loose focusing ring on 85mm F 1.2

[dirk_dom]

Hi.

 

I have a 85 mm F 1.2, and recently the focusing ring has come loose, I can

wobble it back and forth about 1/8 of an inch.

 

Of course, I'll have this fixed, but turnover at my photo repair place is a

month and I'm leaving on holiday in two weeks.

 

Is this a critical condition? Could I take the lens along on vacation and have

it fixed after, or should I better leave the lens at home?

 

The 85/1.2 is one of my most favorite lenses, I'd hate to leave it at home, but

I have a 135 mm F2 which is also very good.

 

Thanks,

 

dirk.

[doug_nelson1]

I've encountered this in a used one at a camera show, and I have rejected one from KEH with aperture problems. I have not yet bought one, as I am a little spooked. Pick yourself up an FDn85 f1.8 at KEH or somewhere else. It is very light compared to the f1.2. At mid aperures, it's very sharp, and not at all bad at any aperture. My sample has the worse pincusion distortion I've ever seen, but it shows up only with architectural lines near the frame edges. With portraits, close-ups of flowers, and most scenics, the distortion isn't a factor.

[duane_kucheran]

Hello Dirk,

 

I have one of these in the new FD form. When I bought it a few years ago I brought along a macro ring to allow me to cycle the diaphragm a few times to see if there were any glitches. Good thing I did because the focus ring jammed up and I was able to get the lens for less than what he wanted for it. Or conversely, I didn't pay twice as much as I should have.

 

Now, it turned out that the ball bearing race that activates the diaphragm came unscrewed, let the ball bearings out and jammed the focus mechanism. It took me about two days to figure out how to take it all apart, clean, relube and reassemble it. I commented on this on this site and a former Canon camera tech said that this (and other problems) were common with these lenses and that I did well by getting mine to work again.

 

Anyway, you might be lucky and just have loose focussing ring and can tighten it up easily. The screws are under the rubber grip ring (diamond surface) which can be removed by stretching it gently over the metal ring with a slim blade. If the screws on this ring are not obviously loose, the ring itself comes out when the screws are removed. If there is play inside the mechanism then I think something is loose or broken inside and you'll have to take it in. My bet is that if you continue to use the lens, something more will come apart and make things worse.

 

Let us know how it goes,

 

Cheers,

 

Duane

[joseph_wei]

Doug,

 

Your lens isn't the only one with distortion - mine also has terrible pincushion distortion, but also takes sharp and contrasty photos at every aperture. Just wanted to get that out there - seems like every 85mm f/1.8 has this problem. But that's alright!

 

JW

[patrice_gosselin1]

Hi Dirk,

 

I have a 135 f/2.5 which did exactly the same. It seems like when you start to turn the focusing ring, there's a 1/8 inch of "play" on either side before the focusing mechanism actually catches on. The problem is, with time that 1/8th of an inch will become 1/4, 2/3, then 1 inch, and after a while you won't be able to focus at all; the ring will just turn loose.

 

It just so happened that I went to Spain for 2 weeks with that lens and that 1/8th inch of play and thought nothing of it - after the first week I was lugging around a heavy, useless 135 f/2.5 lens....

 

Have it fixed before leaving. The first time I brought the same lens with the same problem to my camera shop, the tech told me it was nothing and to wait a few minutes, 10 minutes later I was out of the shop with the lens working perfectly - and best of all, he did it for nothing (but he made a lifelong client for sure)! From what I understood, it's a relatively simple matter of unscrewing the focusing ring, and tightening some screws under that, and putting it back on with the proper marks aligned.

 

Hope that helps,

 

Pat