Removing focus screen on Leicaflex SL2 for cleaning??

[wlaidlaw]

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How difficult is removing the focusing screen on an SL2 Leicaflex? There is quite a lot of dust and 45 years of crud on it and I would be very surprised if the bottom surface of the pentaprism would not also benefit from a spring clean. I have done the viewfinder lens and back surface of the pentaprism already and that did improve it a bit but I can really see the dirt on the screen. I did this recently on my R4-MOT and it was a quite noticeable improvement in the viewfinder, making focusing long fast lenses considerably easier and more precise. 

Wilson

[TomB_tx]

I believe with the SL & SL2 Leitz felt that removable screens might not provide as accurate focus, so you must disassemble from the top down & remove the pentaprism to get at the screen - but I don't have documentation to back that up.

[wlaidlaw]

7 hours ago, TomB_tx said:

I believe with the SL & SL2 Leitz felt that removable screens might not provide as accurate focus, so you must disassemble from the top down & remove the pentaprism to get at the screen - but I don't have documentation to back that up.

Tom having had a good look at it, that is what I feared. I might ask if Newton Ellis in the UK will do it. The pentaprism could be re-silvered at the same time. 

Wilson

[jensthoes]

Hello Wilson,

I did just clean the screen of my Leicaflex SL (nearly the same procedure as for the SL2).

I followed the workflow of this link --> https://imgur.com/a/9PDAj

BUT YOU SHOUD NOT TAKE OUT THE SCREEN - CLEAN IT IN PLACE!

I did it first with a bellow and than with a sensor pad (carefully clenaing - first wet - than dry) and got no cleaning marks.

Now the screen is clean and bright again.

The only tricky thing ist to re-install th DIN-ASA-knob. Therefore the level which moves the inicator must be pulled back.

I did it with a piece of dental floss, which I looped around the level before replacing the top plate. The end of the dental floss must ome out of the eye piece.

At thr replacement of the DIN-ASA-Knob, you must pull back the level holding both ends of the dental floss.

When the Knob ist firmly fixed, you can pull out the dental floss at one end.

If you want to try it, it's not too difficult, but you have to be carefull and patient.

Good luck,

Jens

 

[wlaidlaw]

Jens,

Many thanks for that link. I might leave that to Newton Ellis. I well remember the heave of getting my R4 top cover off and then the nightmare of getting it all back together without pinching any of the very thin wires (about half the diameter of the Leicaflex wires) and making sure that the ribbon cables fold in the correct places, as you lower the outer case back into place. I did that to clean the contacts on the mode and ISO switches, which were very dirty and a bit corroded.

I think that to do the Leicaflex without scarring or damaging anything, you need a large set of different size locking ring wrenches for removing these rings. I have an adjustable watchmakers ring wrench but it is not really rigid enough for removing really stuck locking rings, as Leica ones often are. I have a set of flexyclamps for removing smaller rings which stand proud of their surround but of course, these don't work on recessed rings. 

Wilson

 

[SteveYork]

12 hours ago, TomB_tx said:

I believe with the SL & SL2 Leitz felt that removable screens might not provide as accurate focus, so you must disassemble from the top down & remove the pentaprism to get at the screen - but I don't have documentation to back that up.

I read many years ago, in Leica Photographie, that reason the Leicaflex series had a non-removable screen -- possibly among other reasons -- is they felt removable focusing screens, like the Nikon F, led to the screens getting to dirty, dusty ect.   And that's true in practice.  

[harryzet]

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vor 7 Stunden schrieb SteveYork:

I read many years ago, in Leica Photographie, that reason the Leicaflex series had a non-removable screen -- possibly among other reasons -- is they felt removable focusing screens, like the Nikon F, led to the screens getting to dirty, dusty ect.   And that's true in practice.  

sure. on the nikon f you remove the finder and the screen by pressing a button and clean it. done

[TomB_tx]

1 hour ago, harryzet said:

sure. on the nikon f you remove the finder and the screen by pressing a button and clean it. done

Yup. Just swapped screens between an early Nippon Kogaku F and later F2. Both still solid and working fine, if "industrial" clunky feeling. Using an F in 1968 convinced me to get a Leicaflex SL.

[SteveYork]

3 hours ago, harryzet said:

sure. on the nikon f you remove the finder and the screen by pressing a button and clean it. done

Yes, I've owned Nikons.  The screens get dirty/dusty, you clean them.  It happens regularly, not a big deal, no one said it was, but you clean them and they pretty get dusty/dirty right away again.  Rarely do you have to clean a Leicaflex screen.  That's the point.  I never had to clean a Leicaflex focusing, screen and at one time I used them exclusively for almost a decade.  

This is not the reason not to get a Nikon.  There are many other reasons not to get mechanical Nikons, such as shutter vibration, but the article was correct, perhaps in a trivial way.

Edited June 29, 2020 by SteveYork