Vintage Lens Repair - Makinon 24mm f2.8 - M42 Screw Mount Lens - Cleaning The Optics & Lens Test

[@rerewewrwrwrw]

One of the best lens disassembly tutorials I've seen, that follows up on questions you may have (e.g. what happens if you accidentally reverse an element). Keep it up- especially with these cheap third party lenses!

[@GrumpyTim]

Cheers dj heheheheheheheheheheheh, I quite like doing the cheap lenses that no one cares about that much - sometimes they're not great lenses but they're still worth saving. I've got more cheap lens repairs coming up, including another Makinon, I've just run out of time for making the videos lately so there's a bit of a backlog. I suspect you could have a great game figuring out which optics were the wrong way round if more than one was reversed - I think on this lens you could easily reverse three of them by accident because they look kind of the same on both sides.

[@samsen3965]

Very nice footage and thanks for that. Seems you added half to a full F stop with that cleaning!!! I am actually amazed by the great soap bubble bokeh of this rather very much wide-angle lens, where no bokeh is generally expected. A very well performer here. btw & on the subject of boo-boos! Have you seen sometimes, when the very front element is intentionally placed in reverse order, actually you get a very strange but extremely art-wise pleasing bokeh?! Well, just an idea that may be worth a trial, especially when you are to re-paint that rare element's edge, again black and maybe on a winter day where it rains cats and whatever comes down from the sky! Have a lot of fun my friend.

[@GrumpyTim]

The lens showed a definite improvement once it was cleaned - I don't think the Makinon lenses were the best lenses ever made and there are probably better vintage 24mm lenses out there, but this one isn't too bad and it can produce some good shots. I didn't get on so well with a Makinon 24 -80mm zoom, the example I have just isn't that good - I suspect that my copy is probably a bad copy because other people have told me that their lenses of the same model work ok. I only heard about the trick of reversing the front element about two years ago - I've not tried it myself yet but I guess I will, one day, when I've got an idle hour or two!!!

[@PaulRichards78]

Amazing results Makes me want to clean all of my lenses now lol Thanks

[@GrumpyTim]

Cheers Paul. Just in case you are seriously thinking of cleaning all your lenses (which I doubt you are, given the "lol" at the end of your comment), there's always that slight potential that something could go wrong (like one of those tiny screws or springs flying off into oblivion, never to be seen again), so I'd only clean them if they really needed it. There's also a reasonable enough argument that tap water can contain tiny mineral deposits which can potentially scratch the surface of the lens, so some folks say to only use distilled water. Another, again reasonable argument, is to NOT use washing up liquid as this could potentially damage coatings. For my own part, I'm going to carry on more or less in the same way because I'm perfectly happy with the results on all the budget lenses I've cleaned. I would think twice before I started work on one of my expensive lenses that I use on my Nikons - but those are well cared for and should in theory, not need cleaning (other than a bit of dust on the front element).

[@kamishimoproductions8587]

Thanks so much GrumpyTim for this video abut vintage lens repair and cleaning. I have a few lens that need and require cleaning, after watching your video I feel I can do it.

[@GrumpyTim]

Cheers Kamishimo Productions, glad you liked the video. All the lens manufacturers have their own way of doing things and even different versions of the same lens can change the way they come apart as the lens gets developed over time. Generally, nothing should need excessive force to take it apart - there can be little grub screws securing parts that need to be removed first. Just take your time and don't rush, take photos as you go - these can help if you can't remember how something goes back. If you get stuck, just put the lens back together and walk away for a bit, often you'll be able to think through the problem and try again. Lay all the parts out in order as you take them apart - this will help with re-assembly. Some of the lens elements are quite difficult to tell one side from the other - make sure you can identify the correct orientation before trying to clean them because it's very easy to lose track of which way up the glass is once you're washing and drying it. Hope you have fun - it's very satisfying once you've fixed stuff.

[@gregbarbosa0]

Tim, thank you for this. I got a $5.99 Yashica lens that has some fungus and haze. Going to pick up some tools and take my stab at this. I'm more than confident I could take this apart and get it cleaned up.

[@GrumpyTim]

Cheers Greg, just go slowly and carefully, make a note or take photos as you go along to help with reassembly. Each lens manufacturer has their own way of doing things so you'll be bound to find a few quirks as you go along. Generally nothing should need lots of force to open it - if it's tight, maybe there's something like a grub screw holding it. Also, some lens manufacturers use a lacquer type substance to stop screws rattling loose - this can be dissolved with a little alcohol such as IPA. Hope you have fun fixing your Yashica lens, it's rather satisfying when you successfully bring a distressed lens back to life.

[@tilica5353]

Thank you for this video from Spain.Realy a good tutorial,profesional.All the best for you.

[@GrumpyTim]

Excellent, hope it helped, thanks for the comment. I've got more videos like this one to do, I've just got to get round to doing them :-)

[@tilica5353]

@@GrumpyTim I wait some video about Canadian balsam glue lens, for me this is a big problem. Thank you.

[@CyberMonk]

That Chinon 28mm looked very sharp!

[@GrumpyTim]

Yeah, that Chinon 28mm lives on the camera as my main lens - most of my normal videos are shot using it. I can't remember what I paid for it, but it wouldn't have been much. I also have a 28mm Auto Super Paragon PMC in Pentax PK fit - that one is even sharper than the Chinon, although, apart from doing a few test shots, I haven't used it yet.

[@CyberMonk]

@@GrumpyTim What version of the Chinon 28mm is it?

[@GrumpyTim]

Hi Cyber Monk, sorry for the slow reply, my Chinon 28mm is the Auto Chinon 28mm f2.8 with the Orange "Auto Chinon" and the rest of the writing in white. So it's not the later "multi coated" version and not the early version with the leather looking focusing grip (mine has the rectangular knobbly rubber grip).

[@CyberMonk]

@@GrumpyTim Thanks for the information ;-) it can be difficult with those vintage lenses to know which version it actually is haha.

[@samsen3965]

0:58 Please excuse my ignorance but do get what Fungus or Debris means but never understood what Haze is. Could you please explain it further for me? or is this also a form or smaller micro dust as this is an inner element and no one has touched it to leave finger oil on it or likewise. Thanks in anticipation.

[@GrumpyTim]

Hi Sam, Haze is like a cloudiness over one or more of the elements - a bit like when it's cold outside and your house windows mist up (but the haze is there all the time) - when it's bad the lens can be really lacking in contrast and will tend to flare when pointed towards a light - not a pretty flare, just a low contrast, milky image. Often when you have a small scratch or dust on a lens, you'll rarely see any difference in performance. The same can go for fungus - a mild case that hasn't spread too far into the lens, can be hard to detect in the shots, but haze usually results in poor performance of the lens. As for what causes haze, I think there can be a few reasons - if the grease used in a lens has decomposed, it can leave very fine deposits on one of the lens elements which give the haze (usually one of the elements next to the aperture blades, because the aperture mechanism creates a passage for the deposits to travel through. I've seen haze build up on some lenses that have repeatedly been allowed to mist up (ie when you bring a lens into a warm room after shooting in winter - I generally try to put my camera gear in a camera bag before entering the house in winter so they're not hit by the warm air which is when the condensation forms). It seems that with the condensation comes small amounts of dirt from the atmosphere which can adhere to the glass. From my own experience, haze is usually pretty easy to remove by simply washing the lens elements. There's a good argument to only use distilled water for washing lens elements because tap water can contain tiny particles that could scratch the lens, although I still use tap water for some of my less important lenses.

[@felipeignaciocornejooyarce2170]

Hi! I have to mount my copy of the lens, but the previous owner didn’t serviced it correctly, so I needed to ask if you can tell me how is the optical design of the lens, thanks a lot!!!!

[@GrumpyTim]

Hi Felipe, I'll try to dig out my notes to see if I wrote down the optical layout of the lens - I seem to remember that there were a few of the small elements that could have easily been inserted the wrong way round. Even when it's assembled correctly, it's not the sharpest lens ever made.

[@epicengines2565]

Hey there. I have myself a makinon 28mm f2.8 for pentax k mount. What is the name of te screwdriver you have to loosen the really small screws? When i take of thhe front cover of mine it has flat head screws rather than star point. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated :)

[@GrumpyTim]

Hi Epic Engines, the screwdriver set I used in this video is an old set of precision screwdrivers that I bought from a local hardware store - I've bought similar sets recently, they look identical, coming as a set of about 10 in a plastic box with a clear lid, but on the ones I bought recently, the quality has always been really bad - I'm sure there must be some good ones around but there are definitely plenty of rubbish ones too. If you search for "precision screwdriver set" on either Amazon or Ebay, you should find the sort of thing but it might be luck of the draw as to what quality you'll end up with. On the flat bladed screwdrivers, you can re grind the tips over and over again using fine emery cloth or wet and dry sandpaper or a fine file. For even finer work I also have a set of watchmakers screwdrivers which go down to tiny sizes - these tend to cost more but the set I have is reasonable quality - something like this on Amazon www.amazon.co.uk/LLF-Precision-Slotted-Screwdriver-Watchmakers/dp/B07LBRC9G3/ref=sr_1_11?dchild=1&keywords=Watchmakers+Screwdrivers&qid=1630314621&sr=8-11 - this isn't the actual set I bought so I don't know what the quality would be like. I think I probably got my set from a uk ebay seller "redroosteruk" but I suspect you're not UK based so maybe you'll need a seller more local to yourself. Again with the watchmakers, you can tidy up the tips of the screwdrivers using fine sandpaper or a file, or even an oilstone, as used for sharpening chisels etc.

[@epicengines2565]

@@GrumpyTim thank you so much my friend! :)

[@samsen3965]

6:56 I guess a black permanent marker pen would serve well here with the least chance of adding thickness to the periphery or messing up, as the liquid paint might do (Even if it is to roll the lens side way on a thin layer of paint on a flat surface).

[@GrumpyTim]

Good idea, I would think a permanent black marker would work. I think if I was re inking the edge of a lens I'd probably use something like Indian ink but your permanent marker seems like a good idea too.

[@daping13]

Hello, Thx for the perfect tutorial ! So bad for me, I don’t have the same model as you. Not possible to unlock the big part where most of the lens are. So I unload all the lens one by one without disassembly the block. And I also clean the 3 lens on the back of the wings but not sure about the right position :/ If you have a lens plan about this lens I will appreciated!

[@GrumpyTim]

Hi daping13, I'm away from my collection of lenses for a few days, I'll try to have a look at the notes I made when I took my lens apart, but it's likely to be towards the end of the week before I can do it.

[@BensWorkshop]

Nicely done. I may have to try that at some point.

[@GrumpyTim]

Lenses are kind of fascinating things. I should really get myself a lens or two that I don't care about and strip them completely and then rebuild them because there are still parts I haven't worked on - so far I've only fixed the parts that have needed fixing. I repaired the shutter and cleaned the optics on a vintage Zeiss Ikon Contaflex camera this week - I didn't film that because I needed to concentrate on what I was doing but I will do a demonstration video at some point in time.

[@BensWorkshop]

@@GrumpyTim Cheers!