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Loose front part of 28mm 2.0 asph M lens.


nick.edwards1

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I would welcome advice on the following:

 

My 28mm Summicron asph is becoming my standard lens on my M8 - it stays on the camera most of the time (great lens on the M8) along with the lens hood.

 

About a month ago I noticed that the lens hood was a bit loose - on examination it was the front part of the lens on which the lens hood was mounted which was loose. I noticed that this part of the lens seemed to be secured with 3 small set screws. I cautiously tightened them with a jewelers screw driver. All seemed OK until yesterday when I noticed it had loosened again. I re-tightened the 3 set screws again, this time I manipulated the front ring carefully to ensure that the 3 set screws were properly located - there seemed, I assume, to be indents for the screw location.

I have decided now not to leave my lens hood permanently attached as I think this is probably the root cause of the problem when I am handling the camera and lens with hood attached.

 

I have been reluctant to return the lens to Leica as I do not want to be without the lens for a long period (The lens still has a passport warranty).

 

Am I doing the 'right thing'? - Your comment would be appreciated.

 

Regards,

 

Nick

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My 28 'Cron had the same problem. Mine was much older, I think I got it around 2001 or so.

 

I would definitely send it back to Leica, especially if it is under warranty. Mine was out of warranty but Leica NJ fixed it for free and in under a week.

 

Haven't used it much since...when I knew I had to send my 28 in I bought a 24, and that became my main lens. But I have tested the 'Cron and it seems to work perfectly after the repair.

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If this is just a matter of loose screws then in UK I'm sure Leica Milton Keynes would remedy the problem very quickly. But elsewhere in the world if faced with a 4 month wait I'd take a chance and take out each screw in turn and put a tiny amount of Locktite screw setting compound onto the thread before reinserting - or any other proprietary brand. Sounds as if it is just a simple mechanical problem and maybe some locking compound should have been used during manufacture. However, do not over-tighten the screws as the heads could easily snap off if too much force is applied - and make sure you use good quality watchmaker's screwdrivers eg Bergeon.

 

Cheers

 

dunk

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Thanks for your comment Dunk,

 

I contacted MK. I explained to one of their lens technicians what I had done. He said that they would only have done the same i.e. tighten the screws as I had done in the same manner. They told me to get back to them if I had any further problems. I asked about a locking compound on the screws - they told me not to use any as they do not use it themselves. The screwdrivers you suggested were quite expensive (about £90 for a set) - I used what I already had with care. I think I will get some though if I need to do any more DIY.

 

Regards,

 

Nick.

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  • 6 months later...

I had the problem twice with my cron 28. The first time took about three weeks to repair and second time less than a week (including transport!).

 

Important: Check focus shift and back/front focus issues after having it fixed.

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Nick I haven't had any issue like that with leaving the hood on my 28 all of the time. As a bonus the hood provides impact protection for the front of the lens too. I did once need to tighten a screw that had come loose on another lens (Elmarit 90).

I think that the two important points when retightening any fastener like that are to ensure that you use a correctly fitting screwdriver carefully and ensure that the hole is located correctly over the locating detent when you tighten it. If you rotate the loose part of the barrel carefully (with the fasteners removed) you should spot the detents underneath.

Line them up and don't overtorque it of course. I recommend that you do not use any grade of loctite. The wrong grade can mean that the screw is permanent and it just isn't needed here.

If you aren't confident with your hand skills or don't have a good quality tool, maybe pop into a jeweller's store. I'm sure that they can fix it for you in about a minute.

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  • 1 year later...

Slightly old thread but I would be interested to hear from other folks with the 28 Summicron. Even when the screws are tight (mine are), is it normal that there is a small amount of movement on the front ring. It feels like the screws are sitting in small detents in the inner ring but not tight in the detent. I wonder if like Alan, the screws in my 28 Summicron are too short. I have an item to go back to Solms for service next week and if necessary, the 28 Summicron could go with it.

 

Wilson

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Mine is quite firm, although I've always thought the hood is on a slight cant - I've not detected any effect on the photos, however.

 

I read about this issue before buying the lens, so I've always been extra careful when changing lenses.

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Mine fell off my 28 Summicon in use about a month ago. completely.

 

Then today, the same thing happened to my 50 summilux which is only a a few weeks old.

 

I did see lock tight of some sort around the screw, but nevertheless was very very annoying as the screw dropped onto the pavement.

 

When I finally found the screw and reinserted it this evening, It was pretty clear the screw threads aren't matching. Perhaps some of Leicas taps are wearing....and a go-no-gauge would be appropriate......

 

On a happy note. Thanks to this forum I bought the old 35/1,4 Lens hood and installed it on my 28 summicron and it looks and works awesome. Anything but the 28's frankenhood.

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Sadly I gave away my old 35 Summilux hood to a friend long before I had a 28 Summicron. In any case I got bored with buying new lens caps. I lost 2 when they just dropped off. I think I may just get a 46mm wide ventilated hood (Heavystar or similar). I would like to get a Contax GG1 but in black, they are virtually unobtainable as black ones were I think, only ever issued with the dealers' dummy 28 Biogon G's or in the three lens anniversary kit. All the other Biogon G's were in titanium finish.

 

The friend to whom I gave the 35 lux hood and cap, had endless trouble with the front falling off his 28 Summicron. It does seem a bit of a design weakness. I would have thought a 10 minute redesign could have cured it. The obvious thing is to have conical detents on the inner ring and use pointed No.0 hex socket grub screws, with thermo plastic, low strength locking compound (Loctite 222 or similar) - problem solved!

 

Wilson

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