Repair information needed; 50mm Summicron-M v4

[semi-ambivalent]

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Just now I took this lens out of my pocket and the focusing tab fell off into my hand. Yikes! The tab has two nubs that match holes in the lens's focusing ring and a hole that matches a small threaded (bolt?) in the focusing ring that has now fallen into the lens's body. I don't know if that is a bolt inside the lens that screws into the tab, in which case the tab's screw hole is stripped, or it's a small threaded rod that's molded into the tab. In that case the tab's hole is, yes, stripped. I've been shooting this lens a lot the last few days and I'm stupidly lucky that it failed in the kitchen and not out in the field.

 

Because I have all the pieces my first thought is to send it to DAG and have it opened up and cleaned (it's a 3448xxx, 1987, so could probably used it), but is this anything I could get at myself? There's screws in the bayonet that would give access. Does this even begin to be wise?

 

Thanks,

s-a

 

 

[luigi bertolotti]

Humpf.... I suppose it's THIS kind of tab which was used for some years in several Leica lenses...

 

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... it's a no good design ... there were years in which, at Wetzlar, they hadn't yet learned well how to mix plastic and metal the right way... is prone to breaking (as happened to me - and see the small crack in the above picture... it's not an item of mine) or loosening/losing as happened to you ; our friend Michelwj has made replacements with 3Dprinting tech :

 

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/269213-35mm-summilux-pre-ash-focus-tab-redux/

 

Do-It-Yourself reassembling is probably feasible (in the link maybe there are details about)... but be ready to another similar event afterwards : really not a brilliantly engineered solution... its successor is, at least for my experience, someway better :

 

Edited September 20, 2017 by luigi bertolotti

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[semi-ambivalent]

Humpf.... I suppose it's THIS kind of tab which was used for some years in several Leica lenses...

 

Focus_tab_bleah.jpg

 

... it's a no good design ... there were years in which, at Wetzlar, they hadn't yet learned well how to mix plastic and metal the right way... is prone to breaking (as happened to me - and see the small crack in the above picture... it's not an item of mine) or loosening/losing as happened to you ; our friend Michelwj has made replacements with 3Dprinting tech...

Thanks for the reply Luigi.

 

To be truthful my tab had no crack in it. But I've been carrying it in my pants pocket while I had the 28 mounted and twice in one day while getting into my wife's car I smacked it against the door opening (not the door itself). That's a pretty substantial structure. I probably caused it right there. I had no knowledge of Michael's work in this. It's academic; my lens is on its way to DAG even now for repair and a CLA. I'll just have to stumble along with the 5.0cm 1:2.8 Elmar.

 

f/8 and be there,

s-a

[Ko.Fe.]

I had it falling from another Canadian lens with same focus tab mount. Stripped plastic... The only solution for DiY is super glue to hold screw well, but it will leave some glue strikes on external side of the lens.

Another DIY option is to purchase spare tab from DAG. He sells it. I have two.

Where are "comics" on-line for how to get it done:

https://fotophilosophy.wordpress.com/2014/01/05/diy-fixing-rough-focus-and-loose-focusing-handle-on-leica-summicron-5cm-v4s/ 

Edited September 20, 2017 by Ko.Fe.