miranda lens oily blades: ?

Hello again folks!

On an earlier post i mentioned a Miranda GT at the local Thrift store.

Well, l bought it for $15.

There is oil on the lens blades- which some had warned me

about being probable on this camera.

It is a very solid feeling camera!

Now, Peter suggested that a few screws taken off the lens barrel- housing

would reveal the shutter blades for cleaning with lighter fluid.

I did as instructed, ( good advise , Peter!).

Only problem is i do not know how to get the rest of the lens

housing apart to clean the blades.

Attached is a photo.

Do you have to turn the front retaining ring to get at the blades, or go at it from the rear lens housing?

Any suggestions greatly appreciated, and thanks very kindly

in advance!<div></div>

Hi, Mike I think I might have misled you a bit here, mate. When I said "unscrew the front part" I meant literally that, ie grabbing firmly the front out part with the focussing out as far as it would go, and giving it a sharp, firm twist. That usually removes the first section after a lot of turning a very fine-threaded movement and then you repeat the dose on a bell-shaped section, once again with a lot of turning. No tools are needed - just firm hands. The front lens section then usually comes away with the bell section, revealing the aperture blades. This is a sequence that works on most Miranda lenses.

HOWEVER!! I've just tried it on the f1.8 Auto Miranda fitted to my "G" model, and guess what? It doesn't work! There are still three small screws in there appearing to hold the last section in place, which I guess must be the ones you're referring to. Mike, you're getting into serious territory now. Unscrewing a complete section by hand is one thing, because it can only go back to that same point when rescrewed with no alignment problems. However, when you start unscrewing small set screws which may not actually have a female threaded hole to go into, rather just being a friction fit against rigid metal, marking the alignment positions at which the sections fitted is most important for when you fit it all back together. To be honest, I wouldn't even attempt it. I know my limits, and this is now getting into professional technician CLA stuff.

Just why the lens on the "G" should be more complex to dismantle than other Miranda lenses, I don't know. It certainly dioesn't look any different. However, the proof of the pudding is in the dismantling (ouch! split metaphors, I know ...). You could carry on regardless, unscrewing everything and you might find it all goes back in place OK when you've got to the blades and cleaned them. Then again ............

Still, the worst case is that you end up with a Miranda lens jigsaw puzzle of bits, but the whole thing only cost you $17 and another suitable lens will show up on Fleabay or wherever eventually. They're not rare. (Pete In Perth)

Ah, thanks Peter!

This has turned into one HECK of a lens job!

Like you said, those three small brass screws.

All is well, but for the life of me i cannot

yet that main thread which attaches to the internal brass thread to

engage the aperture pin inside.

It - the large main focusing thread barrel- will turn in but not engage.

oh, what a job.

maybe it will never be fixed!

Like you said, got a good body.

Thanks

Hi, Mike I've done a bit of experimenting with other 50mm & 5 cm lenses of f1.8 and f1.9 format from models such as the F, Fv, Sensomat, Sensomat RS & Sensomat RE, and the good news is that they all fit and work fine on the "G". So, if you're prepared to stretch a historical point or two on a replacement lens, you should be able to get your "GT' up and running. This all assumes that you can't get to the oily blades of your current lens, of course, or find problems putting it all back together.

You could also take a Giant Leap Forward speed-wise and get a 50mm f1.4. The main thing with this group of Miranda lenses is that they don't have any outriggers, just the diaphragm actuating pin in the rear.

A good source of information and occasional stuff for sale, is the Yahoo Miranda Camera Collectors Group at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mirandacollectors/

so why not join - you might just get lucky and find somebody there who has a spare lens waiting for a new home, eh? (Pete In Perth)

Hi Mike,

I noticed your post this morning and had to laugh because I have the exact problem with an f1.4E series lens on my Miranda EE. I took a shot at dismantling the lens last night and it was a disaster.... The lens had fungus and the shutter was oily so I said what the heck and went at it. I would not recommend the procedure as I had very tiny screws, lens and parts scattered all over my work bench and I finally ended up with the shutter removed but all the blades fell off....oh my God! I placed a cloth over the whole mess and went in to watch the ball game (that too was not pretty as the Braves lost again).....Ron

PS. Check with KEH a very reliable outfit in Georgia who rates their stuff very honestly. They have some Miranda stuff from time to time and their bargain rated stuff is usually pretty nice. I just bought 3 Miranda bargain lens from them and am very satisfied (28mm, 50mm and 135mm).