Takumar 50mm f4.0 Macro Repair (sort of) also a discovery?

[caerwall]

I did not take photographs but the pull down of this lens is pretty straight forward.

The front beauty ring and tube unscrews easily enough with one of our little rubber grippy friends. Inside there is a very deeply seated front element that can be removed with a long adjustable lens tool using points. It is very tight and takes a lot of starting. Then the element screws out in one piece. But I could not get the element apart not for love or money or naptha but I will return to this.

The back element can be accessed via its own form of beauty ring - also very tight but persistence paid in the end. Undernear another element locking screw that also refused to budge.

Now that we know how to get access to the lens elements:

As far as I can understand what is called "Naptha" is a generic term for what is commonly known in parts of the world as "Shellite", "Ronsonal", "White Spirit", "Dry Cleaning Fluid", "Lighter Fuel", "Camp Stove Fuel". If I am wrong someone needs to advise me.

I had bought a lens which was described :

"Beautiful,in MINT condition Super-Multi-Coated Macro-Takumar 1:4/50 prime lens.Manual and auto operation. M42 Pentax mount.
Optics: no dust,no mold,no haze.They look new.No scratches on body,pristine /as pictured. A few marks on ring adjustment grooves.
Smooth operation,lens works very well."

The picture was one of a dirty looking lens that looked like it had been in a box in a shed but invigorated by the description I imagined that they had a good look at it and it just needed a clean. When it arrived the outside had in fact been cleaned post-photograph and it looked fine. The lenses were still dirty and perhaps they had left that for me - but I don't know how that rides with the eBay description.

In any case the lenses were not just outside dirty there was a whole lot of gunk between the front elements.

And yes I know that there are protections on eBay for mis-description but this one goes beyond that to the big "F-aud" one. But if you send it back you have to pay the return freight and even if you get your money back there is a wait. Furthermore I don't want to set myself up as a serial complainer - there are so many honest, reliable vendors on the web that it spoils it for the rest when we get a bad one. If you regularly complain then your credibility as a buyer must be at risk. I am glad to say most vendors describe reasonably, if sometimes optimistically.

I have repaired lenses before and treat this purchase more as "a shrug" and never deal with the character ever again. But I cannot get into that front element - I could have it fixed in five minutes if I could. Any suggestions please - my try with "Shellite" did not work but did leave me to a new cleaning trick discovery -

Trying brushing on the "Shellite" led to a little misting up of the inside of the lens group proving that the threads were not air-tight even if they would not turn. This cleared with some warmth applied. Obviously a lens left in a shed where the elements were not airtight would get the influence of the Michigan weather patterns and dampness could cause problems in time.

In any case I poured some "Shellite" on to the depression surrounding the lens and misted it up really properly inside. Then to warm the lens element up I carried it about my person for some time wrapped in a a microfibre cloth.

The condensation gradually evaporated and the lens element seems to have cleaned up considerably inside. Hardly perfect but much better than before. I don't know if this is a "new discovery" or even if I have done something that I might later regret.

I am presuming that by introducing a little "Shellite" between the lenses and it has dissolved some of the gunk and on warming it has been expelled as gas. More or less how dry cleaning fluid works. Obviously there is still a residual coating on the inside lens surface and I really need to get inside the element to do a good job. But the lens is now usable and certainly in no worse condition than many lenses sold on the internet. Will not pass the "strong light through the lens" test but it does work passably well.

I have tried two "O" rings over part of the element to get better grip but even applying great pressure (and a couple of slips) that lock ring just refuses to budge. I must be missing something.

Oh! - and I could not move the back element either but was able to gingerly access it past the aperture blades through the front and it cleaned easily enough.

Tom

[Himself]

Interesting write up Tom!
I hope you didn't pay much for that "beautiful, mint" lens.
No ideas on your inquiries.
My 55mm Yashica, both f/2.8 and f/4 are in Mint condition and hopefully will stay like that.

[caerwall]

The other half was that I had my eye on another that was coming up a day later. When I bought the first one I also tried for the second which I thought that I would have to pay more for. I won it and at exactly the same price. The second one is in as new condition with clean unmarked body and perfect glass. So I am half happy and half rewarded at the same time.

Now I wonder whether I paid too much for the first one or got a raging good bargain on the second. "Thems the breaks".

But obviously I could not honestly re-sell my first one on the basis of what I know about it and the second one is a keeper-forever.

Still hoping that I can come back to the first one and fix it properly. It is basically a good lens as Takumars are.

The other angle of course is that I learn something on several points that are obvious.

Above all don't buy lenses sold by those that acquired them at a garage sale who are not in the lens re-cycling business. As far as lenses go they would not know which end was on fire ... But methinks that what was wrong with this lens was obvious and if they did not know they should have said so and not waxed lyrical about how good it was as if they actually did know about lenses.

I don't think I would have been quite so annoyed if it had been "a steal" or if I had been able to get the front element apart and fixed it. Now I have a half-fixed lens that I paid too much for and no recourse to return and to much conscience to repeat "the favour" by trying to offload it to someone else.

So I end up unhappy but not unhappy if such a situation can exist. And no, I am not going to sell it cheap with its warts on view, I will give it some further consideration when I get some time to have another attack and perhaps a few tips about how to get this very obstinate lens element apart. Therefore up to my elbows in lens mechanic-ing I might as well learn some more.

I guess I am either stubborn or stupid. (grin)

Tom

[caerwall]

The vendor offered to take the lens back or adjust the price and has now accepted my offer of 1/3 reduction and credited my Paypal account and also apologised. I have been pleased to see this as an honourable settlement and suggest that I perhaps should have waited a little longer before complaining on here. However the case in point is a salutary lesson and there was no doubt that the "sales words" were very incorrect. However it is also a study on how to handle the situation by both parties. It has probably cost me something more than it was truly worth but also it was settled by direct negotiation and compromise.

Tom