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Jack
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 05, 2004 - 07:33 pm: | 
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I was given a Chinon CP-7m camera as a handmedown graduation gift. One of the lenses that came with it, a Chinar 35-70mm Zoom/Macro has a problem.
The lever in the back that controls the aperture does not move smoothly, and gets stuck when I try sliding it with my finger. I first noticed there was a problem when the screen would get darker after taking a photo at a smaller aperture. The lever is too difficult for the camera to open back up for the next composition.
I've called a few repair shops nearby, but the age of the camera- and the fact that Chinon doen't exist anymore have been a problem. Does anyone have any insight as to how I could fix this (I've only tried blowing compressed air at it, to no avail), or know of someplace that still repairs Chinon and their lenses? |
Winfried
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 12:01 am: |
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Maybe there are repair shops for Chinon lenses. But there are lots of low-cost zooms with PK mount (I think that's the lens mount the CP7 has) available for close to nothing. So you probably would be better off buying another lens with same or similar specs and a working aperture on the used equipment market. |
Dan Mitchell
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 12:46 am: |
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What you describe is usually caused by grease, or oil, and dirt in the diaphragm. You have to get the lens elements out, pull out the diaphragm and clean with solvent. I'm not familiar with this lens, so can't tell you what the procedure is. Maybe someone else can. Zoom lenses can be difficult to reassemble and refocus.
Like Winfried said, you can buy many very good old lenses for very little money, so it's generally not worth the cost of professional repair. You either fix it yourself, or sell that one and buy another. |
Jack
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 06:12 pm: |
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Where would one look for PK mount lenses? eBay has a very limited selection, and other than B&H and Photogon- and not surprisingly, they don't carry them.
Thanks for the quick responses! I really appreciate it. |
M. Currie
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 09:00 am: |
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Try www.KEH.com. You can get a serviceable 35-70 in Pentax mount (or probably just about any other mount too) for under 50 bucks. My experience with KEH's "bargain" condition is that it is usually pretty nice, and very serviceable. Here, for example, is a Sigma 35-70. I have this lens in Konica mount, and it's reasonably sharp and fast enough to use as a normal lens much of the time, but it was a bargain lens when new, and now it's dirt cheap.
http://www.keh.com/shop/SHOWPRODUCT.CFM?CRID=8068522&SKID=PK0900900069206&SID=newused&BID=PK&CID=09&SOID=N&curpic=0&dpsp=0 |
Donnie Strickland
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 08, 2004 - 08:32 am: |
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Jack -- I don't know what search criteria you used for ebay when you went lens-hunting, but "a very limited selection"? Just look for "Pentax lens" and you will get a ton of results. I have purchased four lenses for my Pentax KX and Ricoh XR-P and my wife's Ricoh XR-10 from ebay, all very reasonably priced and all fine lenses. Just about any Pentax/Ricoh/Chinon PK-mount manual-focus lens will fit. |
Winfried
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 08, 2004 - 08:36 am: |
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But attention - of course the Pentax screw mount lenses will NOT fit a PK/K bayonet camera. |
Donnie Strickland
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 08, 2004 - 05:36 pm: |
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Thanks to Winfried for the clarification. |
