pentax/rokkor worth anything anywhere here in houston
i don't know any good stores myself. though i'm sure there must be some in a city as big as chicago, all the ones i've been to are super overpriced and not much interested in getting more old gear. i get all my lenses from ebay, online stores, and various buy/sell forums.
p.16 #12 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
sebboh wrote:
i don't know any good stores myself. though i'm sure there must be some in a city as big as chicago, all the ones i've been to are super overpriced and not much interested in getting more old gear. i get all my lenses from ebay, online stores, and various buy/sell forums.
Adorama has a pretty diverse collection of used glass. While you will pay a premium of about 15% over the forum sites, there's a warranty and easy return policy so no surprises. Their prices are significantly more reasonable than KEH with the exception of 'bargain' graded lenses, where some gems can be had.
Another vendor is Camerawest in California. They have a smaller selection but are reasonable people and will negotiate a price if you're a serious buyer. Bergen County Camera in northern New Jersey often has a nice selection of old glass and are likewise reasonable people to deal with. All of these guys have a web presence.
p.16 #13 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
sebboh wrote:
sweet deal!
i figured i would clean it and maybe upgrade the number of aperture blades if my attempts at such things with less expensive rokkors of similar design work out. is there much difference in assembly of the rubber grip versus metal grip 58/1.2s?
also, why the difficulty with helicoid on the second one?
The first lens was a later version with the rubber. It was full of dust to the degree that I was sure image quality would be affected. Fortunately, the dust was fairly easy to get at and I did not have to disassemble the entire lens. The one I had to disassemble was a metal version like yours. I had two issues with the focusing helicoid, the first not so big a deal. The threads are so fine and once you separate the parts, finding the starting point very carefully as to avoid the possibility of stripping them takes a bit of patience. Not that big of a deal though. My main issue was that once I had the helicoid back together, the lens would not run through the entire focusing range completely. Eventually, it worked out - I think I had the underlying piece beneath the helicoid in the wrong orientation which was obstructing the complete movement of the helicoid.
The complete disassembly of this rokkor was my first and I used a combination of these instructions and photos to do it:
p.16 #15 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
Given how much people around here know about cameras and lenses, I would not expect to see many "true bargains", which I am guessing could also be described as "under priced". You should find many "fair values" though.
p.16 #17 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
carstenw wrote:
Given how much people around here know about cameras and lenses, I would not expect to see many "true bargains", which I am guessing could also be described as "under priced". You should find many "fair values" though.
"Under priced" depends on the specific market I guess. When I bought my most recent Leica gear, I said to the store owner that his prices seemed low to me. He told me that he prices for the local market. Though he does look at recent completed auctions and the astronomical prices KEH are currently asking (I recently saw that they have a CY 28 2.8 MM for $789!), he would rather serve the local customer base and not deal with ebay. He also said he considers what he paid for stuff and does not gouge the local customer. He would rather make a little and serve the local market.
p.16 #20 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
AhamB wrote:
Sounds like a bad idea to me. The helicoid grease may melt and end up leaking onto the lens elements and/or aperture, not to mention other effects that the heating could have. Here is a recent discussion relevant to your problem: https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1000536
AhamB, thanks for this. I knew there was something really simple I was over looking in my idea.
