Olympus Zuiko 50mm 1.8 (made in japan) version strip front

madtigerhide · Joined: 26 Jul 2014 Posts: 15

Hello, I have a zuiko 50mm 1.8 marked "made in japan" that has fungus between the front elements. I managed to strip down the rest of the lens but i cannot take apart the two front elements. there are no groves to use tools to unscrew the elements. also i found on other forums that in order to unscrew the elements one needs a rubber friction tool, the problem is that the glass is turning freely and can't use it to turn the metal ring which in turn is holding it in place.

is there a picture guide or a video of someone actually managing to dissamble this part?

thanks in advance for any help.

Lloydy · Expire: 2022-01-01

http://olympus.dementix.org/Hardware/olympus_hw.html

http://olympus.dementix.org/Hardware/PDFs/50mm_f1.8.pdf

http://olympus.dementix.org/Hardware/50mm_cleaning.html

This might help? The last link has some descriptoin of dismantling the lens.

I think there is a blog somewhere that describes the stripping of this lens, but it's not in my bookmarks for some reason.

madtigerhide · Joined: 26 Jul 2014 Posts: 15

Thanks very much but I did see those already and it does not really solve my dilemma. as i am 100% sure that the front glass cannot be dismantled before the retaining ring keeping her in place but in all diagrams the lens is drawn as the first to go. Isn't there anyone who stripped his "made in japan" version of the zuiko who can give me some first hand directions please?

Lloydy · Expire: 2022-01-01

I got the name ring out, I have a fungused lens that I need to clean. The first thing I tried was my rubber ring to unscrew the trim ring - I turned the name ring with great effort, and a 'click' as it came free and turned. But no amount of turning actually unscrewed it.

The way I removed it was to get brutal and prise it out with a small screwdriver, going around the filter thread and prising the ring up a tiny bit at a time. Eventually it popped out and isn't too badly marked.

Under the ring there are three screws that will undoubtedly get into the lens front elements. These screws are held in place with a threadlock adhesive, that has spilled out and glued the ring in place - that was the 'click' as I broke the bond.

The trim ring does have two tiny slots, but you need a very fine lens spanner to get in them, and I think the glue would hold it tight enough for the spanner to slip in the plastic ring, so personally I wouldn't bother - use a rubber bung. Mine is 48mm diameter and works well on 49mm filter lenses, but it's a bush from some 4x4 suspension and I can't remember what.

Looking at the outside of the name ring I can't see a thread, just a single raised rim that might ( in theory ) engage in the filter thread and allow it to be removed by unscrewing, maybe a very fine pointed lens spanner would do it? Or, as mentioned in the last link, the writer made a spanner, perhaps he had better luck - or less thread lock splashed about?

madtigerhide · Joined: 26 Jul 2014 Posts: 15

thanks

ultimately i did that.. and after i could assess that there really wasn't any other way to. what did you do to attach the lens back? did you fix it in place by bending the metal back inwards or did you use a different method?

thanks again

Gardener · Joined: 22 Sep 2013 Posts: 950 Location: USA

There are two types - earlier F.Zuiko can be disassembled, later plain Zuiko version has molded front group and can't be taken apart.

Lloydy · Expire: 2022-01-01

I haven't actually taken the lens apart yet, just the front trim ring.