Brancbūth Posted January 14, 2021 Share #1  Posted January 14, 2021 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) Well, folks...I took a flashlight to a recently purchased 50mm V5 Summicron, and I'm gutted.  I though I had gotten an excellent deal on this lens, as the seller worked with me on the price (unrelated to this issue - the lens was advertised as "new, open box" and came with box and papers). Upon inspection, it appears to have fungus (haze? separation? I can't quite make out what is going on here) tracking along the outer edge. Could I get a second opinion on this before I request a return?  Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Edited January 14, 2021 by Brancbūth Additional information. Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/316972-possible-fungus-in-v5-summicron/?do=findComment&comment=4117793'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 14, 2021 Posted January 14, 2021 Hi Brancbūth, Take a look here Possible fungus in V5 Summicron. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Kwesi Posted January 14, 2021 Share #2  Posted January 14, 2021 Good news is that the lens is too new to have developed haze or fungus. Bad news is that the serial number is too old for the lens to be sold as "new/open box" that number 41xx series is from the M8 early M9 era. I don't know enough to say what's going on inside the lens(separation?) but I doubt it can be cleaned. I would return it. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brancbūth Posted January 14, 2021 Author Share #3  Posted January 14, 2021 13 minutes ago, Kwesi said: Good news is that the lens is too new to have developed haze or fungus. Bad news is that the serial number is too old for the lens to be sold as "new/open box" that number 41xx series is from the M8 early M9 era. I don't know enough to say what's going on inside the lens(separation?) but I doubt it can be cleaned. I would return it. I appreciate the response. The serial number does date it to around 2012, but the seller I purchased it from said that he is a "Leica collector," and that he bought it new and shelved it, which I really don't doubt. The back and front elements really are flawless, and the barrel looks virtually untouched. It really is a gorgeous lens, and I would have been very happy with the price if it weren't for the internal issues. I was hoping that it may be fully repairable, in which case I'd likely have just sent it off for a cleaning. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kwesi Posted January 14, 2021 Share #4 Â Posted January 14, 2021 If you are in the States you could show your pics to the folks at Leica NJ and get an opinion/estimate. Call the repair department. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brancbūth Posted January 14, 2021 Author Share #5  Posted January 14, 2021 16 minutes ago, Kwesi said: If you are in the States you could show your pics to the folks at Leica NJ and get an opinion/estimate. Call the repair department. I just sent off an email to the Leica NJ repair department. I also sent photos of the lens to Youxin Ye, as he has repaired my equipment in the past. He believes it to be deterioration of the optical cement. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kwesi Posted January 14, 2021 Share #6  Posted January 14, 2021 (edited) Youxin may be the better option. He is much faster and far less expensive than Leica. He lives a few towns over from me and I have had the pleasure of visiting him a few years ago. edit: It is unusual for a relatively new lens to show deterioration of the optical cement. Perhaps Leica will repair at no cost.  Edited January 14, 2021 by Kwesi 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommonego@gmail.com Posted January 14, 2021 Share #7  Posted January 14, 2021 Advertisement (gone after registration) Send the photos to Youxin, he responds quickly and can give you an estimate if he can do the work. His repair work is taking a little while as he seems slammed with repair requests, wye7@yahoo.com. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 14, 2021 Share #8 Â Posted January 14, 2021 There are plenty of better Summicrons for sale. I would return it - separation is very hard to repair and risky. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted January 14, 2021 Share #9  Posted January 14, 2021 15 hours ago, Brancbūth said: I though I had gotten an excellent deal on this lens, as the seller worked with me on the price (unrelated to this issue - the lens was advertised as "new, open box" and came with box and papers). Upon inspection, it appears to have fungus (haze? separation? I can't quite make out what is going on here) tracking along the outer edge. Could I get a second opinion on this before I request a return? I would not keep such a lens in any way. No matter how easy or difficult it may be to fix, it has been not been advertised with such a defect. Being an apparent defect you're at risk to lose a possible claim if you accept the lens as is. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brancbūth Posted January 14, 2021 Author Share #10  Posted January 14, 2021 1 hour ago, tommonego@gmail.com said: Send the photos to Youxin, he responds quickly and can give you an estimate if he can do the work. His repair work is taking a little while as he seems slammed with repair requests, wye7@yahoo.com. Youxin, upon seeing the photos, admitted that it would be prohibitively expensive to repair the elements. He mentioned that Leica does not supply just a single element for the Summicron line (though they do for the Summilux), so it would be a matter of purchasing an entire lens assembly. He put it very bluntly: I have essentially paid for a lens barrel. I will be returning the lens. 1 hour ago, jaapv said: There are plenty of better Summicrons for sale. I would return it - separation is very hard to repair and risky. Thank you for the response. Unfortunately, this is "strike two" for me. I purchased a rigid Summicron a couple weeks before this one. The rigid was advertised as having "perfect" front and rear elements and the photos appeared to reflect this; however, when I received the lens, the was a very prominent scratch right through the center of the front element, so I promptly returned it. Now there is this situation with the V5. I don't seem to have very good luck with second-hand lens purchases. The hunt continues... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 14, 2021 Share #11  Posted January 14, 2021 Yes - but be VERY wary from eBay sellers That rigid Summicron sounds like a "mintbay" lens  Stick to reputable dealers and for instance trusted members on this Forum. I'm sure that our USA members can provide some addresses. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wizard Posted January 14, 2021 Share #12  Posted January 14, 2021 vor 14 Stunden schrieb Brancbūth: He believes it to be deterioration of the optical cement. +1. Lens separation is just another word for it. vor 1 Stunde schrieb jaapv: separation is very hard to repair and risky. True if you were to attempt to repair that lens group, but it should be easy for a skilled person to replace the defective cemented lens group by a new one. After all, the lens is still in production. I am sure Leica would repair the lens that way if it were sent to them. Costs may be in the order of 400 - 600 Euro, but Leica may not even charge such money as the lens should not exhibit lens separation after such a relatively short time in the first place. I would have the owner send the lens to Leica and find out what happens. Else it is just an expensive paperweight. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brancbūth Posted January 14, 2021 Author Share #13  Posted January 14, 2021 (edited) 13 minutes ago, wizard said: +1. Lens separation is just another word for it. True if you were to attempt to repair that lens group, but it should be easy for a skilled person to replace the defective cemented lens group by a new one. After all, the lens is still in production. I am sure Leica would repair the lens that way if it were sent to them. Costs may be in the order of 400 - 600 Euro, but Leica may not even charge such money as the lens should not exhibit lens separation after such a relatively short time in the first place. I would have the owner send the lens to Leica and find out what happens. Else it is just an expensive paperweight. I have reached out to the Leica NJ repair center, but have not received a response as of yet. The consensus does seem to be that this sort of damage would be abnormal for such a "young" lens, let alone one that (supposedly) sat on a shelf since its purchase. In the meantime, I have re-boxed the lens in anticipation of sending it back to the seller. Thanks! Edited January 14, 2021 by Brancbūth Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 14, 2021 Share #14  Posted January 14, 2021 But you do not know the conditions under which it was stored. Leica may claim heat damage for instance. I doubt whether a lens group could be replaced for the price mentioned. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedaes Posted January 14, 2021 Share #15  Posted January 14, 2021 1 hour ago, Brancbūth said: I purchased a rigid Summicron If you are considering this lens, be aware they are all old, had very soft lens coatings, and are very prone to haze. "Minty' on e-bay for this age of lens is not realistic. I would agree with others, send the Summicron you have back for a refund as soon as you can. Don't hold out any hope of a 'free' Leica repair - lenses do not get in that state stored in its box. Good luck with the return - keep us posted! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brancbūth Posted January 14, 2021 Author Share #16  Posted January 14, 2021 16 minutes ago, jaapv said: But you do not know the conditions under which it was stored. Leica may claim heat damage for instance. I doubt whether a lens group could be replaced for the price mentioned. Exactly right. The previous owner is a self-proclaimed "Leica collector," which would imply temperature and climate-controlled storage, but I suppose that must be taken with a grain of salt. I plan on dropping the lens at the post office tomorrow. Hopefully the seller will have good luck with Leica in getting the lens repaired. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Michel Posted January 14, 2021 Share #17  Posted January 14, 2021 10 minutes ago, pedaes said: If you are considering this lens (50 Rigid), be aware they are all old, had very soft lens coatings, and are very prone to haze. "Minty' on e-bay for this age of lens is not realistic. I would agree with others, send the Summicron you have back for a refund as soon as you can. Don't hold out any hope of a 'free' Leica repair - lenses do not get in that state stored in its box. Good luck with the return - keep us posted! I have a 50 'Rigid' purchased new back in 1968 (new M4 and lens cost me  $400 Canadian, and expensive purchase at the time for a first year Ryerson student). It is in excellent condition, given its age, and daily use for a few decades. I would feel honest in selling it as a perfectly useable lens, but should I ever decide to part with it (I now use a new current version one) I would probably let my Leica dealer in Montreal handle that – I would obviously get less money but I would be assured that the eventual buyer would get CLA'd lens from a reputable dealer with a real warranty. Any loss of 'profit' would soon dissipate and my conscience would be clear. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brancbūth Posted January 14, 2021 Author Share #18  Posted January 14, 2021 7 minutes ago, pedaes said: If you are considering this lens, be aware they are all old, had very soft lens coatings, and are very prone to haze. "Minty' on e-bay for this age of lens is not realistic. I would agree with others, send the Summicron you have back for a refund as soon as you can. Don't hold out any hope of a 'free' Leica repair - lenses do not get in that state stored in its box. Good luck with the return - keep us posted! Thank you. It was wishful thinking, the idea of finding an optically clean rigid, so I have moved past it. I've really been drawn to qualities of the rigid, but they seem to be so volatile.  Anyway, the V5 is packed up and ready to be shipped out tomorrow. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommonego@gmail.com Posted January 14, 2021 Share #19 Â Posted January 14, 2021 i am finding dealers are often less expensive than the Bay. They are also concerned with rating the len's correctly. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
logan2z Posted January 15, 2021 Share #20  Posted January 15, 2021 (edited) 5 hours ago, tommonego@gmail.com said: i am finding dealers are often less expensive than the Bay. Very often. The increases in eBay fees have caused sellers to jack up their prices to compensate. Edited January 15, 2021 by logan2z 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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