Tair-3 (300/4.5 part of the photosniper) repair guide

Plokko · Joined: 27 Nov 2009 Posts: 39 Location: Italy

I've translated my guide for you,sorry if i dind't put too much effort on the translation;please if you want to make corrections or you speech italian simply follow this link!
http://www.minoltasonyclub.it/cms/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19442

When i received my photosniler i wasn't aware that the tair-3 had problems to the diaphragm

I didn't find any guide on the web about this lens so i decided to make my own.

First of all remove the primary lens block by pushing in the aperture lever(13)

Then(keeping down the lever)simply focus after 3m and the block should come out of it's rail.

Because the piece of the lens are many there's a legend on how i call them in this guide

1) Spring block
2) Diaphragm spring screw
3) Infinity lock
4) Primary block
5) Focus rail

Now we'll start unscrewing the Diaphragm spring screw to detach it.
Now we can start removing the primary lens,to do so we need to remove the infinity lock first.
Simply unscrew the 3 micro-screw(1) to loose it and then rotate it to remove (2).

After that remove the other miniscrew on the primary block(3).

Now remove the primary lens from its place by rotating it.

now we can see the diaphragm block and two antireflection rings holded in place by a screwed ring.

If you had removed all the microscrews you should remove them after the unscrewing of the ring,REMEMBER to mind the order of the antireflection rings!

(from right to left the first is the ring holdin the antireflection rings,then the external antireflection rings and the third is the infinity lock.)

Now we can star removing the diaphragm block by slowing pushing it out of its place.

Now we can open the diaphragm block by unscrewing the last screw left on it.

I cleaned all the blades from oil traces

Now we must reassemble all the blades on the external ring,it's not an hard job IF you know how to place them.

We'll start by placing all the blades counterclockwise;NOTE THE MARK ON THE BLADES,in the photo below i placed them INCORRECTLY(but i didn't make another photo)

To place the last five blades(who's hole is covered by the other)you need to push up the last blade(1) and then slide the insered blade to the fist empty hole(2).

Now the diaphragm should be completed(this photo shows a CORRECT diaphragm blade placing)

Now we can start to remount the other part of the diaphragm block in place,screw it's screw and try if it works well.

Now we can remount the diaphragm block in place,push it GENTLY to avoid moving the diaphragm blades out of place.
If you make some errors and some blades goes out simply take the block out and repeat the placing as before.

It's important that the hole of the diaphragm spring screw is facing the right part of the main barrel;to correct it's position you can simply rotate it gently with a screwdriver.

Done so the hard work is done,star by screwing back in palce the diaphragm spring screw (without fix it,for now,to the spring block,this will avoid the diaphragm to get loose) and then screw back the micro-screws holding the diaphragm block.

Then we'll start remounting the antireflection rings with the ring holding them and then the primary element.
Done so you can screw all the micro-screw on the primary block and then mount back the infinity lock and it's screws.

Finally,after repositioning the diaphragm spring screw back in it's original place,we can reinser the main block in the lens barrel,to do so simply put it to F22 and then push the main block on the barrel holding down the diaphragm lever.

Now the lens should be fully mounted and in perfect order!

Plokko · Joined: 27 Nov 2009 Posts: 39 Location: Italy

I also fixxed the rail simply by unscrewing it and inverting it(the right part was damaged,now on the other side it won't affect the lens functionallity). Very Happy

This was my first lens repair! Wink

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

Many thanks for your detailed guide!

Poolhall · Joined: 25 Feb 2008 Posts: 1296

Excellent guide well done Very Happy

adriano210 · Joined: 09 Apr 2010 Posts: 6 Location: DUBLIN

nice - is a one off my Favorit lens

Scheimpflug · Expire: 2011-11-18

Another excellent guide! Thank you for taking the time to document this procedure! Cool

Plokko · Joined: 27 Nov 2009 Posts: 39 Location: Italy

Thanks!
maybe i should also create a guide for my photosniper digital conversion(added an af button and take photos when you pull the trigger,i created also a standard tripod mount conversion to mount bellows or other lens,also AF lenses!!!)for sony,done without even scratching it.

WolverineX · Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 10:47 pm Post subject:

i think this should be a sticky, because of the guide how to re-assemble aperture blades that can be helpful for any lens as it did help me repair aperture blades of my Primotar.

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

Many thanks!!!

Happysnapper65 · Joined: 28 Jun 2012 Posts: 2 Location: Northampton

A few tips on converting for Digital would be good, I am planning on doing this and any help would be good.

Dave

WolverineX · Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 8:25 am Post subject:

Jethro Tull · Joined: 31 Dec 2010 Posts: 68 Location: SCOTLAND

Excellent guide and a brave person tackling the photosniper! interesting to see how its built and explain why it weighs a ton lol
I have converted a few photosniper to electronic trigger (fitting it inside the stock) if you look on the Flickr Photosniper group i put instructions on how i did it.
Superb lenses and everyone should try a Tair 300mm on day the focusing is very quick and easy once you get used to it.
Cheers
Brian Very Happy

SonicScot · Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 4:20 pm Post subject: Re: Excellent guide

Jethro Tull · Joined: 31 Dec 2010 Posts: 68 Location: SCOTLAND

Aye that's me Very Happy

it is pretty easy to do and works great, i use it for wildlife/birds etc there's loads of shots on flickr that i took using the Tair/550d setup. It also works well with a 1.4x or 2x teleconverter and best iq at f8
cheers
Brian
ps the photosnipers do come up on ebay cheap now and again my most expensive one was £50.00 and cheapest was £25.00 complete kit, one of mine had quite a bit of fungus but it didn't seem to affect iq so left it alone.

SonicScot · Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 1:12 pm Post subject:

I'd really like to get the full kit and convert it, but meanwhile I'm not doing bad without it...

Ebony the Harris Hawk (explored) by Gaz Sutherland, on Flickr

Jethro Tull · Joined: 31 Dec 2010 Posts: 68 Location: SCOTLAND

Wow! thats superb! amazing action shot Very Happy

D1N0 · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 2536

allready lost at step 1: first of all remove the primary lens block by pushing in the aperture lever(13) I push it, try to focus the lens out. But it just stops.

johndav · Joined: 29 May 2013 Posts: 2 Location: United Kingdom

I was the same D1NO. There is a dome headed stop screw on the focussing knob which needs to be released (you don't need to remove it fully)

D1N0 · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 2536

johndav · Joined: 29 May 2013 Posts: 2 Location: United Kingdom

Thanks for the tutorial - I would not have had the confidence to open this beast up otherwise

Christopher Lord · Joined: 12 Aug 2013 Posts: 1

This is great work, but one detail was wrong, at least for my model photosniper: depressing the aperture lever does not allow you to slide the primary lens block in and out. Maybe it's a different model, but although I did snap it out eventually I couldn't get it back in, and realised that the best thing is to remove the four big screws holding the focusing gear mechanism in place. This releases the plate and you can easily replace the lens assembly. Be careful when you replace it to make sure the lens is pushed fully in and that the infinity mark is set against the little triangle on the focusing wheel. That way the gear assembly will slot neatly into place.

groundlessfears · Joined: 14 Sep 2013 Posts: 11 Location: Lahore

Nice Guide, but can anyone share Tair-3S Disassembly guide,? as its different from this lens. Thanks.

Pepper · Joined: 05 Aug 2013 Posts: 16

Hi everyone, great repair guide btw

I just got this Tair 3 lens along with 500mm 3m/6a mirror and am very pleased with it...I have one issue though...
I dont mind preset aperture as I have quite a bit of lenses operating the same way but on this lens it operates kind of funny and I think it may have some sort of problem/fault.
If i got it right I have to set aperture ring to desired value, cock the ring with red button to achieve full aperture opening and when I push lever beneath the lens it recoils and goes to selected aperture value...right? Right!
Problem is I can do that only on distances from 10 meters to infinity. When the lens is set to anything lower than that (3-10 meters) I cant achieve recoil action as the red button ring does not click and it does not open aperture fully ... To clarify further ...when lens is set to 10 meters and further I can feel stifness and tension of the coil ring but set lower than 10 meters it feels kind of loose and kind of "skips" or starts coiling not from the moment when I start rotating it but somewhere in the middle of circle to the end where it should click and recoil.
So if I want full aperture openng at below 10 meters I have to set the lens to 10 meters and above and then cock the ring and then return lens to below 10 meters and shoot wide open.
I wonder if position of the lens barrel is influencing somehow and making it behave that way or coil is loose or whatnot ... I have the tools, I just dont want to reassemble it and make thins worse before checking with someone who has done it...
So any info would help
Cheers guys.
Thanks
Mark

lucca1x · Joined: 09 Feb 2014 Posts: 93 Location: Romania

Excellent guide. I have a new tair 3S or so I think. By the look of it it was never used. It was kept in a car garage for years, the grease separated and had oil on blades. I've followed this guide and the aperture works fine now. The problem is that the oil spread on the rear elements and I can't reach from the front in order to properly clean it. Does anybody know how to safely disassemble the rear block ?
Thanks !

Grafomefos · Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2014 7:51 pm Post subject:

Hi everyone, I have a question about this lens. I bought one recently. After shooting some pictures with it I noticed that at F/4,5 the pictures are kind of foggy, blurry. They lack contrast and seem as if glowing. Do you have any experience with this. I dismantled the lens according to this tutorial and cleaned the glasses well - no signs of fungus, no scratches etc. I am also attaching some images to show the problem I have. Thanks for your help (both taken with F/4,5):