I am awaiting the arrival of a secondhand 90mm LS lens, which I am looking forward to using. As leaf shutters can go out of adjustment with time and use, and the lens is bound to be at least 15 years old, I am thinking it might be good to have it checked and serviced. I have my doubts that Pentax still support this lens, so was wondering if anyone could suggest anyone in the UK who would be able to carry out this work.

I prefer to get it checked/serviced by a specialist. I know that I could probably test it myself by doing test exposures compared to another lens using the focal plane shutter, and advice on this would be a good second option if there are no specialists who can check & service - but I would much prefer to use a specialist if I can.

Many thanks in advance! Ed

-- Ed Hurst (BullMoo@hotmail.com), June 19, 2001

Answers

Ed,

I've had a great deal of success with Pentax UK. I'm not certain what their rates are compared with others, but I've had good results and quality work done by them.

-- Scott Laughlin (scottlaughlin@mindspring.com), June 19, 2001.

Ed,

I used Bronica for years which are all LS lenses (now a 67 user). Can I offer the following advice. As a personal check, look at the front and rear of the leaf shutter for grease marks, a good shutter will have the leaves? completely clean. Any lines or marks may mean that lubricant has fallen onto the shutter (I think the most common cause of problems). Check no. 2 is run a film through and also listen to the slow shutter speeds (1/4 sec is very chracteristic). If you wish to have the shutter serviced then Pentax should do it and I would strongly recommend that you ask them, rather than a local or UK specialist repairer. For the local person it's too easy to fix a sticky LS by simply adding more lubricant rather than replacing springs and other worn bits. It works in the short term then lubricant dries up or drips onto the LS (back to square 1). I live in the UK and I would much rather use the camera manufacturer (Pentax). If you find that they don't service 15 year old professional kit then please let me know, I would be surprised and dissapointed. PS the Bronica LS service last year cost £120 vs. £40 for the local service the year before (which was a bodge and lasted 10 months).

-- tony estcourt (tony.estcourt@talk21.com), June 19, 2001.

Ed,

Here is a simple tip for checking the accuracy of the leaf shutter yourself, with one roll of slide film. Shoot an exposure at 1/30 second with the camera's focal plane shutter, then at 1/30 with the leaf shutter of the same subject. Then go to 1/60 sec, then 1/125 sec, and so on, adjusting the f-stop according to the meter. When I got a 165/f4 LS I used this test and all the exposures were so nearly identical, the differences were negligable, probably not even 1/6 stop difference in the worst case. Therefore the leaf shutter was accurate for my purposes. But if the exposures are significantly different, then a repair may be needed.

-- Bobby Mahaffey (mahajen@prodigy.net), June 19, 2001.

My 90mm LS sounds rough. I took it to Picture Perfect (818-998-5204) in the LA area and their tech refused to even open and clean the lens because parts are not available. Their tech worked many years at Pentax, Colorado. I'll be interested if any of you find someone who can clean and adjust the 90mm LS!

-- Doug Pollock (dpollock@worldnet.att.net), June 22, 2001.

I've just spoken to Pentax UK, and they have confirmed that they DO still service this lens. They refused to give any indication of price until they've seen the lens - so I'll let you know how I get on, and if I'm happy with the results!

-- Ed Hurst (BullMoo@hotmail.com), July 02, 2001.