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[OM] Stiff aperture ring syndrome

Subject: [OM] Stiff aperture ring syndrome
From: Marko Vrabec <marko.vrabec@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 23:10:48 +0200
Dear fellow OManiacs,

I have recently got two beautifully preserved 50mm 1.2 Zuikos, which
were reportedly used in a quality control lab of the largest Slovenian
brewery. Apparently, the lens were never mounted on a camera and are
spotless. Beautiful lens indeed, 50/1.2!

However, both specimens have an annoying mechanical problem. Turning the
aperture ring around and back several times produces a click inside the
lens barrel, after which my OM4t stubbornly insists the aperture is set
to 16, regardless of the actual setting. Besides, if the lens is focused
at infinity, the aperture ring becomes very stiff and I cannot turn it
beyond the value of 8. Alternately, when the lens is focused to the
closest focusing distance, the aperture ring is very loose and easy (too
easy) to turn.

How bad is this? Should I return the lens, or is this thing repairable
at a reasonable cost? One of the lens can be used, provided I
occasionally "reset" the aperture forwarding mechanism by taking the
lens off the camera and back, but the other specimen is quite unusable
in its present condition.

As a side note, there is actually a dead *flea* inside each lens, stuck
to one of the elements. I don't believe this would degrade picture to
any noticeable degree, but I wonder how did the fleas make it inside,
both lenses surely look like they were never opened? Maybe an expert
entomologist could determine whether the fleas are of Japanese pedigree
and were thusly incorporated at the assembly line already? :-)


Best regards,

Marko Vrabec
Kamnik, Slovenia

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