Summicron 50mm Rigid damaged?

[manbitesdog]

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Hi all

 

I need some expert opinions on a lens I recently acquired.

 

I managed to pick up what looked to be an excellent condition Summicron 50mm Rigid DR for a good price a few weeks ago. I showed it to a very knowledgeable friend who seemed a little concerned with what he called "coma" artefacting when looking through the lens. He said it may have been dropped.

 

I couldn't really notice anything, but when shining a torch through the lens, I did notice a spiral like pattern on the rear element. Now being relatively new to the Leica photography scene, I'm not sure whether this is perfectly normal for this lens?

 

I have attached images taken of this phenomenon.

 

I would be most grateful if anyone knowledgable in this field could put me at ease or ruin my day. I would just like to know the truth.

 

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[tobey bilek]

Never buy a lens without a pen light or even better a keychain light.  Shine through both and and look into opposite.

 

Try to return

[Rus]

It may be a from of balsam separation. Send it to a reputable place for a CLA job perhaps. 

 

I have a canon LTm 50/1.2 that suffers from balsam separation (not in this shape, though), and it functions fine in daylight. It is only when bright spot light source is rendered in the OOF areas that the same shape of the separation shows in the bokeh balls. 

 

See if you can find anything strange in the bokeh balls from, say, traffic at night?

 

 

Here are the images of my lens. The first shows that the strange shape only appears when strong light go through the lens from a certain angle. The second photo shows the same shape in the bokeh balls. The last image shows that it functions perfectly well in daylight. 

 

1: 

 

2

 

 

3

[farnz]

The spiral looks to me like it was done on a lathe so I expect that it is how the Balsam was evenly applied when the lens was first made and is now becoming visible as the Balsam becomes cloudy from ageing.  This may also be separation as a result of the ageing Balsam losing its adherence.

 

Pete.

[250swb]

Yes, the balsam has been spun onto the lens element.

 

 

Steve

[manbitesdog]

Thanks for the replies guys. Is this fixable?

 

 

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[TomB_tx]

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It probably can be fixed, as balsam can be separated at comparatively low temperatures. However, the soft coatings used back then might be damaged in the process, which could mean recoating those elements. If you are in the US, Focal Point will look it over and quote so you can decide. I once sent them a v1 Summicron with internal coating damage, which had also pitted the surfaces. They recommended NOT attempting repair as it would have been more expensive than finding a good sample, and re-polishing and such would have affected the performance. As I recall they also indicated the re-coating could have caused separation of the balsam, which was OK on that lens.

[bocaburger]

Doesn't look like balsam separation as I've seen it but it may be.  I once had balsam separation in a 90 Elmar LTM (looked more like the one in Rus' photo) and a camera repair guy told me to put it in a cold toaster oven, turn it to 250F, leave it for an hour or so, turn it off and let it cool down completely.  Worked a charm and the separation hasn't come back in over a decade.  I'm just relating my experience, not advocating you do that with your lens, especially if you have the option of returning it.