Yellow CZJ Pancolars

[Admbws]

Hello everyone, first post here...

I've just received an old M42 screw-mount Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar described as being in very good condition from an eBay auction, and apart from actually being in less than satisfactory condition (sticky blades, won't focus to infinity, signs of fungus etc. etc.) the most concerning thing is the elements inside have now yellowed, rendering the lens essentially unusuable for colour.

I know this problem affects some lenses that contain rare earth elements, but I wasn't aware this included Pancolars. My question is, is this a common problem, and does this affect the newer Pancolars? (the lens I have is the older "Zebra" type)

I don't want to buy a "perfect" new lens and discover it's yellowed in a few years time.

Cheers

 

[BobbyR]

Hello everyone, first post here...

I've just received an old M42 screw-mount Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar described as being in very good condition from an eBay auction, and apart from actually being in less than satisfactory condition (sticky blades, won't focus to infinity, signs of fungus etc. etc.) the most concerning thing is the elements inside have now yellowed, rendering the lens essentially unusuable for colour.

I know this problem affects some lenses that contain rare earth elements, but I wasn't aware this included Pancolars. My question is, is this a common problem, and does this affect the newer Pancolars? (the lens I have is the older "Zebra" type)

I don't want to buy a "perfect" new lens and discover it's yellowed in a few years time.
Cheers

If the lens is less than as described by the seller, contact ebay with your problems, they will try to help you.
Bobby

 

[Ian Grant]

Pancolors are poorly built, as a student I bought a Praktikamat with a Pancolor, it was sharp but I never really had good consistent exposures. Then I found the aperture blades never stopped down properly, they went to a different position each time.

The yellowing may be due to the type of glass, Takumars do that sometimes and the cure is UV exposure, strong sunlight will do.

Ian

 

[Wishy]

Anybody got a guide to pulling apart a pancolar? The one i bought for my Exakta (Its a 1.8 with RTL style coupling) and it doesn't stop below F8 and has virtually no grit on the focus.

 

[Stan160]

No sign of any yellowing on my "zebra" M42 50/1.8 Pancolar, but yes it does have the common problem of refusing to stop down any smaller than f/8.

FWIW, the other three zebras in my collection - Flektogon 50/4, Biometar 80/2.8, and Biometar 120/2.8 are all free of yellowing or aperture blade problems.

 

[titrisol]

I wonder if the "window-sill" solutiuo nused in the Takumars would work with this one.
Give it a try

Hello everyone, first post here...

I've just received an old M42 screw-mount Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar described as being in very good condition from an eBay auction, and apart from actually being in less than satisfactory condition (sticky blades, won't focus to infinity, signs of fungus etc. etc.) the most concerning thing is the elements inside have now yellowed, rendering the lens essentially unusuable for colour.

I know this problem affects some lenses that contain rare earth elements, but I wasn't aware this included Pancolars. My question is, is this a common problem, and does this affect the newer Pancolars? (the lens I have is the older "Zebra" type)

I don't want to buy a "perfect" new lens and discover it's yellowed in a few years time.

Cheers

 

[Wishy]

If I do take my pancolar 1.8 apart, what should I be using to relubricate the focus?