What a job you did here !!! Honestly without your videos I would have never imagine I could open this kind of autofocus gear and now I am not scared anymore. Thx for that. Every Nikon lover should give you good thumb. You are amazing !!!
You are my hero! I bought a 35-70 2.8 in mint condition except for the haze which I wasn't able to see in the pictures. I was able to perfectly clean the second lens group in the front (which was the bad guy) using your methods and cleaners. Now I have a lens which performs as new for 70 €! Mange tak og hilsen fra en dansker som liver i Tyskland!
Thank you for the tutorial! I successfully cleaned the lens - though the second lens group seemed to be glued in and didn't come lose without a lot of force. But everything went well and it's usable again! Thanks!
I really appreciate your videos. Your videos are easy and simple to understand. You have allowed me to service a few of the lenses I have in my collection. Thank you.
Thank you for what you do Kenneth..!! Much appreciated. Just did identical job on a 35-70 f/2.8D...and am super happy with the results..!! that internal lens group can be a BEOTCH to remove...Perserverance folks..it will come loose.!! Cheers from Calgary, Alberta Canukistan.
Really helped my problem was that I resembled the middle element correctly. Thank you so much, your method for cleaning lenses with haze really worked and the detailed information on how to assemble the glass was spot on. The lens works perfectly now, very sharp and the contrast is great on my D700.
I just subscribed. Very thorough tutorial. I’m restoring a Cosina CT-1 Super hopefully worth the effort. Film emulsion melted inside the camera. The lenses are fogged/fungus on the edges. And it has mechanical problems. Thanks for this video.
Hi Mike, THANK YOU KINDLY, I did the lens as per YOUR VIDEO, few checks and go backs to your video but lens turned out like new. I OWE YOU BIG TIME. Kind regards, Louis van Rheede
@@mikeno62 Hi Mike, Thank you for your REPLY. Thank you again. Now it is time to clean my Prime lens, Nikkor 105mm 1:4, and my Nikkor-S Auto 1:1.4 and my Nikkor 300mm Prime, for which I see you haven't made a Video yet of how to clean?. My New Lenses are still good and I keep them that way. I have bought Nikons since 1978. I have 6 Bodies and some 9 various lenses. Kind regards. Louis
I have hack for losing the stubborn inside element group. After hours of trying, burning my hands by spinning rubber and almost ruining rubber cone. You can see spanner holes down the barrel but no usual spanner could be fit inside... Just take one of my straight sharp pointed tweezers, cut its sharp ends to right fit down there, bent it slightly to fit around group and... BINGO! It was loosen instantly, can not believe the amount of effort I have wasted before :-D
Yeah, and it’s a good idea that I also do now and then, it can sometimes be really hard to loosen those retaining rings, now and then I also have to make some special tools to get the job done.
Thanks for the awesome video! I followed this yesterday and had great success removing all the fungus expect through the element you start cleaning at 1:07 (one hour and seven minutes) I Used 3% peroxide and then 99% isopropyl alcohol but the element still remained hazy and almost looked like the inside of the glass was dirty. Do you know if it’s a cemented element or just a single piece of glass? Thanks for your time and great videos!!!
The 35-70mm 2.8 is arguably the best lens made by NIKON in modern history. It's sharp, light, versatile and robustly build. I own 2 of this lenses and I can attest to its beautiful renderings particularly if you are a street, event and even photo journalism. It's nimble and simple to use. I liken this lens to an AK 47. Countless of aftermarket lens hoods and filter. I recommend this lens for beginners and pro. It even does macro.
A wonderful tutorial. I have same lens with haze and will follow tor very careful steps. You are a fine teacher. How do I find your list of suggested tools or maybe someone who saw Mike’ instruction might post tools and possible source. Phil
Hi Mike, I took apart my 35-70 and cleaned following your guide. The lens is very clear now, and colours aren't washed out anymore, but I ran into two issues; the head of one of the three small screws that hold the rear lens group is damaged. I suspect a previous owner tried to dissassemble it, and I think there might be some thread lock under it. I don't want to try and loosen it for fear of damaging it any further. Do you have any ideas for how I could get it out? Second, after assembling, the autofocus does not seem to work anymore. When I focus by hand, the distance on the lens doesn't seem to align with the object I'm focusing on (when focusing on something roughly 1 meter away, the focus ring is almost at infinity). Could this be because I mounted a glass element wrong, or is the front element not alligned proberly? Cheers!
Awesome, Thanks. If you don't have air-conditioning or a fume hood you might want to consider a small desk fan to create aesceptic conditions that will lift dust upward and away from settling on the lenses as you work.
Hi,Thank you for this tutorial video. I followed your instruction related only to the front and mid elements group. however, when assembled the lens back together the lens focus ONLY on short distances, up to about 5 feet. Any farter focus is blurry. I took it apart again and made sure all the glass elements are facing the correct position. Still blurry . Would appreciate any feedback from you to help resolve this issue.
So..am on my 2nd lens. ...and its going just fine..!! Thanks again Mike for what you do here. Would LOVE to see a front lens Cleaning on a AI Nikon 300mm f/4.5..???
... And you have to be more patiently while drying the lenses and other parts in the air. So you can avoid new dampness inside the lens tube. Craft and art in company! Respect!
Thank you very much!!!! I have this lens and I love it. But the copy that I have has some fungus inside. It doesnt affect the image until I point it to the light source. But the focus is kinda odd sometimes and I think it is because of that. Now I can just clean it myself.:D thank you!
Hej! Great video once again! I have a question: I have a hazy lens element (back element of an Nikkor AI-s 50mm f1.8 pancake, the Japanese Version with 0,45m closest zoom distance), where any cleaning methods you showed in your channel failed so far. I tried it really a lot of times with all solutions you showed. It seems to me, that the haze is etched into the surface of the element. Any suggestions what else to try? Thanks in advance!
Hi, thank you for this great video. Recently i disassembled my 35-70, unfortunately i didn't make good marks at the time of disassembly, now i cannot put it together as it should be. Do you know how the middle helicoid should be screwed in regarding to the other join points? Many thanks
Great video thank you! I have a lens that has something wrong with the zoom range, it seems something is loose (I can hear it rattle inside) this stops me from using the full zoom range. Do you or can you show how to disassemble the zoom portion of the lens? Thanks again for saving these great lens!
Hi Mike, Thank you for your effort and for putting a detailed tutorial! I just got a D copy of the lens with very good condition outside, but it had some optics issue and AF. Could you please help to know if there is any way to fix a back-focus on this lens? Issues are: Auto Focus has a huge back-focus issue at all focal distances. 35, 50, 70mm. In Macro mode, Auto-focus fail to work (does not work). At some point, it tries to focus then become absolutely dead, as something jams it, or there is no drive. Thank you in advance, Slava
Great video. I ordered all the stuff using your links at Amazon so I hope you get credit. Is there any difference in doing the D version of this lens? Thanks.
@mikeno62 Your video has been extremely helpful in taking apart this lens for cleaning, I've been successful up until 1:28:26 where this one screw has been stripped preventing me from removing the rear elements. Any suggestions would help, thanks!
I just purchased an Agfa optima sensor flash. It’s a very fun camera with a sharp f2.8 lens. Only problem is there is some haze on one of the inner lenses. I was wondering if you wanted to do a video on cleaning this camera lens? Thanks!
If you don't have the silicone tool to unscrew the lens group, be very careful of double sided tape as it can easily smear the glass with sticky glue. Instead find a bottle cap of similar diameter to the rim and apply some hot glue using a glue gun
Hi Mike, TOMORROW, 15 APRIL 2021 IS D DAY FOR MINE. Nikon Representatives in South Africa refuse to service. I will let you and fellow Nikon'ers know how it shaped, good or bad. Thanks for the Video in kind. Louis
Thank you so much for this tutorial!! I've been looking online to clean this lens and now I can!! Awesome Video!!! Can I use Eclipse cleaning solution to clean the haze, or will only hydrogen peroxide work? Please let me know. Thank you
Yeah, there is not much repair info about this lens, it was why I made this video. I have trying to remove Haze and fungus with "Eclipse" and lighter even with Isopropylalcohol, but The best result is when I use Hydrogen Peroxid, simply because it kill's fungus and take away the Haze.
Hi, I am trying to disassemble a nikon AF 35-105 that has a fundus bui;t on the front lens element. When I remove the rubber focus band, there are 4 small screw. When I unscrew them I am only able to remove the top plastic ring that is used to mount hood and filter to. The focus ring can be pulled, but does not come out all the way. there are scres on it as well. I need to remove the top glass element to get access to fungus built. Do you have any suggestiong if this can be done from front, or the whole lens has to be disassembled staring from back(bayonet)
I just bought this lens in a D version. I was advertised as having no haze. Now I am considering refunding and looking for one with no haze in it or cleaning it myself as the add was misleading. What my question is to you, is the D version different when disassembling compared to the non D version, also there is a slight clicking/clunk sound when flip the lens upside down or give us a slight shake as though it's not seated flush or loose somewhere inside to cause a rattle. Now I've never owned this lens before this so I'm not sure if that's just due to age or normal or not normal.
Hello Kevin and thank you for taking the time to share your great videos. I have this exact lens which I use daily. I sent my camera off to fix and since I got my camera back from Nikon the lens is not functioning right. As I am stopping down the view finder becomes darker until it can't focus anymore on f/22. I've never experienced this with any other lens before and was wondering if you can shed some light on this issue. I have a D750 and have tried focusing in live view and it seems to do better. Nikon says it is my lens. Thank you.
Send it back to them and demand that they repair it properly, I was suckered into buying an expensive Nikor Zoom lens in 2009 and less than a FEW months I developed the dreaded lens creep up and down? Nikon Taiwan refused to do anything, I brought it back to the USA and Nikon here also declined responsability, to this day the junk lens is like new and that was the last Nikon product I ever bought... I switched to Canon and have never had any problem. I used Nikon from the mid 1950's till 2009. What a shame proper Quality Control and field testing it both climates would have caught this problem before production, how lazy and cheap can they get???
@Mikeno62 I am about to attempt to remove the haze on my lens (exactly like yours) and began assembling the tools and fluids to use. I am scratching my head wondering if a Charcoal Lighter Fluid will be a good alternative (as I already have) to the actual Lighter Fluid. I think it will. Any thoughts?
I use Lighter Fluid all the time...works well as long as you wear Nitrile Golves to keep your oily fingers away from the Glass. Do it just Like Mike does and you'll be fine.
Please note that fungus is following an infection. So it is a good idea to treat the metal rings and pipes with hydrogen peroxide and lighter fluid too. A bath would be the better solution.
Hi Kenneth, I am following your instructions but the inner lens won't turn and come out as in 48:28. I am using your recommended Japanese rubber cone. Can you suggest me some options to loosen that lens, thanks!
Unfortunately I have the same problem. The rubber cones doesen‘t work. Kenneth do you have another solution for loosen the thread? Thanks allot for the great video and the step by step tutorial.
I actually found a link to the parts manual, that showing how the different lens elements and groups are sitting: www.ss-it.de/ www.ss-it.de/data/lens/AF%2035-70mm%20f2.8D.PDF
Hi Mike, very interesting your videos, I would like to ask you some things: the liquid you use and 'gasoline for lighters ?, where I could find some compasses to open the rings, like the ones you have?
You can possible find Hydrogen Peroxid on the apotek, and the lighter fluid you can try in the tobacco shop. There are some links in the description for some tools.
You can get them here www.amazon.co.uk/Wera-Kraftform-2050-Micro-Screwdriver/dp/B0001P18LO But I have modified my screwdriver by file the very pointy tip off a little with a needle file, so the tip fit perfect in the screw head, it will work almost the same way just like it was a real JIS00 (Japan Industry Standard). I know it will never be a JIS00 but it work's really good.
You are a wizard! i will try to remove fungus from my nikkor 80-200mm f2.8D push pull version(1993=1997) and i am watching all of your videos... If you have any tip for that specific lens, it would be awesome!
I have only try to fix the sticky aperture blades in the AF Nikkor 80-200mm 1:2.8 push-pull, but not then lens elements. Another UA-camr, Daito Camera have a video about AF Nikkor 80-200mm 1:2.8 push-pull that I have found here: ua-cam.com/video/5PjFDszNEek/v-deo.html
Have you ever tried removing fungus/Mold via ultra violet light, by shining UV sterilisation light into a lens? Obviously it will only work on a lens thats not totally saturated with fungus, but it sure beats the hell out of having to take these tricky lens apart! 🙂
@@marvintpandroid2213 OK, thats interesting. I saw a guy cover the inside of a box with reflective foil and use a UV sterilisation light to flow over a bunch of prime lenses (mostly older) so perhaps the coatings mattered. He was clearly of the belief that the UV light prevented infection from fungal spores/mold and could kill any infiltrations too. However, I don't have any personal experience, so I will accept your expert opinion that most lenses will Block UV light, which would mean it cant really work, although you would have also thought that filter manufactures should stop making UV filters 🙂
UV filters are mostly snake oil, useful to stop scratches but that's about it. There are 3 types ( wavelengths ) of UV light and glass blocks the more powerful UV-B and UV-C light that is used in water sterilisation. That said. don't believe everything some guy says on the internet, take a look around Wikipedia and scientific papers.
I bought mine on ebay. I don't remember if it came like that or I had attempted a cleaning at some point. So my heliocoil ? was in the wrong position. It focused great to about ten feet and macro but was blurry beyond. Since I was busy I would just stick it back in my camera bag were it sat for several years.. I fixed it this morning and now it focuses great in all focal lengths.
Hi, me to happend something similar, after open and clean the lens, I noticed the lens did not focuse farest than ten feet. How did you do or what is the key to resolve it ?
@@tutangol when putting it back together I starting to thread it on to the inner part in different positions till it worked ...basically like if you start to screw a bolt into a nut on a different thread...hard to explain in text.
@@desotopete thanks for your replay! Means is about how to thread into the helicoid in the right possition ? not about something in the AF mechanism was wrong ?
Hi, I am from Argentina. So sorry for my bad English. One technician recommended me no tu use it in my D750 because in the future the lens will be affect some parts of the diaphragm system and the focus motor/engine. Do you know something about this? Thanks in advance. Regards.
Hi mike, any idea on how to take a part of a cemented/glued lens group reside in the centre? As in the middle of that group len, fungus happen to be growth
Nice step by step video! Unfortunately, in my case the rear element of the second group is so cloudy even soaking it for an hour in hydrogen peroxide didn't help. I wonder if the coating has been damaged by fungus....?
Yes you will get a reply, The coating on the lens elements in this Nikkor lens is much stronger than you would think, so don't worrie about, as long as you NOT put a lot of force on the surface. When cleaning lens elements in lenses, just A VERY LIGHT pressure is all you have to do, and sometimes it's ONLY the pressure of the wet lens wipes with some cleaning fluid that makes the job. In some older lenses from f.eks. Zeiss and Minolta, where the coating is softer, one have to take very good care when cleaning.
Does haze or dust in the cemented lens on the back effect the image quality? My lens is hazed on this rear lens and i dont know if i should ger another one
Haze will have the same effect, just like looking out of a very dirty window against the sun, everything will be out of contrast and very soft image. Maybe you should get another one with less Haze.
Thank you very much for your video, I will clean mine next week. But I have a question if maybe someone has the same problem. My Nikkor jumps all the time to a aperture of 3.8 whenever I change the focal length. I restart the camera put aperture to 2.8 and try to zoom, immediately the aperture goes to 3.8 and won't get bigger than that. Any suggestions?
It could be some oil in the aperture system so it gets stycky in a way, and maybe oil on the aperture blades, because it can make the aperture not working correct, just some ideas.
@@mikeno62 thanks for the advice. Just finished cleaning my Nikkor but the haze won't go! It looks almost clean and a few seconds later it reappears just like some condensation on a window. Tried your cleaning method several times, won't work for me. ☹️
At min 48:20 when you're removing the hazed group, despite i use you're same tools i can't remove my group it looks like is glued in place, any suggestion ? i applied a lot of force but is stuck inside....
The problem with many of the older Nikkor lens is, that they use a lot of thread lock just to prevent the lens retaining ring from getting loose by itself. The way that I have try in many many times is to use 2-3 drops of nail polish remover with Acetone on a cotton bud, and add it on the side of retaining ring where the thread is, that hold the lens element in place. Wait 15-20 seconds so the nail polish remover can get in and soften the thread lock, and then GENTLY and with working rubber gloves try to unscrew again, if it's not working, then add a little nail polish remover again. It works in most cases, sometimes you have to wait a few hours and then try again.
@@mikeno62, good suggestion, but only the top came off the rest of the group is still stuck in the body lens, i'm wondering if i can remove the mount lens and all the back lenses, aperture ring and so on to get in there and put some nail polish or some WD40 ?
You can remove the mount and in that way get into the back lens group and take it out. DO NOT use WD40!..., ONLY use Nail-polish remover with Acetone on a the cotton bud, it will normally work, so just apply it and wait 1-2 minutes so it can soften the thread locker so you then can unscrew the retaining ring that hold the lens elements / lens group in place, I hope it makes sense.
@@mikeno62 i could not wait for you're reply, so i opened the lens got inside to that damn group used hips of acetone in the past 12h and just doesn't won't to move. My gues they put thread lock in the fittings not just on top, there was some on top which i removed with ease. Nothing seems to reach deep in the fitting the glue. Hope i can find a way to fix it.
Hi, Mike. I was in trouble when cleaning element that in your video 01: 09: 14. The haze was too strong! I used hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, or even plastics to scrape it. It didn't have any effect. Then I bought some lighter fuel online and hope it works. This element doesn't look like a glue element, the haze is not inside, right? Thanks
Sometimes it can be a problem to remove Haze with different solvents, I have also try "Coldcreme" and then do the final cleaning with lighter fluid, just to take away the greasy stuff in the Coldcreme, so the lens surface is free from residues. Just add the Coldcreme on the lens surface and let it stay there a few hours and check the result, if it's not yet good do another go. Just an idea, sometimes it work's sometimes not.
@@mikeno62 I have figured this out, the haze of this element is actually the coating. It can not be removed by ordinary methods, and I know that some people specialize in this, polishing elements to remove the original coating, and then re-coating, very expensive, generally only high-end lenses are worth So this 35-70... I gave it up :P
The one that Delaminates is what's known as a hybrid, It's in the middle lens group and is the solid one with the ~ 1/4" black band around it...it's in frnt of the other two lenses in that group. Issue is that it is half Glass and half Plastic. When it starts to go you will notice it around the edges....called "Balsam Separation"
Well, it could also come from the grease or maybe the painting, Sometimes I think it can come from the place where the lens has been stored. The humidity and the temperature is also an issue to think about when Fungus or Haze is builded up inside a lens.
I put my gear to be cleaned into a ziplock bag, take them into the bathroom and close the door and put a towel down to keep air from coming in. I turn on the hot water in my sink and wait till my bathroom mirror starts to fog a bit, then I turn the water off-this procedure pulls the dust out of the air. Then, after the steam clears-you don’t actually need much to pull the dust down-I take the gear out of the ziplock bag and start the cleaning process. Just be sure to let the moisture clear out-you don’t want to get mold!
These are push/pull lenses with no sealing. They will inevitably accumulate dust. But it's better to get a bit of dust in the lens than to leave it fogged.
It is very complex and now I understand why camera lenses are so expensive and why the rare camera shop will clean the glass and remove the Fungus or Mold which ever. I find it amazing how people gloss over this problem when selling used camera lenses. I am now almost 82 and when I was younger I would jump right in and figure complex problems, now my cognitive abilities have gone South and I try very hard to refind them, but can't??? I can solve this problem, Don't get old???
I once thought about taking my lens apart to clean it, then i watched this video. Thank you for saving me from myself.
Its actually not that hard Paul...HARDest part is getting the middle lens group out...
Do you belong to the OLD FART'S crowd?
What a job you did here !!! Honestly without your videos I would have never imagine I could open this kind of autofocus gear and now I am not scared anymore. Thx for that. Every Nikon lover should give you good thumb. You are amazing !!!
You are my hero! I bought a 35-70 2.8 in mint condition except for the haze which I wasn't able to see in the pictures. I was able to perfectly clean the second lens group in the front (which was the bad guy) using your methods and cleaners. Now I have a lens which performs as new for 70 €! Mange tak og hilsen fra en dansker som liver i Tyskland!
Thank you for the tutorial! I successfully cleaned the lens - though the second lens group seemed to be glued in and didn't come lose without a lot of force. But everything went well and it's usable again! Thanks!
You’re a life saver Sir.❤️🙏🏼
FINALLY was able to disassemble my 35-70mm and clean up the haze. It seemed to be grease residues.
THANK YOU!!
I really appreciate your videos. Your videos are easy and simple to understand. You have allowed me to service a few of the lenses I have in my collection. Thank you.
I'm totally impressed, the only downside is I don't think I will or can tackle this job.
Thank you for what you do Kenneth..!! Much appreciated. Just did identical job on a 35-70 f/2.8D...and am super happy with the results..!! that internal lens group can be a BEOTCH to remove...Perserverance folks..it will come loose.!!
Cheers from Calgary, Alberta Canukistan.
"Canukistan" :D
Have repeated this process yesterday and everything went well. Thank you a lot. It was hardly possible to assemble it back without your guide)
I've been waiting for that video for ages. Thank you!
Really helped my problem was that I resembled the middle element correctly. Thank you so much, your method for cleaning lenses with haze really worked and the detailed information on how to assemble the glass was spot on. The lens works perfectly now, very sharp and the contrast is great on my D700.
I'm really happy that it worked for you Kerry, because it's a great lens even if it's +25 years old, I use it with my old D3s.
Cheers
Kenneth
Nice work as always.
Would be cool to add some photos (taken with the lens) before and after cleaning to see the difference.
I just subscribed. Very thorough tutorial. I’m restoring a Cosina CT-1 Super hopefully worth the effort. Film emulsion melted inside the camera. The lenses are fogged/fungus on the edges. And it has mechanical problems. Thanks for this video.
Hi Mike, THANK YOU KINDLY, I did the lens as per YOUR VIDEO, few checks and go backs to your video but lens turned out like new.
I OWE YOU BIG TIME. Kind regards, Louis van Rheede
Thanks Louis, I'm really happy to know that :-)
@@mikeno62 Hi Mike, Thank you for your REPLY. Thank you again. Now it is time to clean my Prime lens, Nikkor 105mm 1:4, and my Nikkor-S Auto 1:1.4 and my Nikkor 300mm Prime, for which I see you haven't made a Video yet of how to clean?. My New Lenses are still good and I keep them that way. I have bought Nikons since 1978. I have 6 Bodies and some 9 various lenses. Kind regards. Louis
Found your channel just now. Love what you're doing and subscribed instantly!
Thank's Max :-)
I have hack for losing the stubborn inside element group. After hours of trying, burning my hands by spinning rubber and almost ruining rubber cone.
You can see spanner holes down the barrel but no usual spanner could be fit inside... Just take one of my straight sharp pointed tweezers, cut its sharp ends to right fit down there, bent it slightly to fit around group and... BINGO!
It was loosen instantly, can not believe the amount of effort I have wasted before :-D
Yeah, and it’s a good idea that I also do now and then, it can sometimes be really hard to loosen those retaining rings, now and then I also have to make some special tools to get the job done.
Beautiful set of instrument Mike ! Thanks for your video .
Nunzio
Thanks for the awesome video!
I followed this yesterday and had great success removing all the fungus expect through the element you start cleaning at 1:07 (one hour and seven minutes) I Used 3% peroxide and then 99% isopropyl alcohol but the element still remained hazy and almost looked like the inside of the glass was dirty.
Do you know if it’s a cemented element or just a single piece of glass?
Thanks for your time and great videos!!!
Excellent video Mr. Mikeno!
The 35-70mm 2.8 is arguably the best lens made by NIKON in modern history. It's sharp, light, versatile and robustly build. I own 2 of this lenses and I can attest to its beautiful renderings particularly if you are a street, event and even photo journalism. It's nimble and simple to use. I liken this lens to an AK 47. Countless of aftermarket lens hoods and filter. I recommend this lens for beginners and pro. It even does macro.
A wonderful tutorial. I have same lens with haze and will follow tor very careful steps. You are a fine teacher. How do I find your list of suggested tools or maybe someone who saw Mike’ instruction might post tools and possible source. Phil
Hi Mike, I took apart my 35-70 and cleaned following your guide. The lens is very clear now, and colours aren't washed out anymore, but I ran into two issues; the head of one of the three small screws that hold the rear lens group is damaged. I suspect a previous owner tried to dissassemble it, and I think there might be some thread lock under it. I don't want to try and loosen it for fear of damaging it any further. Do you have any ideas for how I could get it out?
Second, after assembling, the autofocus does not seem to work anymore. When I focus by hand, the distance on the lens doesn't seem to align with the object I'm focusing on (when focusing on something roughly 1 meter away, the focus ring is almost at infinity). Could this be because I mounted a glass element wrong, or is the front element not alligned proberly? Cheers!
Awesome, Thanks. If you don't have air-conditioning or a fume hood you might want to consider a small desk fan to create aesceptic conditions that will lift dust upward and away from settling on the lenses as you work.
Hi,Thank you for this tutorial video.
I followed your instruction related only to the front and mid elements group. however, when assembled the lens back together the lens focus ONLY on short distances, up to about 5 feet.
Any farter focus is blurry. I took it apart again and made sure all the glass elements are facing the correct position. Still blurry .
Would appreciate any feedback from you to help resolve this issue.
So..am on my 2nd lens. ...and its going just fine..!! Thanks again Mike for what you do here.
Would LOVE to see a front lens Cleaning on a AI Nikon 300mm f/4.5..???
Thanks, sorry but I don't have the AI Nikon 300mm f/4.5.
Thank you for the great/informative presentation!
... And you have to be more patiently while drying the lenses and other parts in the air. So you can avoid new dampness inside the lens tube. Craft and art in company! Respect!
Hej Kenneth!
Do you have any recommendations on how to adjust the focus to correct infinity with this lens?
Thank you very much!!!! I have this lens and I love it. But the copy that I have has some fungus inside. It doesnt affect the image until I point it to the light source. But the focus is kinda odd sometimes and I think it is because of that. Now I can just clean it myself.:D thank you!
Great documentation, is there a video how to clean up Nikon 24-120 f4 & 70-200 f2.8 VRii ?
Hej! Great video once again! I have a question: I have a hazy lens element (back element of an Nikkor AI-s 50mm f1.8 pancake, the Japanese Version with 0,45m closest zoom distance), where any cleaning methods you showed in your channel failed so far. I tried it really a lot of times with all solutions you showed. It seems to me, that the haze is etched into the surface of the element. Any suggestions what else to try? Thanks in advance!
Good tutorial, where can i buy that lens tool?
It helps me so much! Many thanks!
i have the same lens coul you clean it for me? pls
Hi, thank you for this great video. Recently i disassembled my 35-70, unfortunately i didn't make good marks at the time of disassembly, now i cannot put it together as it should be. Do you know how the middle helicoid should be screwed in regarding to the other join points? Many thanks
Could you please do the video on adjusting the zoom? Thanks so much.
hello Kenneth, does the focusing helicoid need lubrication? I dissembled it and there was no signs of lubrication at all. Thank you.
Your vids are amazing .... fool proof! ... Just really need the tools ... xD
Great video thank you! I have a lens that has something wrong with the zoom range, it seems something is loose (I can hear it rattle inside) this stops me from using the full zoom range. Do you or can you show how to disassemble the zoom portion of the lens? Thanks again for saving these great lens!
How did you magnetize your screw drivers? Thanks.
Hi Mike,
Thank you for your effort and for putting a detailed tutorial!
I just got a D copy of the lens with very good condition outside, but it had some optics issue and AF. Could you please help to know if there is any way to fix a back-focus on this lens?
Issues are:
Auto Focus has a huge back-focus issue at all focal distances. 35, 50, 70mm.
In Macro mode, Auto-focus fail to work (does not work). At some point, it tries to focus then become absolutely dead, as something jams it, or there is no drive.
Thank you in advance,
Slava
Great video. I ordered all the stuff using your links at Amazon so I hope you get credit. Is there any difference in doing the D version of this lens? Thanks.
@mikeno62 Your video has been extremely helpful in taking apart this lens for cleaning, I've been successful up until 1:28:26 where this one screw has been stripped preventing me from removing the rear elements. Any suggestions would help, thanks!
I just purchased an Agfa optima sensor flash. It’s a very fun camera with a sharp f2.8 lens. Only problem is there is some haze on one of the inner lenses. I was wondering if you wanted to do a video on cleaning this camera lens? Thanks!
If you don't have the silicone tool to unscrew the lens group, be very careful of double sided tape as it can easily smear the glass with sticky glue. Instead find a bottle cap of similar diameter to the rim and apply some hot glue using a glue gun
Yeah that's also a good solution :-)
Hi Mike, TOMORROW, 15 APRIL 2021 IS D DAY FOR MINE. Nikon Representatives in South Africa refuse to service.
I will let you and fellow Nikon'ers know how it shaped, good or bad. Thanks for the Video in kind. Louis
Thank you so much for this tutorial!! I've been looking online to clean this lens and now I can!! Awesome Video!!!
Can I use Eclipse cleaning solution to clean the haze, or will only hydrogen peroxide work? Please let me know.
Thank you
Yeah, there is not much repair info about this lens, it was why I made this video. I have trying to remove Haze and fungus with "Eclipse" and lighter even with Isopropylalcohol, but The best result is when I use Hydrogen Peroxid, simply because it kill's fungus and take away the Haze.
@@mikeno62 Thank you so much for your time and consideration. I really appreciate it.
Hi sir do you have video how to clean contact point autofocus Nikkor d lenses,thanks
Sorry, I only have this lens
Good job thank you.
after using hydrogen peroxide on the glass, this needs to be rinse with something or is just enough to dry it ?
Thank you.
Noticed no Canon EF lens cleaning?
Hi,
I am trying to disassemble a nikon AF 35-105 that has a fundus bui;t on the front lens element. When I remove the rubber focus band, there are 4 small screw. When I unscrew them I am only able to remove the top plastic ring that is used to mount hood and filter to. The focus ring can be pulled, but does not come out all the way. there are scres on it as well. I need to remove the top glass element to get access to fungus built. Do you have any suggestiong if this can be done from front, or the whole lens has to be disassembled staring from back(bayonet)
Here you can get a parts list for that lens: arcticwolfs.net/
I just bought this lens in a D version. I was advertised as having no haze. Now I am considering refunding and looking for one with no haze in it or cleaning it myself as the add was misleading. What my question is to you, is the D version different when disassembling compared to the non D version, also there is a slight clicking/clunk sound when flip the lens upside down or give us a slight shake as though it's not seated flush or loose somewhere inside to cause a rattle. Now I've never owned this lens before this so I'm not sure if that's just due to age or normal or not normal.
Thank you so much
Hello Kevin and thank you for taking the time to share your great videos. I have this exact lens which I use daily. I sent my camera off to fix and since I got my camera back from Nikon the lens is not functioning right. As I am stopping down the view finder becomes darker until it can't focus anymore on f/22. I've never experienced this with any other lens before and was wondering if you can shed some light on this issue. I have a D750 and have tried focusing in live view and it seems to do better. Nikon says it is my lens. Thank you.
Send it back to them and demand that they repair it properly, I was suckered into buying an expensive Nikor Zoom lens in 2009 and less than a FEW months I developed the dreaded lens creep up and down? Nikon Taiwan refused to do anything, I brought it back to the USA and Nikon here also declined responsability, to this day the junk lens is like new and that was the last Nikon product I ever bought... I switched to Canon and have never had any problem. I used Nikon from the mid 1950's till 2009. What a shame proper Quality Control and field testing it both climates would have caught this problem before production, how lazy and cheap can they get???
Won’t the lighter fluid harm the coatings on the lens?
No, the actual coating is much harder than you would think.
Thanks!
@Mikeno62
I am about to attempt to remove the haze on my lens (exactly like yours) and began assembling the tools and fluids to use. I am scratching my head wondering if a Charcoal Lighter Fluid will be a good alternative (as I already have) to the actual Lighter Fluid. I think it will. Any thoughts?
I use Lighter Fluid all the time...works well as long as you wear Nitrile Golves to keep your oily fingers away from the Glass. Do it just Like Mike does and you'll be fine.
Please note that fungus is following an infection. So it is a good idea to treat the metal rings and pipes with hydrogen peroxide and lighter fluid too. A bath would be the better solution.
I love this video, but just can't "un-screw" the middle element group from the body (Don't have the rubber cones).
Any ideas guys?
Have you used 12% hydrogen peroxide?
Not yet, I will try it soon as a test.
Hi Kenneth, I am following your instructions but the inner lens won't turn and come out as in 48:28. I am using your recommended Japanese rubber cone. Can you suggest me some options to loosen that lens, thanks!
Unfortunately I have the same problem. The rubber cones doesen‘t work. Kenneth do you have another solution for loosen the thread? Thanks allot for the great video and the step by step tutorial.
Mine was a pain too. Use the #4 rubber cone and unscrew with all your might! Took me a few minutes and my arm was tired.
Can you open up Leica 35mm Summilux f1.4 and do a full clean and show us please
Let’s say I didn’t marked the parts, so how could I assemble them again with the right focus? In the right position? Can you enlighten me, please?
I actually found a link to the parts manual, that showing how the different lens elements and groups are sitting:
www.ss-it.de/
www.ss-it.de/data/lens/AF%2035-70mm%20f2.8D.PDF
Hi Mike, very interesting your videos, I would like to ask you some things: the liquid you use and 'gasoline for lighters ?, where I could find some compasses to open the rings, like the ones you have?
You can possible find Hydrogen Peroxid on the apotek, and the lighter fluid you can try in the tobacco shop.
There are some links in the description for some tools.
mikeno62 ...apothek =farmacy= drugsstore
Hi, mike could you tell me what type of screw driver you used ( the green one in 1:28:30 -56)? Thanks
You can get them here
www.amazon.co.uk/Wera-Kraftform-2050-Micro-Screwdriver/dp/B0001P18LO
But I have modified my screwdriver by file the very pointy tip off a little with a needle file, so the tip fit perfect in the screw head, it will work almost the same way just like it was a real JIS00 (Japan Industry Standard). I know it will never be a JIS00 but it work's really good.
You are a wizard! i will try to remove fungus from my nikkor 80-200mm f2.8D push pull version(1993=1997) and i am watching all of your videos... If you have any tip for that specific lens, it would be awesome!
I have only try to fix the sticky aperture blades in the AF Nikkor 80-200mm 1:2.8 push-pull, but not then lens elements. Another UA-camr, Daito Camera have a video about AF Nikkor 80-200mm 1:2.8 push-pull that I have found here:
ua-cam.com/video/5PjFDszNEek/v-deo.html
what is the cleaning fluid you use on the glass? what in the USA is the same product?
I use Hydrogen Peroxid 3% and then do the final cleaning with lighter fluid, you can see more info in the description.
Have you ever tried removing fungus/Mold via ultra violet light, by shining UV sterilisation light into a lens? Obviously it will only work on a lens thats not totally saturated with fungus, but it sure beats the hell out of having to take these tricky lens apart! 🙂
Most regular lens glasses will block UV light.
@@marvintpandroid2213 OK, thats interesting. I saw a guy cover the inside of a box with reflective foil and use a UV sterilisation light to flow over a bunch of prime lenses (mostly older) so perhaps the coatings mattered. He was clearly of the belief that the UV light prevented infection from fungal spores/mold and could kill any infiltrations too. However, I don't have any personal experience, so I will accept your expert opinion that most lenses will Block UV light, which would mean it cant really work, although you would have also thought that filter manufactures should stop making UV filters 🙂
UV filters are mostly snake oil, useful to stop scratches but that's about it.
There are 3 types ( wavelengths ) of UV light and glass blocks the more powerful UV-B and UV-C light that is used in water sterilisation.
That said. don't believe everything some guy says on the internet, take a look around Wikipedia and scientific papers.
I bought mine on ebay. I don't remember if it came like that or I had attempted a cleaning at some point. So my heliocoil ? was in the wrong position. It focused great to about ten feet and macro but was blurry beyond. Since I was busy I would just stick it back in my camera bag were it sat for several years.. I fixed it this morning and now it focuses great in all focal lengths.
Hi, me to happend something similar, after open and clean the lens, I noticed the lens did not focuse farest than ten feet. How did you do or what is the key to resolve it ?
@@tutangol when putting it back together I starting to thread it on to the inner part in different positions till it worked ...basically like if you start to screw a bolt into a nut on a different thread...hard to explain in text.
@@desotopete thanks for your replay! Means is about how to thread into the helicoid in the right possition ? not about something in the AF mechanism was wrong ?
Yes. It seems there is more than one possible starter thread that you can start on..unlike a bolt into a nut so to speak.
@@desotopete Really thanks, Finally I could it! It was hard trying different possitions but it works and now focus to infinite!
Hi, I am from Argentina. So sorry for my bad English. One technician recommended me no tu use it in my D750 because in the future the lens will be affect some parts of the diaphragm system and the focus motor/engine. Do you know something about this? Thanks in advance. Regards.
Vos otra vez? ;)
Eso no es cierto, es compatible y funciona perfectamente en la d750, yo lo use en la d610 también. Saludos desde Uruguay.
Hi mike, any idea on how to take a part of a cemented/glued lens group reside in the centre? As in the middle of that group len, fungus happen to be growth
Im working to making a video about, "how to separate lens elements", it will come out sooner.
@@mikeno62 oh wow great, that is the one I am looking for. Cant hardly wait to see your next video. Please inforn me when your video is realeased
Nice step by step video! Unfortunately, in my case the rear element of the second group is so cloudy even soaking it for an hour in hydrogen peroxide didn't help. I wonder if the coating has been damaged by fungus....?
I met references that in this model of the lens degrades organic glue in one of the lens assemblies.
Later, the glue was replaced by another.
Hi. I hope this timei can get a reply ,
Is it necessary to recoat this lens after removing The Haze
Yes you will get a reply, The coating on the lens elements in this Nikkor lens is much stronger than you would think, so don't worrie about, as long as you NOT put a lot of force on the surface. When cleaning lens elements in lenses, just A VERY LIGHT pressure is all you have to do, and sometimes it's ONLY the pressure of the wet lens wipes with some cleaning fluid that makes the job.
In some older lenses from f.eks. Zeiss and Minolta, where the coating is softer, one have to take very good care when cleaning.
@@mikeno62 thank you Sir …
Hi Mike are you sure you don t invert thé Lens around 1:41 ?
Yes, i'm sure.
Does haze or dust in the cemented lens on the back effect the image quality? My lens is hazed on this rear lens and i dont know if i should ger another one
Haze will have the same effect, just like looking out of a very dirty window against the sun, everything will be out of contrast and very soft image. Maybe you should get another one with less Haze.
@@mikeno62 ok thank you :)
of course. I have one and the results are horrible if there is any light in front of it. Uff.
Thank you
Thank you very much for your video, I will clean mine next week. But I have a question if maybe someone has the same problem. My Nikkor jumps all the time to a aperture of 3.8 whenever I change the focal length. I restart the camera put aperture to 2.8 and try to zoom, immediately the aperture goes to 3.8 and won't get bigger than that. Any suggestions?
It could be some oil in the aperture system so it gets stycky in a way, and maybe oil on the aperture blades, because it can make the aperture not working correct, just some ideas.
@@mikeno62 thanks for the advice. Just finished cleaning my Nikkor but the haze won't go! It looks almost clean and a few seconds later it reappears just like some condensation on a window. Tried your cleaning method several times, won't work for me. ☹️
Sorry I found the list of tools Mike provided us.
At min 48:20 when you're removing the hazed group, despite i use you're same tools i can't remove my group it looks like is glued in place, any suggestion ? i applied a lot of force but is stuck inside....
The problem with many of the older Nikkor lens is, that they use a lot of thread lock just to prevent the lens retaining ring from getting loose by itself. The way that I have try in many many times is to use 2-3 drops of nail polish remover with Acetone on a cotton bud, and add it on the side of retaining ring where the thread is, that hold the lens element in place.
Wait 15-20 seconds so the nail polish remover can get in and soften the thread lock, and then GENTLY and with working rubber gloves try to unscrew again, if it's not working, then add a little nail polish remover again. It works in most cases, sometimes you have to wait a few hours and then try again.
@@mikeno62, good suggestion, but only the top came off the rest of the group is still stuck in the body lens, i'm wondering if i can remove the mount lens and all the back lenses, aperture ring and so on to get in there and put some nail polish or some WD40 ?
You can remove the mount and in that way get into the back lens group and take it out.
DO NOT use WD40!..., ONLY use Nail-polish remover with Acetone on a the cotton bud, it will normally work, so just apply it and wait 1-2 minutes so it can soften the thread locker so you then can unscrew the retaining ring that hold the lens elements / lens group in place,
I hope it makes sense.
@@mikeno62 i could not wait for you're reply, so i opened the lens got inside to that damn group used hips of acetone in the past 12h and just doesn't won't to move. My gues they put thread lock in the fittings not just on top, there was some on top which i removed with ease. Nothing seems to reach deep in the fitting the glue. Hope i can find a way to fix it.
lens fixed, in the hard way, thanks for you're help !
Hi, Mike.
I was in trouble when cleaning element that in your video 01: 09: 14.
The haze was too strong!
I used hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, or even plastics to scrape it. It didn't have any effect.
Then I bought some lighter fuel online and hope it works.
This element doesn't look like a glue element, the haze is not inside, right?
Thanks
Sometimes it can be a problem to remove Haze with different solvents, I have also try "Coldcreme" and then do the final cleaning with lighter fluid, just to take away the greasy stuff in the Coldcreme, so the lens surface is free from residues.
Just add the Coldcreme on the lens surface and let it stay there a few hours and check the result, if it's not yet good do another go. Just an idea, sometimes it work's sometimes not.
@@mikeno62
Thanks, I'll try that.
A little curious how the haze is formed.
@@mikeno62
I have figured this out, the haze of this element is actually the coating.
It can not be removed by ordinary methods, and I know that some people specialize in this, polishing elements to remove the original coating, and then re-coating, very expensive, generally only high-end lenses are worth
So this 35-70... I gave it up :P
From Indonesia : Exelent tutorial Sir, I want to ask you sir, when and where we to mark in disassembly lens camera, thank you, good luck
How about fungus?
I left my lens on the attic and now has fungus 😩
Which element in this video is the one that delaminates in these lenses? Does anyone know?
The one that Delaminates is what's known as a hybrid, It's in the middle lens group and is the solid one with the ~ 1/4" black band around it...it's in frnt of the other two lenses in that group. Issue is that it is half Glass and half Plastic. When it starts to go you will notice it around the edges....called "Balsam Separation"
@@steakman9113 Thank you for the reply. Is it repairable ?
awesome!
How much do you charge? Can someone send you their lens
Other UA-camrs claim the haze is caused by the glue used to hold some of the elements together. Any thoughts anyone?
Well, it could also come from the grease or maybe the painting, Sometimes I think it can come from the place where the lens has been stored. The humidity and the temperature is also an issue to think about when Fungus or Haze is builded up inside a lens.
You can take these lenses apart but then you get dust in them.
So, it's so unless you use a proper clean room you have no chance
I put my gear to be cleaned into a ziplock bag, take them into the bathroom and close the door and put a towel down to keep air from coming in. I turn on the hot water in my sink and wait till my bathroom mirror starts to fog a bit, then I turn the water off-this procedure pulls the dust out of the air. Then, after the steam clears-you don’t actually need much to pull the dust down-I take the gear out of the ziplock bag and start the cleaning process. Just be sure to let the moisture clear out-you don’t want to get mold!
These are push/pull lenses with no sealing. They will inevitably accumulate dust. But it's better to get a bit of dust in the lens than to leave it fogged.
уж больно длинный ролик, нужен монтаж
Inj other words: Forget about cleaning your lens. :)
It is very complex and now I understand why camera lenses are so expensive and why the rare camera shop will clean the glass and remove the Fungus or Mold which ever. I find it amazing how people gloss over this problem when selling used camera lenses. I am now almost 82 and when I was younger I would jump right in and figure complex problems, now my cognitive abilities have gone South and I try very hard to refind them, but can't??? I can solve this problem, Don't get old???
I have tried to clean one nikon 60mm and 105mm and I couldn´t put the things back correctly. It´s not that easy as we see in the tutorials.
My msg below relates to the 35-70mm f2.8D.
satlık nikon f3 var🇹🇷🇹🇷🇹🇷👍👍👍❤️❤️❤️
Can I pay you to clean my lens?? :)
Sorry, I do not have repair service.