What does the acronym CLA stand for?

I'm sure someone must have asked this in the past but I can't find it

in the archives. So - what does CLA stand for? I know it means a

sevice...

Cleaning Lubrication Adjustment.

 

_Ramy

Costly

Leica

Adjustments

A lifetime of.. 'Cash for Leica Agents' ?

Costly Leica apparatus.

Paul: All jokes aside from our witty forum colleagues, CLA does

stand for Cleaning, Lubrication and Adjustment. This service is

very important in not only keeping your lens functionning at its

maximum BUT also prolongs the life of the lens. The key

question however is when to CLA. Many people say that CLA

should only be done if YOU suspect/detect a problem, but others

(including me) are more proactive and will CLA every 5 years or

so or after a tough trip.....

I disagree with Albert, and vehemently with regard to lenses. Unless you can see or feel something wrong I would not give a Leica lens to be taken apart and reassembled and risk even slight decollimation as no repair facilities I've encountered have the same collimation equipment or a "clean room" like in the factory. AF lenses with motors, and zooms or FLE designs which hoover in dust are an exception.

Every 5 years?

 

I got my Canon AE-1 adjusted after 20 when it started exhibiting "shutter squeak", a common trait with these cameras. I think 5 years is a little excessive for any mechanical camera, but the meter losing accuracy is usually a good sign that it's ready for adjustment and a good cleaning.

 

My Canonet is going 30 years without a CLA this year. Maybe it is true what they say about 'em... :)

I support Jay's idea also of only doing a CLA when required.....The 5 year CLA for a camera is ok when in the right hands doing the work.......<BR><BR>There is alot of "Goober Factor" in repair work; too many experts........My one car has 298k miles without the valve cover ever being removed; has been on Mobil 1 oil since 4k miles....Also the same front disk rotors are on the car after 3 sets of pads.......; Plus the rotors have never been turned down; or required to be......I do the brake work myself ; the rotor thickness change since new is very small.......they could go 2 million miles before hitting the legal minumum thickness casted on the rotors...........Other friends with the same car have gone thru 3 front pad sets; & 2 new rotors in 110k miles.........The brake shops & dealer have a racket going here; once your old pads are off they almost always say that to clean up the rotors brings them down thinner than the legal limit.............So most people here get new rotors; and then they have front wheel bearing problems shortly afterward............You see old Goober the expert likes to hammer new tapered wheel bearings in place; instead of using a press with the correct supporting tools............<BR><BR>A cowworker turned his lawn mower on its side to clean its underside......When righted and started the engine smoked; he didnt know that the crankcase oil got into the valves / head......So he took the mower to the offical dealer; who concluded that the 2 year old mowers engine was shot because of the smoking exhaust........So they rebuilt the motor for 150 dollars......The motor seized up when cutting the first half of his yard......Then the dealer rebuilt it again; where it runs but smokes all the time!.........Tired of all the smoking; he gave the old mower away and bought a new mower with another service agreement<BR><BR>In surveying levels and transits alignment is required to keep the instrument in adjustment....The interval of adjustment depends on how the instrument has handled/shocked/bumped...........<b>Getting ones CAMERA rangefinder's adjusted for infinity and close positions at regular intervals is a good thing</b><BR><BR>For lenses; I rarely believe they should be messed with.....

CLA every five years? My 35Lux has had loose focusing for some time. I was

told by a Leica technician to send it in 10 years ago and get repaired. I just

kept using it. I dropped it last weekend and NOW it needs a good CLA. My M6

still has a "Leitz" red dot on it. It hasn't been serviced since around 1989. I

suppose it's about due, but it seems fine. I recently had one my M2s CLAed. It

hadn't been in since the early 1970s. Then there's my Leicavit which has

never been CLAed since I bought it in 1966 and it's still working fine. So my

vote would be for CLA when it's needed. Every five years? Not me.

Clean Leica Again ... ;-)

I'm with Jay- don't send it in unless it's broken! Lenses are so damm simple (Leica ones anyway), yet the collimation is precise. I wouldn't want anyone dismantling my lenses, except for the factory, and then only when it's needed. Is it possible to have the Leica factory repair items? Perhaps they are not into that business. Some watchmakers are. I would like to have my lenses spend my lifetime in a non-overhauled state if possible. : )

I disassemble the optics in surveying levels only when required; such as the front objective being fogged up due to fog; fungus, water damage......The lenses on these are edge ground and fit back into place.....But because lenses are not perfectly ground so the optical to mechanical centers; I must fiddle with the crosshairs to collimate the level..........<BR><BR>Some high end military optics have the lenses loose in the cells before tighting the lens retaining ring...The lens is purposely designed to have a good clearance at the edges.....The lens entire lens assembly is rotated while on a fixture ; which looks at an artifical star...the lens elements are then scooted around until the optical axis is on the mechanical axis.....We would then tack it in place with UV cure adhesive; and then with the retaining ring....