help with purchased M42 Pentacon Helios + INDUSTAR-50-2

romans001 · Joined: 06 Aug 2013 Posts: 41 Location: Slovakia

Hi people

i purchased previously from ebay few old manual lenses and so far i am very satisfied.

recently i was curious and purchased two lenses

INDUSTAR-50-2

Pentacon Helios 50-1.7

1) with industar i can only move with aperture ring. Focusing ring is totally stuck. No previous experience with industar, focus ring should work right? i bought it as fully functional Sad

2) pentacon looks great, but when turning aperture ring, there is no movement inside lens Sad

it stays wide open. This is also not ok right?

3) pentacon is not focusing to infinity, i mean i am not able to focus even close to infinity, horizon is out of focus

So what is happening?bad luck for me or i am missing something?

using genuine m42 adapter and k-01 pentax

fuzzywuzzy · Expire: 2013-11-30

romans001 · Joined: 06 Aug 2013 Posts: 41 Location: Slovakia

fuzzywuzzy · Expire: 2013-11-30

romans001 · Joined: 06 Aug 2013 Posts: 41 Location: Slovakia

thanks, will check it

and what about that issue with not infinity focusing? any idea? its just bad lens or is could i fix it somehow?

Ultron · Joined: 22 Aug 2012 Posts: 60 Location: Amsterdam

the industar should be easy to fix, you can relube this even without opeing it up
Just turn the lens upside down and you can drop some lighter fluid in the helicoid threads in the back, then try to work it around.

The other lens you will have to take apart, and find where you can adjust the focusing.
You can also keep the pin depressed with the well known cotton swab trick

http://www.flickr.com/photos/arkku/612516644/

I am not familiar with a Pentacon Helios 50 1.7.
Pentacon was an East German brand and Helios was a line of Russian lenses, although some Japanese lenses borrowed the name.

Does it say on your lens what country it was made in?
Can you post a bigger photo?

guardian · Joined: 18 Mar 2009 Posts: 1747

On the Industar, before you commence working examine the lens as closely as you can. Try hard to determine if somebody else has had the lens apart.

If not, it's probably just a lube situation and you should be fine following what Ultron posted.

If the lens was taken apart previously, be aware and watchful the helicoid might have been cross threaded upon re-assembly.

Good luck.

Gonzoo · Joined: 29 Mar 2010 Posts: 232

Concerning the Pentacon's infinity problem: if it was opened before (check the mount screws) maybe it was reassembled wrongly. Most likely the helicoid was screwed together using the wrong thread. To fix this, you have to disassemble the helicoid and find the correct thread using trial and error, there are only a couple of possibilities. If you are lucky there are some marks (look out for "V" or "W" shaped marks) which will help you with the correct alignment of the helicoid.