A story of two lenses (Rollei, whining)

[john_banister1]

Early this spring, before I had my very happy experiences with Rollei

USA, my travel plans took me close to Century Precision Optics

(Schneider Optics USA Division) so I stopped by with a Schneider 300mm

lens for Rollei 6000 series I had bought on ebay that wouldn't quite

focus to infinity. They sent it to Rollei in Germany, and 3 1/2

months later they have it back with a $1400 repair bill and Rollei

never gave Schneider an estimate to pass my way. I paid for the

repair, and I'll have the lens back soon. I expect it'll be like

brand new.

 

I also have a 500mm Zeiss lens I bought from someone else on ebay that

had the same problem (worse, in fact). I took a brass ring out of the

back of it and took it to a friendly local machinist, who interrupted

what he was doing for a few minutes and accurately shortened it. I

had to do this three times before the lens was close enough to focus

to infinity, but I paid a total of $40. (I'm going to have to do

something nice for that machinist.) Now the glass is close enough to

the film, and I can focus to infinity.

 

I'm not sure there's a moral to this story, but it seemed a story

worth telling.

[dale_dickerson2]

I would not have gone to CPO with the lens, but direct to Rollei-USA. I think you paid a prime rate to both companies. For 1,400 it better be like new.

 

So you are the person who got the 500mm lens. How do you like it? My longest lens is the 250mm Sonnar.

[oskar_ojala]

$1400 is totally ludicrous, I've had one of my Nikkor-AF CPU lenses picked apart and the chip replaced (difficult!) for a tenth of that price. Generally, $1400 is something one would reserve replacing the shutter on a modern AF-SLR, or some major operation on a digital camera. But hey, I'm no camera repairman, maybe they did some pretty nifty stuff on it(?)

 

An interesting incident was when the camera club I'm a member of had to have their Mamiya TLR's lens' (105 mm Sekor) aperture blades cleaned a couple of months ago. The first shop offered a ridiculous price, something like 200+ euros. The second place, which is one of the best in town, offered quite near half of that. Moral of the story: camera repairs seem to be as accurately priced as computer consultancy or construction work...

[john_banister1]

The f8 maximum aperture took me a little getting used to. All my other lenses are f4 or wider. It gives me sort of a "telescope" feel when I use the lens which I don't get from the 300. The way colors look is also a little different for me, but that's probably a difference between using an older Zeiss and newer Schneiders. For taking photos of the other side of the river valley, or moonrise over the mountain, I like it better than the 300 with a 2x teleconverter.

[roland_haid]

Unbelieveable: Either way is *wrong*. Unless the lens was manufactured out of specificaton, there is neither the need to make a $1400 overhaul or to machine the lens.

 

You don't said if the Zeiss was a Tessar or Apo-Tessar, if you have an Apo-Tessar you may have lathed it mediocre preformance. The Tele-Tessar is save in this regard. The barrel of an inside focus lens may not be machined. The focus modul inside is to be adjusted to focus to infinity. Same with your Schneider lens. I think, Rollei are cutthrouts but may have done the job right.

 

A hint for users: If the original manufacturer is available, contact them and ask for a repair. They know their lens and will not ask for much money. They have the equipment and the data to adjust the lens properly.

[john_banister1]

The Zeiss is an older Tele-Tessar. When I took the Schneider lens to Schneider, I thought I <i>was</i> going to the original manufacturer. The fellow from their shop gave me the impression that if they had a way to mount the lens, they could have done the work there in California. If I had known the cost to send it out, I'd have bought a Rollei lens adapter for their use and considered myself a little bit ahead. Next time, if I have Rollei lens trouble I expect I'll send it to Rollei-USA with whom I've had nothing but good experiences.

[roland_haid]

John, the main manufacturer of Rollei lens are all in Germany: Rollei Fototechnic at Braunschweig, Zeiss at Oberkochen and Schneider-Kreuznach at Bad Kreuznach. A lot of Germans understand English, so you can allways contact them directly per E-mail and ask for repair. You can ship overall in the world. I would allways sent an expensive lens to the original manufacturer, if there are optical problems which may need an adjustment of elements. Shutter repair is save, however.

[john_banister1]

Thanks for taking the time to let me know. I have received very good replies to emails I sent to Rollei in Germany, and Rollei-USA emails me a PDF repair estimate before doing any work. They seem to be good people to work with. I'll keep your recommendation in mind to send lenses directly to Germany in order to get optical work done. Do you think Schneider and Zeiss have the facility to repair the lenses they manufacture for use with Rollei, or is Rollei the best place to send them all? Also, if you have time, can you tell me what Rollei cameras a lens described as for Rollei KB is for. I expect it's one of their 35mm cameras, and I've seen that designation used a lot, but I can't find any website that tells what it means.

[john_banister1]

So that lens showed up, and it turns out they replaced the entire front element, which makes the charge pretty understandable. I suppose this might have been warranty work, had the lens been under warranty. It <i>is</i> like new. I'm very happy with it.