| Author |
Message |
    
Willmx
Tinkerer
Username: Willmx
Post Number: 1
Registered: 07-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 26, 2007 - 10:59 am: | 
|
I just got a Helios 44M-4 off eBay for the grand sum of 99p, and so far it has shown itself to be a bit of a bargain.
So optically the lens is nice enough (especially considering the 10 years of neglect it seems to have endured without a lens cap), however it appears to have lost it's two lowest f-stops (11 and 16). All works find up until f8 then, while the rings continues to move as normal, the blades stay in the same position.
Now is this a fault with the lens, or just a bit of dodgy Soviet design? I've already had the lens open in order to clean out some condensation, though I didn't go as far as the aperture blades. Might this be something I could repair myself?
Cheers,
Will. |
Greyhoundman
Tinkerer
Username: Greyhoundman
Post Number: 27
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 26, 2007 - 03:50 pm: |
|
It sounds as if the blades may need cleaned. You can clean them with a q-tip and some Ronsonal. |
Slove
Tinkerer
Username: Slove
Post Number: 4
Registered: 02-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 27, 2007 - 01:41 am: |
|
Cleaning the blades is the first thing you should try, but it if does not work, you may have to add some lubricant to the aperture blade mechanism. The smallest apertures have the largest friction from the blades and if the other parts of the mechanism are not working smoothly, the smallest apertures may not work. Just remember that you should never lubricate the blades nor add lubricant to places where it might find its way to the blades or lenses. |
Willmx
Tinkerer
Username: Willmx
Post Number: 2
Registered: 07-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 27, 2007 - 01:39 pm: |
|
Cheers for that! I'll give it a go. |
|
