Howdy all Can a lens focussing ring be loosened (a lot) if its too stiff? I know that some are made stiffer than others to give more accurate focussing, but I am finding it is actually slowing me down too much. Thanks!

-- Karl Yik (karl.yik@dk.com), May 08, 2002

Answers

Karl: Send it back to Leica USA. Your warranty comes in handy. Do not fool around with it yourself as you may regret it.

-- Albert Knapp MD (albertknappmd@mac.com), May 08, 2002.

Can you give us more details. What lens and how stiff? Stiffer than what other lens you may have?

-- John Collier (jbcollier@shaw.ca), May 08, 2002.

John Its a Noctilux current version, Its the stiffest lens I have used so far (elmarit 90 current, Summicron 50 current, summicron 35 ASPH, summicron 35 4 version, in order of stiffness). Ideally its like it as smooth as the summicron 35, 50s, as the I can still get the focussing accuracy that is needed through the huge diameter ring. I really dont see why Leica have to made them that stiff to focus. Thanks

-- Karl (Karl.Yik@dk.com), May 08, 2002.

I found the 75 'lux too stiff too and there's nothing I can do about it. Leica neither.

-- Michael Kastner (kastner@zedat.fu-berlin.de), May 08, 2002.

Karl; Is your noctilux stiff to turn when the lens is cold? ie if the grease has gone bad the grease will have thickened up. What is left is the waxy grease binder/base.... A lens like this will be easy to focus when the lens is hot(camera left in a closed car); and a real bear to rotate when it is cold. If there is some crud/dirt/sand in the lenses helical threads the stiffness will be not so temperature dependent...My 1970's Noctilux is very smooth......Many of the Russian LTM lenses such as the Jupiter-9 85mm F2 used a horrible grease. These lenses almost always require regreasing...Kelly

-- Kelly Flanigan (zorki3c@netscape.net), May 08, 2002.

You might try this: Put the lens in a plastic baggy and put it in your pants pocket for a while to get it warmed up. Then sit down in front of the TV and rotate the lens through the focussing range about 100 times. Try this several days running. This may get the lens to loosen up enough for you. This worked with a couple of older lenses I had. If it doesn't you will probably either have to learn to live with the stiff focus or have it CLAd by somebody good like Leica N.J., or Sherry Krauter or Dan Goldberg. And even then it may be stiffer than your other Leica lenses. So far I've avoided the Noctilux siren song. I'm mostly just a summicron and elmarit kind of guy although I got tempted into an aspheric 35 summilux this year. Good luck.

-- Gil Pruitt (wgpinc@yahoo.com), May 08, 2002.

Kelly, Its stiff to turn hot and even stiffer when cold! Lets say around 18C its still too stiff... Maybe I should try boiling it in water? :)

-- Karl Yik (karl.yik@dk.com), May 08, 2002.

As Kelly said sometimes a warm place,like a car, might help. I had a Russian Jupiter lens that was so stiff it would unscrew from my IIIc when focusing. A few times in a warm car and then turning the focus ring back (a million times) and forth solved the problem. Now the lens focuses like butter.

-- Gerry Widen (gwiden@alliancepartners.org), May 08, 2002.

Gil, I think I need to upgrade my pants to super tear resistant strength plus add additional support straps if I were to put the Noctilux in them! Thanks for the idea though!

-- Karl Yik (karl.yik@dk.com), May 08, 2002.

Then again Karl you may meet some new and interesting friends walking around with a Noctilux in your pocket. You'll notice that I avoided talking about some other ways of loosening up something stiff. Good luck.

-- Gil Pruitt (wgpinc@yahoo.com), May 08, 2002.

As it's a new lens I'm not going to recommend any DIY - compare it with a dealer's new stock and see if yours is stiffer - if it is get it serviced as it's obviously not up to spec. If it's the same you are looking at getting a tech to replace the grease with something less viscous. I'm not convinced that stiffer is more acurate either - if it needs force to turn you are likely to go past the point of focus and miss and as for following a moving object with continual focus - forget it!

-- Johann Fuller (johannfuller@hotmail.com), May 08, 2002.

You might want to talk to Leica about this. I dont think the Noctilux needs to be stiff. I have tried some though that are way over the top in that regard. Mine (10 years old)is a joy to focus and very accurate. It focuses like any of my other Leica lenses...smooth as butter!

-- Emile de Leon (knightpeople@msn.com), May 08, 2002.

Years ago I bought a 35mm M-Summicron, Chrome, that looked brand new, but was exceedingly stiff to focus. Turns out that the guy I bought it from indeed never used it, and it sat for around fifteen years. I held it over my hot woodstove one evening, working the focus all along, and it worked like a charm, regardless of temperature, ever since. My recent 90 ASPH was a bit stiff when new, but instead of the woodstove route, I simply gave it lots of excersize, and now its really smooth, again, regardless of temperature. My recommendation is lots of excersize, but perhaps not the woodstove!

-- John Layton (john.layton@valley.net), May 08, 2002.