Ever send in a lens for haze removal?

I've been acquiring lenses for my RZ system. Several of these lenses have haze which looks to be between the elements. Have you sent either the elements or the lenses to someone to clean and re-cement the elements? If so who? Not a job I want to try to tackle myself.

Are you sure it's the cement that's causing the haze? In my experience, bad lens cement usually looks more like chipped glass around the edges or bubbling. Haze is usually something different. Haze, in my experience, is usually either a result of fungus or some kind of chemical, like oil, vaporizing on the lens elements. Besides, those Contax lenses aren't that old. I wouldn't think a lens that new would have lens cement issues unless there was a manufacturers defect. I've got several 100+ year old lenses with good cement.

I've come across several lenses with what I'd call haze, and usually, I just remove the elements and clean off the haze with a microfiber cloth and reassemble the lens. It's easy to do with a spanning wrench. The trick is having a system so when you put it all back together, you don't accidently flip a lens element around. It also helps to take lots of digital photos as you go to help you if you get lost along the way, and mark the position of any lens element that may be adjusted (making finding it's exact location problematic without a system. The hardest part is coming up with a clean area so you don't get a bunch of dust inside your freshly cleaned lens when you reassemble it all.

So no, I've never sent a lens out for a cleaning. Unless it's a very expensive lens, it would probably cost more than buying another used one in good condition. And unless we're talking about a zoom lens, I probably wouldn't hesitate to open it up myself. Manual focus lenses usually aren't too complicated so long as you're not digging around the aperture, leaf shutters, or helicoil.

I'll have to take a closer look. I have several that are "hazy" and I've noticed in many of the RZ lens auctions that lens haze is a common description. I thought maybe these RZ lenses had some kind of common issue causing them to haze.

RZ lenses have built in shutters. Lenses with built in shutters have lubricants in them. Lubricants get old and can migrate. Regular cleaning and maintenance involves dealing with (removing and replacing) old lubricants.

I think I'll just leave it be...

MattKing said:

RZ lenses have built in shutters. Lenses with built in shutters have lubricants in them. Lubricants get old and can migrate. Regular cleaning and maintenance involves dealing with (removing and replacing) old lubricants.

Click to expand...

To which I will add, the shutters likely need service, if the lubricants have degraded to the point that they have hazed the glass.

RZ! For somebody reason I read RX, thinking you were talking about the Contax SLR.

It probably is vaporized oil and grease. The down side is Hoegh is probably right. That probably means the shutter is due for a CLA. I've got an RB67 myself, and those lens elements usually aren't too hard to get at. At least some of them aren't. Cleaning the lens elements might buy you a couple of years if the shutters are still working properly. But they'll need a CLA sooner or later.

the haze near the shutter is easy to clean. The real issue is a few lenses (notably the 75 Shift/SB) have places where the cement between elements has hazed, this is not fixable without separating and recementing. Fortunately it's not that common on most RZ lenses, except those 75s, that I have seen.

EdSawyer said:

the haze near the shutter is easy to clean. The real issue is a few lenses (notably the 75 Shift/SB) have places where the cement between elements has hazed, this is not fixable without separating and recementing. Fortunately it's not that common on most RZ lenses, except those 75s, that I have seen.

Click to expand...

One of them is my 75mm sb I just bought. Didn't pay much and the body and front element look to be in real nice shape. I took the rear lens group out but the elements are inside another assembly which although seems to screw apart, I couldn't get it apart. The haze on the SB lens seems to be in that real element package. If I could get that apart I might just be able to clean them. So maybe if I ever send them in for a CLA they could get that group apart and clean it up.

jim10219 said:

RZ! For somebody reason I read RX, thinking you were talking about the Contax SLR.

It probably is vaporized oil and grease. The down side is Hoegh is probably right. That probably means the shutter is due for a CLA. I've got an RB67 myself, and those lens elements usually aren't too hard to get at. At least some of them aren't. Cleaning the lens elements might buy you a couple of years if the shutters are still working properly. But they'll need a CLA sooner or later.

Click to expand...

You did read RX... Typo.. I changed it to RZ :-D

I have the 65, 90 and 180mm, the front and rear lens come out raletivly easily with a lens removing tool, they just unscrew. Mine just needed a clean, as do some other lens I have bought.
Best contact the local camera repair person and see what they think.

nbagno: no that is not going to easily clean up. I had to go through 4 75 shift lenses before I found one without the hazed cement. I disassembled the rear cell all the way down, and the issue is between 2 cemented elements in the rear cell. It's not fixable without uncementing and recementing that pair.

EdSawyer said:

nbagno: no that is not going to easily clean up. I had to go through 4 75 shift lenses before I found one without the hazed cement. I disassembled the rear cell all the way down, and the issue is between 2 cemented elements in the rear cell. It's not fixable without uncementing and recementing that pair.

Click to expand...

Years ago I picked up a Goerz Dagor that had cloudy/hazy cell. I heated it several times over a week to 250°F in an oven and submerged in in boiling water several times in the same time frame. The cemented cells would not separate so I put it aside, when I pulled it out a few months later it was crystal clear.
http://www.skgrimes.com/library/old-news/old-lenses-can-be-restored-by-re-cementing says old Canadian Balsam can be melted by heating the elements to about 300°F . The cells must be maintained in the exact orientation they are currently in when heating or recementing.
Mark the side of the elements with a fine permanent marker, single line at 10 O'clock, double line at 2 O'clock, triple line at 6 O clock. (double lines can be used at each position but vary the distance between them).
When heating in an oven heat the oven to temperature, turn off, place the lens cells in the center, close the oven and leave for 15 to 30 minutes.
If the cells are cemented with a UV cure adhesive a solvent will be needed to separate the cells.
Depending on the type of cement Mamiya used will determine if heating the cells will help clear them.
Warning: rapid heating or cooling may cause an element to crack.

Check with Zacks Camera Repair to see if they can service those lenses. I know it’s not exactly the same but Zacks CLA’d a Minolta 58mm f1.4 with a sticky diaphragm and the lens came back looking and working near new.

Stan

Cement degradation in Mamiya lenses is fairly common, alas! Lots of lenses from Japan are advertised (or not!) with haze or cloudy. I have done the reparation several times as they are otherwise unusable apart from ladies portrait !
Lenses need to be separated, cleaned and recemented... not really something I would advise to the faint hearted, but doable!