Zeiss 28mm F2 Tragedy....

ic-racer · Dec 19, 2010

I went to pick up my beloved Zeiss 28mm F2 lens and noticed it looked a little like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Yikes! The front piece is bent, throwing the optics out of alignment. Upon internal inspection, the mounting feet where the front barrel attaches to the rest of the lens are bent.

I got this lens in 1984 for $600 and it was the centerpiece around which I built my entire Rollieflex 35mm system, which includes multiple backup bodies. I guess I never thought the lens would get trashed :confused:

I do have a faint memory of my padded carrying bag falling on the ground sometime this last year. That must have done it, as there are no external marks on the lens.

htimsdj · Dec 19, 2010

I guess you can toss the rest of the kit too. Let me know what day you put them on the curb.

hpulley · Dec 19, 2010

You haven't used the lens in a year?

Rol_Lei Nut · Dec 19, 2010

Picture is hard to interpret,but I've dropped lenses directly onto concrete walks without serious damage (o.k., lens caps & shades RIP).
At least the high-end Zeiss for Rollei lenses were pretty well built: seems strange that yours could be so easily damaged.

Anyway, sorry for the problem (possibly repairable?) and greetings from a fellow Rolleiflex 35mm user...

dbendo · Dec 19, 2010

ia looking for a lens hoodand capfor a 25mm 2.8

ic-racer said:
I went to pick up my beloved Zeiss 28mm F2 lens and noticed it looked a little like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Yikes! The front piece is bent, throwing the optics out of alignment. Upon internal inspection, the mounting feet where the front barrel attaches to the rest of the lens are bent.

I got this lens in 1984 for $600 and it was the centerpiece around which I built my entire Rollieflex 35mm system, which includes multiple backup bodies. I guess I never thought the lens would get trashed :confused:

I do have a faint memory of my padded carrying bag falling on the ground sometime this last year. That must have done it, as there are no external marks on the lens.

i inhereted a blk SL35 with a 50 135 25 and 85mm I am not sure if i will keep it
and may put it up for sale... I need a lens hood an cap for the 25mm to much flair
sorry for your miss fourtune.....i have had the same bad experince. it happens.if you don't replace the 28 and have a hood and lens cap you want to sell let me know. I am going to try to like the rollei... dbendo

elekm · Dec 19, 2010

KevinsCameras has one for sale at an outrageous price.

Jeff L · Dec 19, 2010

It may be fixable. The internals could be the same as the C/Y mount. I'd send an email to TOCAD and see what they say- -or email Zeiss in Germany. Asking is free.

ic-racer · Dec 19, 2010

hpulley said:
You haven't used the lens in a year?

Looks like the last negatives taken with this lens were from a Halloween party the kids were at. I think sometime after that party or around Halloween, the bag fell on the ground.

It does not show all that well in the picture but the distance from the focus ring to the end of the lens is 2mm shorter on one side.

A new 28mm f2 is on the way. The last QBM lens that I had an issue with was my 60 Makro Planar. At the time (2003) Marflex fixed the aperture mechanism when a bunch of ball bearings fell out of it.

I'll probably send this one off to be fixed as the glass is perfect; just sent an e-mail to Krimar Photo Rollei service.

Christiaan Phleger · Dec 19, 2010

Yes but the bill won't be!!

ic-racer · Dec 19, 2010

Jeff L said:
It may be fixable. The internals could be the same as the C/Y mount. I'd send an email to TOCAD and see what they say- -or email Zeiss in Germany. Asking is free.

There is an idea.

I don't have a Contax lens to compare, but I found this on the internet and it looks like the barrel is actually different than the Rollei.

ic-racer · Dec 19, 2010

htimsdj said:
I guess you can toss the rest of the kit too. Let me know what day you put them on the curb.

Trash day is tomorrow, I think I'll just haul everything out there tonight...

Hey, how is the film processing going?

hpulley · Dec 19, 2010

ic-racer said:
Looks like the last negatives taken with this lens were from a Halloween party the kids were at. I think sometime after that party or around Halloween, the bag fell on the ground.

Sorry, I thought your original post said it happened some time in the past year until you noticed it now.

Rol_Lei Nut · Dec 20, 2010

ic-racer said:
It does not show all that well in the picture but the distance from the focus ring to the end of the lens is 2mm shorter on one side.

I can't image what would cause that kind of damage short of being run over by a freight train...

Just for fun, try (carefully) unscrewing the front section. In some Zeiss lenses that is quite easy to to. If the front section had come unscrewed and then not screwed back in straight again, that could cause the problem you describe.
Could some kids have fiddled with your lens?

BTW, does that lens also have triangular aperture blades?

ic-racer · Dec 20, 2010

Rol_Lei Nut said:
I can't image what would cause that kind of damage short of being run over by a freight train...

Just for fun, try (carefully) unscrewing the front section. In some Zeiss lenses that is quite easy to to. If the front section had come unscrewed and then not screwed back in straight again, that could cause the problem you describe.
Could some kids have fiddled with your lens?

BTW, does that lens also have triangular aperture blades?

I have had it apart. The front nose section is machined separate than the rest of the lens and it incorporates the front floating element mechanism. The aluminum housing is pretty thick aluminum, however it is milled with some slots where it attaches to the rest of the lens (hidden by the focus ring). The removal of aluminum in that area provides a weak area and that is where the metal kind of folded up on itself, shortening and bulging out about a half a millimeter.

My 35 1.4 has the triangular blades, but this 28 has a 'standard' multiblade mechanism.

ic-racer · Dec 22, 2010

Got the replacement 28 f2 in the mail today. It came from Germany. It has a serial number much later than my original and came with the later style lenscap in which you squeeze in the sides to release. It looks un-used but did not come with the original box.

The inflation calculator says that what cost $600 in 1984 would cost $1222.97 in 2009 and that is just about what they go for now.

Russ - SVP · Dec 23, 2010

28mm;s are a dime dozen. Procure a Kiron f/2 version, and you'll never look back. Kiron (Kino Precision Industries) made excellent 24mm & 28mm f/2 lenses.

Rol_Lei Nut · Dec 23, 2010

Ugh! You got it at Arsenal!
:-(

In Germany they very occasionally appear for about € 500, then quickly disappear and turn up in Nürnberg with a 100+ % markup.

I should really grab the ones I see...

ic-racer · Dec 23, 2010

Kiron Kid said:
28mm;s are a dime dozen. Procure a Kiron f/2 version, and you'll never look back. Kiron (Kino Precision Industries) made excellent 24mm & 28mm f/2 lenses.

Looks like a sweet lens. So, did they ever make Kirons in Rollei mount?

I can say that a 'free' 80-200 zoom which came on an SL35E has turned out to be a fantastic performing lens. It is branded Rolleinar, but is made by Tokina. Clearly sharper than my Singapore made, Rollei branded Tessar 135/f4.

ic-racer · Dec 23, 2010

Rol_Lei Nut said:
Ugh! You got it at Arsenal!
:-(

In Germany they very occasionally appear for about 500, then quickly disappear and turn up in Nürnberg with a 100+ % markup.

I should really grab the ones I see...

I must say, though, that the transaction was superb. It arrived in 4 days from Germany to USA and it looks unused. They did take my offer, which was less than that price in euros on that tag.

I will admit to a spontaneous purchase. I made the offer on that lens the same day I noticed my lens was broken.

ic-racer · Dec 23, 2010

Another thing that I did not point out in my original post is the sentimental attachment to that lens. I made nearly all the 35mm images for my MFA thesis portfolio with that lens.

ic-racer · Jun 28, 2015

Update on this thread. Five years later I discovered the 'key' to disassemble this lens for repair. Photos to follow. The secret is that, after freeing up the focus ring, the front helicoid unscrews (clockwise) using friction on the front lens ring (which has no grooves for a spanner wrench). Lens ring is glued in place and covers the screws to adjust the relationship of the front helicoid to the focus ring. This relationship is set at the factory and should never need to be altered. After straightening the barrel, I did not touch those screws and re-assembled the front floating unit on the same helicoid thread it was on originally.

The actual damaged part was not a structure that held any lens elements. The bent piece was the non-rotating front filter barrel assembly (the front element rotates). This assembly is made of soft aluminum and easily bent back to correct shape once removed from the rest of the lens.

After experiencing the high level of complexity to get the front element to automatically float, it is even clearer why designers made the 6x6 (6000 series) Rolleiflex lenses with manually adjusted floating elements.

RalphLambrecht · Jun 29, 2015

ic-racer said:
I went to pick up my beloved Zeiss 28mm F2 lens and noticed it looked a little like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Yikes! The front piece is bent, throwing the optics out of alignment. Upon internal inspection, the mounting feet where the front barrel attaches to the rest of the lens are bent.

I got this lens in 1984 for $600 and it was the centerpiece around which I built my entire Rollieflex 35mm system, which includes multiple backup bodies. I guess I never thought the lens would get trashed :confused:

I do have a faint memory of my padded carrying bag falling on the ground sometime this last year. That must have done it, as there are no external marks on the lens.

You can still sell it in ebay as in excellent +,near mint condition as everyone else does there

GarageBoy · Jun 30, 2015

I hate those manually adjustable floating element lenses... You'll forget to adjust it, I guarantee it
But yes, floating element lenses have some ridiculously complicated helicoids

Zeiss 28mm F2 Tragedy....

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