Contax 180/2.8 AE Aperture Ring extremely tight

[agentex]

Hey guys, new to the forum but I read it often. I am a Zeiss fan and have been adapting them to my 5d2, love the look.

I just ordered a Contax 180/2.8, the lens is in great condition and the glass is fine but unfortunately the aperture ring is exceedingly tight. I can barely turn it. It's also quite hard to get a big_is adapter on it as that connection is also really tight.

Right now it looks like I am going to have to return it, but would like to keep the lens because I like the focal length. Do any of you have experience with Contax AEG lenses that have tight apertures? Is there something I can do to fix this? It's impossible to turn it without moving the focus all the way to one end or the other.

Thanks!

[aoleg]

Is the aperture ring always stiff or becomes stiff when you mount the adapter? If it's always stiff, it is cheaper to return the lens and buy a new one (from a reputable merchant such as KEH if they have one) as Contax lenses are quite expensive to repair. If it is only stiff with the adapter, get rid of the adapter and get another one (I've had one adapter that was too thin, preventing my Sonnar 180/2.8 to be mounted on the camera because of the rear fin meeting with something inside the camera. Needless to say, another adapter solved the problem).

[agentex]

Thanks for the reply. Actually the lens is from KEH in EX condition. The aperture ring being extremely tight doesn't seem related at all to the adapter, the aperture is stiff by itself.

I'm trying to figure out what might be causing it, if anybody has ever run into something of this nature with a Zeiss lens before?

[Orio]

[agentex]

Thanks for the feedback, definitely seems to be something that needs to be professionally cleaned. Going to return the lens, evaluating it optically real quick first, I'm new the this focal length with Zeiss lenses, not quite the planar look I'm used to

[Orio]