Bought a vintage used Zeiss Lens, any ideas...

[SirMike1983]

I recently bought a used Zeiss Tessar from a New York photostore on ebay. They have a shop in NY and seemed to be on the level. I wasn't the happiest about buying something I haven't examined by hand, but I've found Zeiss lenses from the 30s-50s to be nearly impossible to find here in DC.

However, I've read a wide range of things on used lenses. The lens I got was about $40 and is the original equipment (even proper vintage it seems) for my old Exakta. I've read a wide range of things about used lenses ranging from leaky oil problems to fungus growing inside. The lens arrives this week and I'm wondering what your thoughts on it are. Should I put it out in the sun in case there is some kind of fungus inside (there isn't suppose to be according to the seller who graded it in "excellent" condition but I don't want to take any chances with something that can spread about)? If so how should I do that? Is there a clean up you recommend when it arrives before I put it on the camera? I figure it may need a slight external cleaning to prep it, right? Any other thoughts on used lenses?

[Greggie Boy]

http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/foru...rd-topics.html

The above is a link to classic camera. buy/sell. hard to find, repair help etc. Take a look.

[another view]

I use Eclipse lens cleaning solution, but I don't know that I'd necessarily recommend using it on old glass. Modern lenses have a pretty tough coating, but the wrong cleaner on an old lens could be trouble. Some older coatings can be fairly fragile, but this lens may be uncoated. Check with the seller or the other link to see what they say.

You shouldn't have to leave it out in the sun - that would kill any mold/fungus, but you'd definately see if there was anything in there. Just take precautions like you would with any lens when you're using it. Don't let it get wet, but if it does then leave it out overnight (inside) with the caps off. Same goes if the bag it was in got wet, or you're in a really humid area.

Good luck with the lens - vintage glass has a really unique look to it, and Zeiss is of course one of the best ever! Nothing wrong with uncoated glass, that's part of the look. Vintage glass on Tri-X with a real darkroom print... That's a great setup. I'll be interested to see what you come up with!

[freygr]

Good luck with the lens - vintage glass has a really unique look to it, and Zeiss is of course one of the best ever! Nothing wrong with uncoated glass, that's part of the look. Vintage glass on Tri-X with a real darkroom print... That's a great setup. I'll be interested to see what you come up with!

Lense coatings did not happen until the late 50's as the coating where too soft. The navy (US WWII) had the equipment onboard to recoat the binocular lenses as cleaning would remove the coatings.

[SirMike1983]

Alright it arrived and is in pretty good shape. However it's quite dusty. Appears to be an uncoated pre war Zeiss F 3.5 5cm tessar. Any suggestions on cleaning the dust (both the mount side and the outside) from the lens? I'm trying to baby it as the glass appears to be in solid shape, even after 70 years.

Also do you advise that I clean the mirror (still inside but now able to get at it) while I have the lens off? If so how should I do that? Thanks again.

[SirMike1983]

I cleaned up the outside of the lens, but there is some fog inside still that should be cleaned up. Are these older lenses easy to take apart and clean? If so does anyone have instructions on it? Or is this best left to a pro?

[another view]

Best left to a pro. Try to find an old mom&pop camera store or a place that specializes in used equipment. Should be simple for them to clean it up.

I'd recommend not cleaning the mirror (if you're talking about the reflex mirror in the camera). They can be easily scratched and there really is no problem with having a little dust on them. The only issue is if there's a big chunk of stuff right at an autofocus point (which doesn't apply here). You could use a blower bulb (like a Giottos Rocket Air blower) but I wouldn't do anything other than that, especially using anything that would physically touch the mirror.

[SirMike1983]

Well I've started searching for local camera shops here in DC. Thing is the mom and pop style offerings are very slim. I took the lens by a smaller shop in town and they said they weren't sure if they could clean it. They're going to get back to me.

A place called "Penn Camera" said they could do it but that the time frame is 4-6 weeks for the cleaning and re-grease of the focus. That's a bit long (yeah it's not exactly urgent either) I guess but that's the only positive answer I've gotten from here so far.

I will be in CT starting tomorrow (4/13) afternoon. The small used camera shop in Torrington is not responding to any calls I've made. Anyone have any leads for mom and pop camera shops in the DC area or even in western CT? Thanks.

[another view]

Penn Camera has been around a long time and a lot of pros shop there. They used to run an email list of used equipment that people had for sale - basically an online classified that you bought from them - until ebay got popular. I'd trust them to do it, but that is a long wait. KEH.com should be able to do it too - they're in Atlanta.

[SirMike1983]

Penn came back with a wait of 4-6 weeks. That wasn't really the issue though I guess. They said that the send out and estimate alone would be $35 and in excess of an additional $100 to just clean it up and re grease the threads. To me that sounds awful high for a lens that actually should be fairly simple in the scheme.

I emailed KEH to see what they say. Hopefully they're more realistic.

[another view]

Nikon's "minor repair" charge is still higher than that - closer to $180 I think. One of my lenses has a broken autofocus selector switch, it works but doesn't lock into either position. A piece of gaffer's tape works just fine in this case... Curious to see what KEH has to say.

[SirMike1983]

Two thumbs up for KEH. They charged no estimate fee and $100 even for the whole repair. Glass is clean and flawless now (I can even see the mirror perfectly, looking into the camera now). And they returned the lens in roughly a week's time, which is about as fast as any camera repair can happen. Customer service was first rate as well and they had no trouble repairing ths old Zeiss lens (prewar uncoated glass). Thanks for the lead.