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12-06-2009, 08:22 AM   #1
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Cleaning out dust from Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 Macro

I just bought this lens off Amazon Marketplace, only took less than 24 hours to ship due to the fact that the person I bought it from was from South St. Paul and I live in St. Paul. He could have saved shipping and 23 bucks of insurance if he would have had driven it down here to me. I was very dissapointed when the lens arrived, although cosmetically in like-new condition as he stated, the optics were extremely messy. First thing I thought was this guy sent me his vacuum cleaner.. Because it is what he must've used this lens for. There were at least 12 pieces of dust inside the front element, you could see strings and specks everywhere...

I emailed National Camera Exchange and asked how much it would cost if they were to clean the inside of the front element without me having warranty. They said they don't do that kind of stuff and they would have to send it in to Tamron, they say it will probably average from around 150-160 dollars. I decided that it's too much considering a new one was 740 and I bought mine for 660.

I went on and decided I wanted to take the risk of cleaning it myself. The materials needed are proper screw size, I didn't use the proper screw but I used the "proper" size, I used one of those straight-lined screws instead of a + shaped one. I really don't recommend you do the same unless you want to risk stripping the screw.

I had my Giottos Rocket Blower out ready with my LensPens brush, a spoon to tap with, and a Microfibre cloth. They were all set on a clean sheet of towel set on the floor to begin with. I went into the shower and turned it on maximum temperature and left it there for about 5 minutes with the door closed in my restroom after having all my stuff set up in there. This is to allow less dust flying around. I went in later and my bathroom was completely smoked and it was very humid. I Turned off the shower and prepared sat in preparing to do my thing.

First off there are 3 small black screws holding a black cap together, remove all three.



All three screws are removed, good to go.



Now remove the black cap and you should see another 3 set of silver screws holding the front element to the lens.



Take some brown tape and tape these area where it cuts off the body from the element ring, that way you know exactly where it goes in afterward by matching up the tape. This prevents any problems that could occur if you don't put the lens in it's proper place.



It is very important that you have the screwdriver pressed tight against the screw with the right size, you don't want to strip it. The screw is extremely tight against the plastic. Be careful not to accidentally slip when you are pushing really hard, because that could cost you your front element.

What I did was I used my spoon and tapped the screwdriver onto the screw several times, I kept tapping harder if it does not budge, then try and unscrew it again; if it does not work again then I keep tapping except a little harder. Don't tap too hard because it's plastic underneath the screw. I used a lot of force after every tap to try and push the screw loose and you should too. If it does not want to budge then it does not want to budge, don't try and keep going because you'll strip it. A technique I do to get extra grip is I take a small face towel and wrap it around the screw, it also helps preventing your fingers from getting hurt.



Voila, now the element is out and ready to removed, gently take the front element out of the body, it is HEAVY so be careful and hold it with good strength. Place it on top of your carbon fibre cloth.





Now you see these 3 thin sheet of metal from the the pictures above? CAREFULLY remove them and make sure it doesn't fall inside.



Here is what the inside looks like, take your lenspens and brush around the edges of the inside of your lens to loosen up any dust. Then take your rocket blower and blow against it a couple of times.



When you are done blow against the back of the front element also before putting it back on top of the body. Make sure you place those three thin sheet of metal back in place before placing the front element in there. Be careful these thin sheet of metal are very sticky and light, it was difficult for me to put them properly back in it's place. And make sure the tape matches up from the front element to the body.

When you are done with that, just put everything back the same way you took it out. The whole process is actually easier than it looks. The hard part is probably being careful of not stripping the screws or slipping and damaging the front element when lifting it from the body. Make sure you handle everything with precision and hold the items in good strength to prevent any damage. Don't loose the 3 thin sheets of metal either, like I said they are very small and light and flimsy, handle them with care and hold it lightly.


Last edited by LeDave; 12-14-2009 at 11:18 PM.
12-06-2009, 08:48 AM   #2
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Wow - looks quite involved.
Whilst I wouldn't recommend this to someone who doesn't know exactly what they're doing, this thread probably deserves to become an article.
12-06-2009, 08:57 AM   #3
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Also I just uploaded a video of the K-7 with this lens. It's not as slow as everybody says, it's just that the Nikon and Canon ones are slow because they use Tamron's crappy built-in motor. The Pentax K-mount version of this lens only has a screw-drive and with that, the K-7 also has the strongest screw-drive out of any other Pentax DSLR's so it's much faster. But... yes it's quite loud, a very loud lens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ns-IiGYHXQ
12-06-2009, 04:51 PM   #4
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Hi LeDave, I am glad u finally bought the lens. I know u have been deliberating a fair while now.

Also, great tutorial!! U are also a BRAVE man!! Might come in handy for me (I hope not) when dust particles enter my tamron 70-200.

12-08-2009, 12:00 AM   #5
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Daaaaaaaaaaamn! I definitely would not try this for just some small dust particles, but maybe the problem was worse than it looks in the picture. Good on you for having the guts to do this though!
12-08-2009, 03:34 AM   #6
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Very useful. Mine has already some dust inside. Might give it a try when it gets more dust

Thanks

Edit: you make it feel so simple lol

Last edited by netuser; 12-08-2009 at 03:48 AM.
12-08-2009, 06:39 AM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by netuser Quote
Very useful. Mine has already some dust inside. Might give it a try when it gets more dust

Thanks

Edit: you make it feel so simple lol
to the OP dammm, you have some serious kahunas, there's no way i'm doing that know my luck chances are my 70-200 will spontaneously combust

To netuser, I thought it was just me who had issues with my tammy collecting dust....but apparently i'm not the only one out there...I remember speaking to a lens repair person and they said it has something to do with the elements moving so far that it acts like a pump,sucking in air and of course dust particles.... it's a shame that such a awesome lens has to be hamperd by the fact that it's a dust sucking magnet....

Sorry for the blury and hasty photos

perhaps i'm over reacting to the dust i have in my Tammy but i just cant afford to have it in repair even for a week, as i have nothing to replace it with it's downtime.

here are some photos of the dust. no major particles on the front or rear elements but there are some larger specs on the middle elements.....







Last edited by Ben Hunt; 12-08-2009 at 06:44 AM.
12-08-2009, 08:49 AM   #8
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Yes Ben Hunt, you're not the only one having these issues. I have recently spoken with a Canon user who sold his Tamron 70-200 to buy the Canon L version due to the dust this lens intakes.
12-14-2009, 03:25 AM   #9
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hi
Can you make the images available again ?
Thanks
12-14-2009, 10:35 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by netuser Quote
hi
Can you make the images available again ?
Thanks
Sorry, I changed folders and apparently fluckr decided it could do whatever it want and changed the links name.

Also I think I found out why dust gets inside this lens so easily; there's a tiny gap between the front elements and the barrel cap (The first big black ring shown in the picture), probably 0.5mm - 1mm or so.

Apparantly when you zoom in and out I guess air sucks in and out of that gap and easily causes any dust to get inside. Due to the 3 thin sheet of metal, it leaves another small, probably 2mm gap between the front element and the barrel body, therefore dust will suck inside when you zoom in and out, causing a vacuum effect. It goes through the front gap first then goes through the second gap and inside the front element it goes.

I think screwing a filter onto the front of the black ring cap to cover the front element will greatly reduce the amount of dust that could get inside the lens. I am still waiting for my 30 dollar Kenko 77mm Pro1D Protector to come from China and it's already been 10 days. It's probably customs that is holding it up. From zooming in from 70-200, you can easily see how far the inside elements recess back and forth and it's pretty long; and for that without a filter, you can resort to zooming in and out slower which will also help minimize dust from sucking inside, excessive force from zooming in too fast will suck in dust more.

Last edited by LeDave; 12-14-2009 at 10:48 PM.
12-15-2009, 03:00 AM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by LeDave Quote
I think screwing a filter onto the front of the black ring cap to cover the front element will greatly reduce the amount of dust that could get inside the lens. I am still waiting for my 30 dollar Kenko 77mm Pro1D Protector to come from China and it's already been 10 days. It's probably customs that is holding it up. From zooming in from 70-200, you can easily see how far the inside elements recess back and forth and it's pretty long; and for that without a filter, you can resort to zooming in and out slower which will also help minimize dust from sucking inside, excessive force from zooming in too fast will suck in dust more.
You are very brave for undertaking this, but I have to ask - was there no recourse from the seller?

Also, thanks for the tip of using a filter. It can get very dusty where I am, and this solution is comforting to me as I am also considering the Tamron 70-200/2.8.
12-15-2009, 04:05 AM   #12
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Again, this is a very useful thread. Thanks for it.
I copy, paste and printed as a pdf file for my own use/archive your useful tutorial because I will be doing some cleaning on my tammy when it gets really needed. Anyway, here it is in case someone else wants to archive like I do.
PDF HERE
(hope you don't mind LeDave )
04-19-2016, 11:11 AM   #13
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HI, I would like to clean my tamron 70-200, but the pictures are not available anymore. Also from the PDF, only the first page is available. Could you please upload the pictures again ? Thank you.
04-23-2016, 07:14 AM   #14
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where i can find this pdf?

Hello, i have the same tamron already and the same problem
Where can i find thhis manual?

Thanks!!!
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