Help - Advice on Lens Service

[mickey_turner]

Hi All,

 

I have only just purchased a mint condition Nikon FE2 with a Nikkor

AIS 50f1.4 and the Nikkor AIS 35-105 lens (private sale). The camera

is great but the lenses are a different story.

 

It appears both lenses don't focus to infinity any more ? Not to sure

why as I've looked after them very well. My question is: Is this

normal for the lenses to do this and is it worth spending approx $400

to have them both serviced. Any thoughts much appreciated.

 

Regards

 

Mickey

[david_h._hartman]

Perhaps your eye is not centered correctly in the eye piece. If you are seeing a very tiny apparent failure to reach infinity it may quite unimportant. It might be the camera body and not the lenses. If you are given to worrying excessively I didn�t write that last sentence. Before doing anything, do practical tests.

 

I don�t know about the 35~105/3.5~4.5 AIS but the 50/1.4 AIS is very easy to adjust. I�m not recommending that you do this as I don�t know your experience or if you have the correct tools but here is how it�s done (50/1.4 AIS). To wit: you might butcher your lens.

 

Focus the lens to its minimum focus distance. This reveals a set screw (on mine near the ft/m marks). This ring includes the filter threads. Unscrew the set screw a few turns. Unscrew the ring. This revels a brass washer (retaining thing) with four Philips head screws. Loosen these screws slightly. **(I�m not doing this now for obvious reasons so I may be missing something here. I do have a 50/1.4 AIS in my hand.)** Adjust the infinity focus. I don�t have a collimator (who does?) so I use a trusted F2 with DW-2, 6x high magnification finder and a light pole, white/gray, in sun against dark trees. The distance to the pole must be 1/4 to 3/8 mile. Make sure the focus ring is turned all the way towards infinity, very gentle here. Tighten the four screws. I use cross pattern similar to torquing the head on an engine. Check to see that the desired adjustment was achieved. There is a tendency to creep so the adjustment many need to be repeated. Maybe the cross pattern helps here, maybe not. Close the patient.

 

That doesn�t seem like $200.00 worth to me but then what do I know. If I had any sense I probably wouldn�t repair my own lenses (some of them). At least I have yet to butcher one.

 

I just had a moment of doubt and pain myself, just today. I bought a minty 28/2.0 AIS. It still had the JCII INSPECTED sticker on it, got it Friday. I thought it needed adjustment (collimation). It has a hole under the rubber focus grip with paint instead of a set screw. I opened the patient. Noted that it is indeed a front CRC lens (close range correction), double checked the infinity focus on both an FM2n and F2 w/ DW-2, remembered that I am a recovered perfectionist and closed the patient.

 

I can�t see your camera and lens or what you are seeing but chances are you need do nothing. Do practical tests first. Think long and hard before attempting a repair yourself.

 

All the best,

[neil_parker]

Good advice above, but I would add that if both lenses have the same problem and they are in good condition, it might be worth having the camera body checked also. Its possible for a mirror to be off, or maybe the screen not mounted properly? I had one of these pop out once on an FM2 because the latch wasn't quite engaged.

[conrad_hoffman]

Kinda unlikely that both lenses have the same exact problem. Borrow another lens and see if the body is really the problem!

[todd peach seattle, washi]

Just an odd thought / semantics: They don't focus 'to infinity' or they 'focus past infinity'? The latter is pretty common and I routinely ignore it.

 

A 'pulled mount' on a body (common enough if the body has been toting something like an 80-200/2.8 for a while) can give those symptoms. Sometimes these are easy to fix while you wait, other times they require 'torquing' the body.

[david_h._hartman]

<em>"A 'pulled mount' on a body (common enough if the

body has been toting something like an 80-200/2.8 for a while)

can give those symptoms." --Todd Peach<br>

</em><br>

This might slide past some. A pulled mount would function as a

very slight "extension tube" preventing a camera from

focusing to infinity with non-ED lenses. Ive heard its

not that uncommon for Nikon to exchange the bayonet on the body when

servicing a camera. I dont know this to be true but the

person who told me this used to shoot for the LA Lakers and is a

sales manager of a camera store now. Hopefully this is good

quality hearsay. He shoots Canon so who knows? :)<br>

<br>

Its two lenses against one body. If this focus problem is

slight its something the typical owner would not notice. If the

foam seals havent been replaced lately on this FE2 they should

be. Check the foam at the camera backs hinge and also the foam

at the mirror. The foam at the hinge is often flat and sticky, at the

mirror it may lack resilience. I recently had all my FE2 re-foamed.<br>

<br>

If the body is the problem it might be as simple as replacing the

cameras bayonet. If the foam needs replacing do have the

body focus checked.

[mickey_turner]

Thanks everyone,

 

Thanks to all who helped with advice, really appreciate it. I didn't even think it may be a problem with the camera itself.

 

I checked again last night, and the 35-105 Nikkor seems worse than the 50. As I focus the lens on the 35-105 the split image does not come into focus at distance objects. It seems fine for portraiture at the 105 end where the subject is only a few metres away, as does the 50.

 

Regards

 

Mickey