RZ67 nose dive :(

[Rudeofus]

For reasons too embarrassing to state here my RZ67 (mounted on a short tripod) took a nose dive and slammed its 250mm lens onto the tiled floor. While the glass looks fine, the area where filters thread in is bent.

So my questions to the forum are:

• How likely is it that this is the only damage? I am particularly afraid that the lens may be decentered now as a result or otherwise deliver poor image quality.
• Is there a simple procedure to fix this? I can not put filters on this lens as it is.

 

[CGW]

There's always this:

http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/filterringtool.html

And some other DIY adventures:

http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/forum/messages/6899/5955.html?1139538183

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[paul ron]

The vise recomended is a good tool for this job. Tapping it out is a delicate operation as you can dislodge springs in the shutter.

Take it in to a shop for repairs if you haven't done this before.

Also the fall may have separated the barrel halves n the lens is out of alignment or not sitting properly for the shutter to work. That is a long lens and the halves can come appart easily just by it's leverage. A smaller lens has a better chance in a fall.

If you hold the lens in your hand by each end can you wigggle the halves?... seem lose at all? Shutter still firing OK?

.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Ouch!

 

[tomalophicon]

Are your tiles OK?

 

[Sirius Glass]

I am sure that is was floored.

 

[paul ron]

Break a toe? These cameras really do make an impact. Hopefully it wasn't much of a long drop.

 

[hpulley]

Look through it, take some pictures and see if they still look OK under a loupe. If you can't tell the difference and don't need to mount filters then it is probably OK.

RZ and RB lenses seem quite cheap though I don't see any RZ 250s at KEH right now.

 

[Rudeofus]

Thanks for all the replies! Nobody except the lens was hurt or damaged in the process and apart from the visible bend in the filter thread section I see no further damage in the lens either. Fortunately the tripod which tipped over was in its shortest position so the camera didn't pick up too much speed. Also, the lens cap, which was on the lens at the time, seems to have taken away some of the impact energy.

The lens repair vise many refer to seems to be out of stock in all the online stores I have found so far so some improvised setup like the ones described in the links seems to be required here. I'm still undecided whether I will use a solid piece of wood chiseled and filed to the right inner curvature or whether the method with the hose clamp is more promising. I will report about my progress.

 

[Rudeofus]

Just a brief update to my lens saga: since the bend in the filter thread was substantial (1-2 mm), I ordered and received one of these lens repair vises. The vise has two jaws which are separated from each other by a screw. Needless to say, just as the bend is corrected, the opposite side of the filter thread is bent outwards, so this tool alone won't do it. Together with a hose clamp, however, and some elastic band between hose clamp and lens which prevents scratching I was finally able to restore the filter thread. While the bend is still very visible, I can screw in filters with little effort - after all that's what the repair effort was really intended for.

My thanks go to all here who helped me (and my lens ). For all those who want to know what this lens repair vise is and what it isn't: It is not an automatic repair tool (as the first paragraph describes), but it is certainly a very helpful tool for repairing filter threads. It has filter threads on the outside of its jars so it really won't harm the filter threads of the lens, even the black finish stayed intact. It is somewhat overpriced, especially here in Europe where the Euro amount charged is quite a bit higher than the dollar amount for the same tool in the US. The cheapest option would of course have been not to send my camera into a nose dive