Angenieux P21 (180mm f4.5)

[guardian]

Here are a few photos of my Angénieux P21 recently acquired:









A P21 is not a special lens in the universe of Angénieux lenses. It's pretty common. But being an Angénieux it's a good lens and it's still nice to own. This lens, as you can see, came with a lot of warts, so the cost was low, less than US$50. This particular lens is a preset lens dating to roughly 1955 if I recall my research correctly.

Insofar as I can tell this lens was at one time submerged in dirty water. That's a guess but it is my best guess. Some debris (i.e., dirt) continues to cling to inner elements of the lens and is visible in photo #2. Also the focus is a bit gritty (not terrible, though) and obviously the helical needs to be cleaned and re-greased. The aperture, while working just fine, shows the slightest bit of (what looks like) rust. It might just be dirt, though. Regardless, it badly needs cleaning.

At this point my best efforts have taken me only as far as removal of the front element. I'm stuck. Recently I ended a five month long ordeal with a Spiratone 105 Japanese lens caused by glue (or thread lock) having been used on that lens. I cannot believe the French, or any Europeans for that matter, ever glued lenses together or used thread lock. Has anyone ever taken apart a P21 without the use of solvents?

[calvin83]

I would suggest you send it to CLA rather than fix it yourself.

[guardian]