Hazy Mamiya 80mm f/1.9 lens

[trickydan]

Hey all! I bought this lens a while ago but but didnt use it much and now I've realised there's some sort of light film on one of the back elements! Which causes this soft haze, emphasised by strong back light..

Anyway, I tried taking it apart but realised I couldn't get inside the actual glass lens elements, so I reassembled it (but did it wrong, that's another story!.. Focus doesn't quite hit infinity)

There's no way I could clean it myself is there? I've done a small amount of work on lenses before, I took apart my Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 and repaired that, but I couldn't unscrew the front bit of my 80 1.9, if that makes any sense to those of you who've done this before.

I inherited a couple of 1000s bodies from my uncle, which is why I bought the 80 1.9 and 55 2.8, but am on the verge of jumping ships to Pentax 67/105 2.4 cause I want to really start shooting MF and shooting it big, so

-Do you think it's worth sending it somewhere to have it cleaned?
-Should I try opening it up again myself?
-Any ideas how much I might get selling it in it's current condition?

I got it for $250 and its the N version, which I believe is a more highly sought after lens than the old one, I saw them for sale for around $500 keh etc! And my copy is in terrific condition, bar this odd hazy thing..


Thanks!

Dan

 

[zsas]

I had a similar issue, I ended up getting the lens back together, it took maybe 12 hours! Yep, every night for a few hours for maybe a week I would sit down study the mechanics of it and managed to get it completely apart and cleaned all the elements. Getting it fully apart is no easy task and I can't remember anymore how I did it. Repair is going to be expensive but you must get this lens back to life! It is the fastest MF lens ever made! You could always send it back to Mamiya or KEH for a clean/fix, for a few $ hundred....

Below was my drama re this lens, I eventually got her back into production (with the aperture working too) and have been thrilled since. There is some GREAT advice below....I wish you the best as this is a lens to get back into the field, the N is the best one too...
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[pecama]

Hi, just wondering if you still got that 80 1.9 lens and if you are willing to sell it, since I just dropped my 80y on the floor some days ago and hopefully the glass is intact but the blades and the Aluminium body are not... So I am planning to "transplant" the glass from one to the other, saving at least one lens from "photographic heaven"!

Please PM me if you are interested!

 

[borrik]

Hazing for mamiya 1.9 - it is a fatal defect.
It happens on N versions and could not be repared, because unlayering process in the rear optical element happens. I have one and i can not repair it.