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Classic Camera Repair » Maintenance & Repair » Yashica Electro and Canon Canonet: Opening lenses for cleaning? « Previous Next »

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Santaji
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Username: Santaji

Post Number: 8
Registered: 05-2012

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Posted on Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - 10:54 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Both my Electro 35 and Canonet QL17 are starting to show traces of fungus in the lenses, and i want to clean them up before it spreads. I am not sure what tool i should use to open the lenses,

On the Yashica, i managed to open the lens identification ring using a geometrical divider like this: http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/imagedb/imagedb1108/imagedb110811799/10234521- close-up-of-a-divider.jpg, but i did not proceed further and attempt to remove the lens elements this way.

I tried the same on the Canonet, i was not able to remove the trim ring from the front, and even the rear element from the back of the camera.

Should i get needle nose pliers like this? http://www.ebay.in/itm/STANLEY-MINIATURE-PLIERS-127mm-5-NEEDLE-NOSE-PLIER-/17091 2652004?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_203&hash=item27cb301ae4#ht_4730wt_1047
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Fidji
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Username: Fidji

Post Number: 11
Registered: 12-2011

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Posted on Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - 11:40 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Hi,
I usually adapt a variety of pliers by heating the tips and bending to suit the job.Some need grinding to fit.The main thing is to make sure they fit well and cover the lens and as much as possible with masking tape in case they slip.Hold them in place firmly and do not use excessive force.
The two cameras that you mention both have metal rings on plastic threads,which can be the most difficult to undo.I suggest you use a little light oil very sparingly on the threads before attempting to undo them.Good luck.
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Thepurush
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Username: Thepurush

Post Number: 68
Registered: 01-2012

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Posted on Thursday, November 29, 2012 - 08:54 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

One can easily ruin lenses if the what ever tooli being used slips. Extreme caution is recomended.
In case of yashica it is a simpel matter of opening one front asembly and one rear assembly in one peice.

Yet I wd advise not to open the leses at all and try exposing lese to UV light. You may have to expose frot and rear in seperate sessions. I have had reuslts doing this alone on my Minolta 50mm 1.4 lense.

I have used only an ordinary CFL fitted in a table lamp and exposed my lense for abt 5 hrs.
I see no harm in exposing more if necessary since CFL leaks only a small amounts of UV.
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Santaji
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Username: Santaji

Post Number: 9
Registered: 05-2012

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Posted on Sunday, December 02, 2012 - 05:27 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I will try exposing the lenses to a CFL bulb before i decide to open them, but won't this just kill the fungus and stop it from spreading and not remove it completely?

Will a table lamp with an normal incandescent light bulb be more effective in killing fungus??
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Br1078lum
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Username: Br1078lum

Post Number: 428
Registered: 11-2010

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Posted on Sunday, December 02, 2012 - 09:43 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Only the CFL lamps will emit UV rays to kill the fungus, not the incandescent ones. And you are right, the dead fungus will still be in the lens. However, sometimes it's not detrimental to the image quality if the infestation isn't large.

PF
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Thepurush
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Username: Thepurush

Post Number: 70
Registered: 01-2012

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Posted on Monday, December 03, 2012 - 10:21 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I used CFL in table lamp, because tht was the easiest way I could pur the lense and CFL close together. CFL emit UV in the sense it is leakage. There are tubes without the white caoting inside, called black lights. Thes black lights emit pure UV light, light which our eyes cant see , hence the name. But they r extemly dangerous in the hands of pple who dont understand how to use them. One can eaily go blind buy looking at the enrgized black light if one is ignorant of what is happening.

But the UV light actually disintegrates the orgaic molecules of the fungus, and resulting product is gases, thre fore nothing will be left inside lense that could interfere with light. It is a disintegrtion at atomic level.

As matter of fact I should also warn the readers tht it is not even advisable to look at a CFL lamp contitinously, or from close distance. Under normal circumstances we only see the light reflectd from the objects that r lit by the lamp. But when one looks in to bulb he is directly exposed to the UV that leaks,though it is small.

I have come across people who are affected by such radiation, more often the skin is affected .
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Santaji
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Username: Santaji

Post Number: 10
Registered: 05-2012

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Posted on Tuesday, December 11, 2012 - 10:45 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Did you actually notice that the fungus had gone away after exposing the lens to the CFL bulb?
I'm going to try this, but I doubt if it will work as the bulbs are usually coated to block the UV light and i can't find any other information about this online.
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Thepurush
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Username: Thepurush

Post Number: 71
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Posted on Thursday, December 13, 2012 - 05:07 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Actually a tube light doesnt prodice the white light we see but a light of smaller wavelendths including UV. It is the white coating that transforms this smaller walevelengths to white light, rather the caoting glows white when exposed to UV and othre radiation. A small amoiunt of UV still leaks thrugh the coating. That is the reasson I was mentioning not to directly look at these CFLs too. But for the lens thre is no harm exposing for longer periods.

Well the fungus in my lense appeared to cover more than 50 % area, while I now only see traces of it.
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Santaji
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Username: Santaji

Post Number: 12
Registered: 05-2012

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Posted on Wednesday, December 26, 2012 - 09:24 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I have put the camera under the CFL bulb like this:

The lens only has very slight traces of fungus, so if this method could clear your lens which had more than 50% fungus, it should work great on mine.
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Br1078lum
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Username: Br1078lum

Post Number: 440
Registered: 11-2010

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Posted on Wednesday, December 26, 2012 - 07:17 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I tried this for four days on a Yashica ML 50/1.9, and saw no difference. I had the lens about three inches away from the lamp which had a collector hood on it, so the rays would be concentrated towards the lens. Finally took the lens apart, only to find that the front group is a sealed unit, unlike the rear group which comes apart, so I couldn't get to the fungus. I'm going to turn it into a clock.

PF
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Santaji
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Username: Santaji

Post Number: 14
Registered: 05-2012

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Posted on Wednesday, December 26, 2012 - 11:23 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I had my camera under the light for about 4 and a half hours with no noticeable difference. I will be trying again today for a few more hours but i doubt it will work. Not a big deal as the fungus on the lens is very slight so even if the UV lights just kills it and stops it from spreading it will be ok.
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G3bill
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Username: G3bill

Post Number: 39
Registered: 12-2012

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Posted on Wednesday, December 26, 2012 - 11:42 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I thought India had lots of sunshine? why not place it outside or in the window as someone said
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Zanxion72
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Username: Zanxion72

Post Number: 14
Registered: 12-2012

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Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2012 - 08:24 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Also, have in mind that many multicoated lenses reflect almost all UV light. In that case this trick will not cure the problem.
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Waynemel
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Username: Waynemel

Post Number: 413
Registered: 08-2009

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Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2012 - 09:27 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

The sunshine tricks works beautifully when removing the yellowing in Takumars. They obviously don't reflect the UV.

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