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Cleaning inside of Topcor 135 RE Auto
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 24, 2018 9:46 am    Post subject: Cleaning inside of Topcor 135 RE Auto Reply with quote
Hi All
I am looking for some help with my Topcor RE Auto 1:35 F135 lens. This lens has a slight film on the inside of the front element this covers 75% of the glass. The lens still take resonable picture but this would likely improve if I could clean it.

Is there an easy way to get to it, or is it a major dismantle?
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance


PostPosted: Wed Jan 24, 2018 1:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
If it's only the front element, it should be relatively easy to do, all you need is a spanner and cleaning supplies, and perhaps a rubber ring to help remove the ID ring.

search for "Camera Lens Repair Tool Rubber" on ebay.

This one might work
https://www.amazon.com/Japan-Vacuum-Camera-Opener-Repair/dp/B0013HFYKK/ref=pd_sim_421_7?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0013HFYKK&pd_rd_r=9V6281A535C63JG5ESMJ&pd_rd_w=QqEsG&pd_rd_wg=pASZA&psc=1&refRID=9V6281A535C63JG5ESMJ


PostPosted: Wed Jan 24, 2018 7:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I have the set from Japan Hobby and they are OK.


PostPosted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 6:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks for the replies,

I have managed to get the front ring off but cannot see how to go further, it does not look like I can get to it from the front of the lens??

Update: After looking at the tools mentioned above, I figured out how to get to the rest of the front element. Had to make up my own tool using an old egg cup & a piece of neoprene rubber.
The lens is reassembled, clean on the inside & the photo's are much better, it is also a lot easier to focus as I can see much better.

Thanks for the help


PostPosted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 2:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
lol, I guess I should have explained a bit more, glad you got it clean and back together.
A Topcor RE 28/2.8 and 58/1.8 will go nicely with it.

Actually there are 2 nice black 28's on ebay right now.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Topcor-28mm-F2-8-RE-Manual-Focus-Wide-Angle-Prime-Lens/302606200029
https://www.ebay.com/itm/TOPCOR-28mm-F2-8-RE-AUTO-TOPCON-TOKYO-KOGAKU-Wide-Angle-Prime-Lens-Exakta-Mount/272875302567


PostPosted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 9:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lightshow wrote:
lol, I guess I should have explained a bit more, glad you got it clean and back together.
A Topcor RE 28/2.8 and 58/1.8 will go nicely with it.

Actually there are 2 nice black 28's on ebay right now.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Topcor-28mm-F2-8-RE-Manual-Focus-Wide-Angle-Prime-Lens/302606200029
https://www.ebay.com/itm/TOPCOR-28mm-F2-8-RE-AUTO-TOPCON-TOKYO-KOGAKU-Wide-Angle-Prime-Lens-Exakta-Mount/272875302567


Thanks, I already have one, Only just starting to work with it & very happy with the results. Pictures are sharp with good contrast & colour.
Also have the 20mm 1.4 & 50mm RE Gn 1.8. The 50mm will be the next one to fix, focus is a bit sticky due to the grease. I am a bit reluctant to pull it compleatly to bits , will do a bit more research before trying.
Would you know if the 50mm GN front lens comes apart in the same way as the 135? I know that they are a bit differant in the construction, wish I could find a good diagram before dismantling it.

I have noticed something unusual with all of the Topcor lenses though & would like to know why the pictures seem to be more colourful & vibrant when I use my older NEX 5T than on my A6000
Both cameras have the same settings, I have checked this a few times. Would it just be due to the different sensors? the images are equally sharp with the NEX having a little more contrast.

I would have expected the A 6000 to be better Anyone else noticed this?


PostPosted: Fri Jan 26, 2018 10:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
adonuff wrote:
Lightshow wrote:
lol, I guess I should have explained a bit more, glad you got it clean and back together.
A Topcor RE 28/2.8 and 58/1.8 will go nicely with it.

Actually there are 2 nice black 28's on ebay right now.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Topcor-28mm-F2-8-RE-Manual-Focus-Wide-Angle-Prime-Lens/302606200029
https://www.ebay.com/itm/TOPCOR-28mm-F2-8-RE-AUTO-TOPCON-TOKYO-KOGAKU-Wide-Angle-Prime-Lens-Exakta-Mount/272875302567


Thanks, I already have one, Only just starting to work with it & very happy with the results. Pictures are sharp with good contrast & colour.
Also have the 20mm 1.4 & 50mm RE Gn 1.8. The 50mm will be the next one to fix, focus is a bit sticky due to the grease. I am a bit reluctant to pull it compleatly to bits , will do a bit more research before trying.
Would you know if the 50mm GN front lens comes apart in the same way as the 135? I know that they are a bit differant in the construction, wish I could find a good diagram before dismantling it.

I have noticed something unusual with all of the Topcor lenses though & would like to know why the pictures seem to be more colourful & vibrant when I use my older NEX 5T than on my A6000
Both cameras have the same settings, I have checked this a few times. Would it just be due to the different sensors? the images are equally sharp with the NEX having a little more contrast.

I would have expected the A 6000 to be better Anyone else noticed this?



You should be able to find out relatively easily by removing the ID ring and looking for spanner slots, most lenses come apart this way, I've never had a GN, so I'm not 100% positive it's the same, till you you come across lenses that are glued or have a flange crimped over to retain the elements, they tend to be in the later years, I don't know who started it, but they need a kick in the nuts.


PostPosted: Fri Jan 26, 2018 9:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I will leave the GN 50mm until I can purchase the right tools, at the moment it is still usable, just a bit stiff. Hope fully a forum member has done this in the past & can offer advice.


PostPosted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 1:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I think someone posted that info, I can't find it right now, but I know others have been inside...

http://forum.mflenses.com/whats-the-latest-lens-you-added-to-your-collection-t73516.html#1459590


PostPosted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 1:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
adonuff wrote:


I have noticed something unusual with all of the Topcor lenses though & would like to know why the pictures seem to be more colourful & vibrant when I use my older NEX 5T than on my A6000
Both cameras have the same settings, I have checked this a few times. Would it just be due to the different sensors? the images are equally sharp with the NEX having a little more contrast.

I would have expected the A 6000 to be better Anyone else noticed this?

There shouldn't be a huge difference, I do know AWB seems smarter on the newer models.
Double check your picture settings, there are defaults that can be adjusted, vivid, normal.... also AWB
When you go to change between them, press right on the control dial/pad when the item is highlighted, this brings you to the edit screen where you can adjust the defaults for that item.


PostPosted: Sun Jan 28, 2018 3:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks Lightshow

After looking at your last I decided to have a go at the 50mm GN, almost pulled completely apart, cleaned off all the old grease also found a screw floating around in the helicoid which explains why it was jamming up occasionally. Cleaned all the oil off the aperture blades & blew out all the dust. Re-greased with a very small amount of high temp / high pressure grease & some non oily lock lubricant.

Works perfectly now. Took a while but there was not to much else to do today as it is 40 deg C outside.

Thanks again


PostPosted: Mon Feb 05, 2018 5:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hi sorry just saw this. I`m pretty sure I cleaned some fungus from the front and one internal element of my 135mm, it was a while back and I think I went in through the front using the rubber tools mentioned to take off the naming ring.Many of the other Topcor front lens blocks are accessible this way. I tend not to mess with lenses if it means dismantling them and avoid helicals like the plague having done more harm than good n the past lol.


PostPosted: Tue Feb 06, 2018 5:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hi Macca

I was lucky with the 135, I only had to clean the front element on the inside. That was easy. The 50mm GN was a bit of a nightmare I had to completely dismantle it. Very stressful but worth it I now have all of my Topcors working perfectly & loving the results


PostPosted: Tue Feb 06, 2018 7:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Dismantling the helicoid is not trivial stuff, making witness marks and taking pictures is the easiest way to reduce the possibility of not getting it back together right the first time, even then, it's never really a lost cause if you don't know how it goes together, many times, you can figure it out by trial and error, assuming you at least took some precautions while taking it apart, like keeping the parts in order, and making some witness marks at infinity so you know when it is right if it fell apart before you could see how it aligned.


PostPosted: Tue Feb 06, 2018 7:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lightshow wrote:
Dismantling the helicoid is not trivial stuff, making witness marks and taking pictures is the easiest way to reduce the possibility of not getting it back together right the first time, even then, it's never really a lost cause if you don't know how it goes together, many times, you can figure it out by trial and error, assuming you at least took some precautions while taking it apart, like keeping the parts in order, and making some witness marks at infinity so you know when it is right if it fell apart before you could see how it aligned.



I learned that the hard way, dismantled my Angenieux 135mm Y2 to clean the glass & get the dust out, forgot which order the lenses were in, took at least 56-60 attempts to get it back together & focus properly I was not happy with myself. Will be a lot more careful next time.


PostPosted: Tue Feb 06, 2018 1:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lightshow wrote:
I think someone posted that info, I can't find it right now, but I know others have been inside...


Looks like a pure masochism to me Smile


PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2018 9:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Got Re auto topcor 135mm f2.8. He was the second element in a haze or something strange. (photo) It is possible as that to correct ? (keys are) but I don't see any key slots on the front element. How to get to this lens ? Unfair was the seller, the description , everything is clean, works fine. (


PostPosted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 6:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
The ring with all the information on it, the identification ring or ID ring, is hiding the slots that are used to dismantle the optics with a spanner, so, first step is to unscrew the ID ring, I posted a picture of the rubber tools used to remove it, I use rings and electrical tape to make a force multiplier, the tape is sticky side out and grips the ring really good.


PostPosted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 6:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lightshow wrote:
The ring with all the information on it, the identification ring or ID ring, is hiding the slots that are used to dismantle the optics with a spanner, so, first step is to unscrew the ID ring, I posted a picture of the rubber tools used to remove it, I use rings and electrical tape to make a force multiplier, the tape is sticky side out and grips the ring really good.


Hi when I did mine I found the the second ring had no slots. I used an old compas with 2 sharp points pushed into the second ring to undo it. Crude but it worked. Then after cleaning I uses a dremmel with a very fine cutting disc to cut 2 small slots on the face of the 2nd ring. The slots were cut over the marks left by the compass. It was then a lot easier to reassemble with a lens spanner I made from an old set of steel dividers.

Obviously it would be a better idea to get the correct tools but if your are a bit inpatient like me good luck!


PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 9:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
adonuff wrote:

... would like to know why the pictures seem to be more colourful & vibrant when I use my older NEX 5T than on my A6000
Both cameras have the same settings, I have checked this a few times. Would it just be due to the different sensors? the images are equally sharp with the NEX having a little more contrast.

I would have expected the A 6000 to be better Anyone else noticed this?


I have seen similar issues when changing from A900 to A7 and A7RII. They are so obvious that i now use the A900 again as my main camera for landscape & architecture.
The A7 series remains only for MF lens testing and a few special lenses not available for A900 (e. g. 4/17mm Shift, 2.8/35mm Shift, and 2.8/400mm).

Stephan


PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 7:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I got in touch with a master of dismantling old lenses. After the consultation, I successfully disassembled the lens, cleaned and collected. It turns out the front element do not touch at all. Put the focusing ring at a minimum distance, push the lens hood forward, we see two small bolts, Unscrew them. Then the whole "glass" Unscrew anticlockwise. We understand what was pulled to pieces. (spinner key is only needed for one inner ring)

p/s Online translator funny translations )


PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 3:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
sergun wrote:
I got in touch with a master of dismantling old lenses. After the consultation, I successfully disassembled the lens, cleaned and collected. It turns out the front element do not touch at all. Put the focusing ring at a minimum distance, push the lens hood forward, we see two small bolts, Unscrew them. Then the whole "glass" Unscrew anticlockwise. We understand what was pulled to pieces. (spinner key is only needed for one inner ring)

p/s Online translator funny translations )


Great information, wish I had know when cleaning mine out. Thanks
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