[gorkypl]

Hello,

I survived unexpected flooding some time ago, and one of the most precious victims was the FA35/2.
I gave it to a local lens repair shop, and they dried and cleaned it almost completely.

Unfortunately that 'almost' is what frightens me most. There are signs of water on the back of front lens, and the service man said it is not possible to clean it, because it is combined with the second lens as a module.
Anyone can confirm if it is true or not? Is it worth sending it to another repair shop, or do I have to say 'bye bye' to my most beloved lens?

Telling the truth I would even send it to Japan if I am sure someone there will be able to repair this lens...

[Adam]

If it got inside a group of elements, then indeed there's nothing that can be done except for replacing that group, so you could either try to live with it or get a new lens, I'm afraid.

[gorkypl]

The exact reason I was asking is that I am not 100% sure that it is a group of lens - the scheme available at the Bojidar's page show that the distance between first and second lens is quite big:
http://kmp.bdimitrov.de/lenses/primes/_optics/35f2-iii.gif
So I want to be 100% sure that the service man was right - maybe he was just not familiar with this particular lens?

If anyone could confirm that the first and second lens are indeed joined together then I will have to live with this, but if it is just a matter of finding another repair shop that would be able to dismount the lens I do not want to miss that oportunity.

[Ex Finn.]

I am not a lens guy but it would not hurt to get a second opinion. IMO.

[yurko_yr]

Hi,
You should ask Eric Hendrickson, he is the person to talk about such things. Home
He cleaned my FA20/2.8 and now I just sent A50/1.2 to him for general cleaning.
On a lens scheme for FA35/2 the second lens is paired with the third one. I had K55/1.8 that has similar lens assembling and lenses were just glued together. This group had some kind of haze between two lenses - so, there was no way to clean it. I just afraid that it might be your case, unfortunately.
But you can still check with Eric.
Best regards,
Yuriy

[gorkypl]

Hi,
You should ask Eric Hendrickson, he is the person to talk about such things. Home
He cleaned my FA20/2.8 and now I just sent A50/1.2 to him for general cleaning.
On a lens scheme for FA35/2 the second lens is paired with the third one. I had K55/1.8 that has similar lens assembling and lenses were just glued together. This group had some kind of haze between two lenses - so, there was no way to clean it. I just afraid that it might be your case, unfortunately.
But you can still check with Eric.
Best regards,
Yuriy

Wow, great contact - thanks!

I'm almost 100% sure that the signs of water are located on the back of the first lens - this is why I want to confirm the service man's opinion. I'll email Eric immediately!

[interested_observer]

I would second giving Eric a call. If there is truly absolutely nothing that Eric can do, and then only as a last resort, before dumping the lens all together, there is a method to un-cement the lens groups in to their component individual lenses, cleaning them and then re-cementing the optical groups together again. The problem is the optical alignment of the lenses within the group (when being re-cemented) and then across the groups. I do know of a shop in Los Angeles that does this for Zeiss & Leica lenses and has the alignment equipment, tools along with the expertise. The more optically complex the lens design, the more difficult the task. I do not know if they would work on a Pentax lens - however a FA35/2 is worth a call (the link below has an embedded email link to inquire about other lenses). Note - they are not cheap - their price list is in the link below.

• The Zeiss Ikon Contax Camera Repair Website - Services For Lenses

Zeiss (as in the Zeiss Factory Service) no longer services their older lenses, so this shop is the last resort. Having said all of that - I have never had the occasion or need to used them....

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Last edited by interested_observer; 02-27-2012 at 06:00 PM.

[gorkypl]

Guys, you've made me believe that my lens still has a chance to live
Great thanks!

Of course anyone willing to add anything is still more than welcome, because the case is definitely not closed yet.

[gorkypl]

OK, I am back after some long investigation.

Unfortunately all the servicemen I have contacted confirmed that the first and second lens are fixed together. It is not a 'lens group' in a common sense (the lens are not glued together), but a kind of module, containing first and second lens, connected by a tube. That part is non-serviceable, and there is a need to replace the whole front module (first and second lens).

I have contacted some services in my country and the service center at pentax.co.uk, but they do not have this part.

Do you have any idea where else could I write and ask? I still have hope that somehere in the world there is a front module available...