Another - How do I clean a Zuiko OM 50mm F1.4. Remove front elements.

[wapfunz]

I have thus far been able to remove and clean the rear elements.
Its a moisture stain not fungus.
The stains seem to be whisps and on the interanl surfaces not on the exterior.
Plus there looks like some dust specs also.
The lens has been in storage for umteen years and finally i have got an urge to get the old OM2N working again.
I have removed the bezel - used a small screw driver into the knotches and gently turned.
Removed the F stop ring.
I am now at the front element.
I have tried to remove the front assembly by using the knotches - which some posts say to turn from here and the front assy will screw out - to no avail. which ever way I turn it doesn't move.
Within this ring appears to be another bezel holding down the front lens. If I could only manage to get it to turn I think I would be able to get the front lens out and cleaned.
This ring/ bezel has no means of getting a grip of. It is threaded because thru the knotches in the outer ring can be seem screwed threads.
I have searched hi and low on the net - download the assembly drawings from
*removed- refer to site rules 3-7*
have to get the url right as many posts use *removed - refer to site rules 3-7* which is not the right place.

Read many posts - even some from here - but no where can I specifically find the how to do it successfully.
Any suggestions will be readily appreciated and tested.

Why do i wish to DIY - because the cost of getting it done would be - why don't I just buy a replacement one for not much more.

Kind Regards.

[ricktas]

Welcome to AP. Whilst doing it yourself might save you money, if you have no idea how to, take it to a camera repair centre and get it done, cause what you want to do, needs some skill and the right tools. So you could easily stuff it up and then it will cost you a lot more to have someone else put it back together for you, or buy a new lens.

Friends of mine own a repair centre, they charge double to put something back together, cause someone thought they could do it at home and pulled it to bits.

[William]

To get it cleaned in a reputable repair shop , Wont cost much , I would send it to the doctors , Will it need calibrating after you've removed the elements out of alignment ?

[wapfunz]

Thanks gentlemen - food for thought especially the out of adjustment part.

As I look at the other lenses I see that my Tamron 35-105 has some water/moisture stain also.
So if I wish to continue my resurgence - proper cleaning would be the go.

Kind Regards.

[arthurking83]

LOL to the other two replies!!

I say .. if you want to do it properly, you have to be prepared to break something!

I've pulled apart a few lenses recently, and one thing I noticed with the last one I did, was that it had to be focused to infinity for the assembly to come out.
That's because there was a specific amount of focus that needed to be set for the helicoid to be properly lined up and a specific tab to stop the internals rotating as the helicoid turned.

Of course I didn't know this as I was pulling the lens apart, and only found out all this as I was trying to put it together again.
Took me hours to work it all out, but once it was nutted out, there was more of a feeling of achievement as the lens didn't end up on the scrapheap .. oh! and cleaner too.

I have to admit tho, that this lens may end up thrown out as the aperture blades are sticky, scuffed and basically stuffed.
I got them moving again, but on closer inspection the scuffing is too serious. So my explorations were on an inconsequential lens anyhow.

Haven't had a chance to get any images with it yet tho .. I will soon.

[ricktas]

I've pulled apart a few lenses recently...

So do tell, which lenses. Anything worth a a few $thousand..hehe. I have pulled a 50 1.8 apart, but buggered if I would try it on my 70-200.

[arthurking83]

LOL. none of my perfectly working lenses.

Lenses pulled apart so far are Tammy 300/2.8(clean, but only the rear section), Nikon 18-35mm(clean), and Topcon 53mm(broken aperture blades).

The older manual lenses are much more simple as they don't have all manner of gears and fiddly stuff to contend with.

I'm always looking for old lenses on ebay, and missed a pile of 4 x 80-200/2.8's once by $5 .. apparently all broken/not working .... sold for about $300 or so.

[wapfunz]

I thank you for that DIY comment - in for a penny in for a pound - fortune favours the brave. I purchased a second F1.4 and found the F stop ring loose - must have been cleaned sometime by some one who forgot to tighten things. Luckily with my partial dissassembly of the first f1.4 i knew it was a loose front bezel and promply tightened it - no more slop.
As I continue my resurgence I find signs of stain/fungus/old foam in the penta prisim and from the repair manuals from the banded web site - not allowed to mention it - about how to remove the top of the OM2N and the foam that sits atop the penta prisim that disintegrates over time, causing the stain - and how to remove it - so more DIY to come.
The repair manuals are good - time and patience.

[arthurking83]

I need to find a repair manual for the Topcon 100 I recently found for very cheap($10).
It was originally purchased with the idea of cannibalising it to use the aperture control mechanism for a lens project I have in mind.

Problem was that the problem that it apparently had is non existent and that it appears to function perfectly(as far as I can tell) with possibly a dragging shutter, and being manufactured in the early 60s, it makes sense that it would have a slow shutter mechanism.

I've tried to pull the top plate apart and can't find any way to remove the film winder lever in any way as I need to remove the top plate to clean out the prism too.
Seals all look shot to pieces, so I won't try loading a roll of film yet!

I'm going to try to restore it with some home made seals, and see if I can get the top plate off to clean the prism out too.
And if I get that done successfully it'll turn out to be quite a clean ol film camera.
If I can't get it clean and sealed up, I will end up pulling it apart to get the lens part I need, off the body, so I can make up an adapter for F-Mount.