stiff aperture on hellios 44-2

[thomasb]

got it this morning, and the apeture ring is quite stiff is there anything I can do to make it easier to turn?
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Paragon 500mm F;8, Helios 70-150mm F;3.8, Mirage 100-200 zoom F:5.6, Photax 28mm F:2.8. Sigma 100-200mm F;4.5 Macro. Helios 44-2 F2/58mm. Takumar 135mm f:3.5.

[thomasb]

I turned the aperture from 2 to 16 and back to 2 a few times quickly and it,s still stiff but much easier than it was. I guess the lens hadn,t been used for a while.
my other helios 44-k 4 aperture turns very easily but clicks between aperture numbers so I guess the 44-2 with stiffer aperture will be easier to use.
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Paragon 500mm F;8, Helios 70-150mm F;3.8, Mirage 100-200 zoom F:5.6, Photax 28mm F:2.8. Sigma 100-200mm F;4.5 Macro. Helios 44-2 F2/58mm. Takumar 135mm f:3.5.

[peterqd]

Hi Thomas, old USSR lenses are often a bit stiff. The grease they use for damping is very thick, it's the same stuff they used for tank gun turrets I think.

Sometimes you can soften the grease by working in a tiny amount of liquid lighter fuel, but most times it makes the grease feel like sand. To do a proper job you'll have to dismantle the lens, clean off the old grease and apply some new. It's not difficult if you have the right tools - here's an article on how to do it:

http://www.euphonium.plus.com/Drawings/Helios%2520Repair%2520Manual%2520English.pdf
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Lenses: M42 - CZJ 2.8/20, 2.4/35, 1.8/50, 2.8/50, 3.5/135 - Meyer/Pentacon 1.8/50, 2.8/50, 2.8/135, 4/200
Russian - J8, J9, J21, J37A, M1v, M24m, I50, I50-2, H44-2, H44M, H44M-4, Vega12b
S-M-C Tak 3.5/28, 2.0/35, 1.4/50, 1.8/55, 3.5/135
Super-Tak 3.5/35, 1.4/50, 1.8/55, 2.0/55, 1.9/85
Vivitar WA 2.8/28, Chinon Auto 1.7/55
K-mount : Pentax-M 2.8/28, 1.7/50
Minolta MD : MC W-Rokkor-SG 3.5/28, MC W-Rokkor-HG 2.8/35, MD Rokkor 1.7/50, MD Minolta 2/50, MC Tele Rokkor-QD 3.5/135, Viv W/A 2.8/28
Tamron zooms: SP28-80, SP35-80, SP60-300, 80-210
DSLR: Canon 400D 35mm SLR: Pentax Spotmatic SP, SPII(x2), SPF, ESII, K2, ME Super, P30n - Chinon CE3 - Minolta XG-M, XD7 - Praktica PLC2 - Zenit 3M
Rangefinder: Zorki-4, Beauty Light-o-matic III Medium Format: Yashica-Mat 124G

[thomasb]

thanks for that link i,ll keep it for future use, i think the lens will be workable the way it is, i,ll take it out tomorrow and try a few shots to see how it goes at different apertures, if it,s not good i,ll try that link as it looks quite easy. thanks.
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Paragon 500mm F;8, Helios 70-150mm F;3.8, Mirage 100-200 zoom F:5.6, Photax 28mm F:2.8. Sigma 100-200mm F;4.5 Macro. Helios 44-2 F2/58mm. Takumar 135mm f:3.5.

[Poolhall]

Usually if you keep working the aperture it will clear it up, and keeping the lens warm will help but you might have to clean and re grease it as Peter says- its not so difficult to do
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Digital:Samsung GX-10 DSLR
Film: Almaz 103, about 30 Zenits M39, M42 and K mount, 5 Yashicas, and a Minox GT
Lenses: Mostly M42 and K mount Russian, Some Yashica, and a couple of Pentax AF.

[peterqd]

Thomas, could you download and save the pdf file ASAP please? It's on the free space on my website. I get bandwidth problems if there are too many hits, so I'll be deleting it in a couple of days. Cheers.
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Lenses: M42 - CZJ 2.8/20, 2.4/35, 1.8/50, 2.8/50, 3.5/135 - Meyer/Pentacon 1.8/50, 2.8/50, 2.8/135, 4/200
Russian - J8, J9, J21, J37A, M1v, M24m, I50, I50-2, H44-2, H44M, H44M-4, Vega12b
S-M-C Tak 3.5/28, 2.0/35, 1.4/50, 1.8/55, 3.5/135
Super-Tak 3.5/35, 1.4/50, 1.8/55, 2.0/55, 1.9/85
Vivitar WA 2.8/28, Chinon Auto 1.7/55
K-mount : Pentax-M 2.8/28, 1.7/50
Minolta MD : MC W-Rokkor-SG 3.5/28, MC W-Rokkor-HG 2.8/35, MD Rokkor 1.7/50, MD Minolta 2/50, MC Tele Rokkor-QD 3.5/135, Viv W/A 2.8/28
Tamron zooms: SP28-80, SP35-80, SP60-300, 80-210
DSLR: Canon 400D 35mm SLR: Pentax Spotmatic SP, SPII(x2), SPF, ESII, K2, ME Super, P30n - Chinon CE3 - Minolta XG-M, XD7 - Praktica PLC2 - Zenit 3M
Rangefinder: Zorki-4, Beauty Light-o-matic III Medium Format: Yashica-Mat 124G

[djmike]

[thomasb]

thanks peter, i downloaded it.
_________________
Paragon 500mm F;8, Helios 70-150mm F;3.8, Mirage 100-200 zoom F:5.6, Photax 28mm F:2.8. Sigma 100-200mm F;4.5 Macro. Helios 44-2 F2/58mm. Takumar 135mm f:3.5.

[Farside]

[martinsmith99]

I've used the lighter fluid method and like peter says.....sand!

I've also tried WD40 and that seemed to do the trick. However, this worked for me and I do not promote this as the way of cleaning threads.
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