Minolta lens repair question

<p>Hello all,</p>

<p>I recently bought a pretty decent-sized lot of camera gear off of eBay for a rather small price. I was mainly interested in a Minolta SRT 101 with a MC Rokkor 58/1.4 and a MC W.Rokkor HC 35/2.8. The camera and lenses are all in <em>fantastic</em> shape cosmetically and the camera is 100% functional, but both lenses have issues. The 35 has oily aperture blades, but I can use the DOF preview to stop the lens down before tripping the shutter and so I'm not that worried about that one right now. The 58/1.4 however, despite not having a scratch on it, won't stop down at all. Nothing happens when I push the DOF button on the camera or if I manually trim the aperture linkage on the back of the lens.</p>

<p>Given that these lenses usually go for less than $100, I don't think getting it repaired by a professional makes much sense. KEH will do it for $120 plus shipping, according to their price guide online. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience taking one of these lenses apart and if there's any chance that it might be a relatively easy fix. I don't have a whole lot of experience taking lenses this complex apart. The only repair I've done so far was to a Hi-matic. I do however have a good bit of experience taking other things apart and putting them back together and I already have the micro screwdrivers and a spanner (if I can find it). So, unless anyone knows someone that can repair it for less than it would cost to replace it, I'm really tempted to give it a go. If I completely foul it up, I'm not really out much money. I just hate letting an otherwise pristine piece of glass go to waste.</p>

<p>P.S. I know that I could return the lot to the seller, but the rest of the lot, without the two lenses, is still worth a lot more than I paid. I'd even feel bad about asking for a partial refund.</p>

 

<p>I recently had to take a Minolta Celtic lens apart with the very same problem. It is not all<br>

that difficult to do. Start by removing the name ring and the front lens group. Will expose<br>

other screws in the barrel that have to be removed. You should not have to unscrew the<br>

focusing rings if Minolta used the same construction on your lens as they did on the Celtic.<br>

Use a digital camera to take pictures of each step as you disassemble the lens.</p>

 

<p>Ed Romney's book has a detailed description and diagrams on dis-assembling and repairing Minolta lens. The book may be available in your local city Library. Some web sites also were selling copies of the same book. sp.</p>

Get another one and save the one with oily blades to do star trails or constellations.

<p>I have a number of 35/2.8 Mc Rokkors and oil on the aperture blades is a common problem for them. Be careful when working on the 58. I was told years ago at Essex that only the front surface of the front element is hard coated. I have three or four 58/1.4s. I would say they are not quite as sharp as the later 50/1.4s but are still good and have pleasant out of focus rendition. </p>

<p>There's an online copy of the repair model for the SRT-101 (or similar) that includes that lens. I cleaned one of them up with this problem, it wasn't hard, but I've worked on quite a few lenses. You'll need a lens spanner, and maybe a rubber ring to get the dress ring off.</p>

 

<p>My 58/1.4 (early MC, straight screws on the mount) didn't seem difficult to disassemble or reassemble when I had it apart. There was a Japanese site that had instructions with difficulty ratings for a number of various Minolta lenses (site may be defunct), and as John mentioned the SRT101 manual has instructions for the 58/1.4 as well. Spanner is necessary, and knowing which screws to remove from the lens mount side is important.</p>

<p>Thanks for the replies everyone. I decided to go ahead and give it a try since it was pretty much worthless as it was. I'm happy to report that I now have a perfectly functional 58/1.4. Luckily, I ran across <strong><a href="http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/forum/messages/15681/11899.html?1206564334">this post</a></strong> in my research that warned me about not unscrewing all 8 of the mounting screws on the rear flange and about the ball bearing for the aperture click-stops. Without that info I'm sure that I would have made a mess of it. I'll probably write up a detailed post for reference in case anyone needs it in the future.</p><div></div>

<p><a href="http://www.butkus.org/chinon/minolta/minolta_srt-101/minolta_srt_101.htm">Service manual for SRT-101</a>.<br>

Glad you got it fixed. Very nicely built lens, yours looks in great shape. </p>

<p>Despite my otherwise good "mechanical" ability.. things seem to go south for me! Like you said "make a mess of it" .. So glad to hear you managed to fix it ......and ...get it back to gether! </p>

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