The Anamorphic lens REPAIR thread

[tony wilson]

all the wankers in the uk will keep you waiting 4-8 months even longer.

they are taking money up front and you get locked in a vortex time black hole.

 

bernie o in the states is the best option.

you can always call him and get some advice.

[Petter Alke]

Hi folks, I got some real issues with the rear element of my Isco 36. In the beginning I thought it only was condensation but it is apparently a more serious problem and I think it will be necessary to change the optics if it is even possible. I have been in contact with Isk Optics in Germany and they dont have any extra parts since it is a "phase out model" as they call it . What would you do in my situation? any help appreciated. thanks Petter 

 

 

[tony wilson]

if you got it off ebay send it back..

 

plenty of pass the dodgy optics going on..

relisting dodgy stuff at profit.

that is impact separation

someone has put that optic under stress.

did you pay top whack for it or get it cheap

even bad iscorama go for good money

[jgharding]

Tony, you are "The Knowledge", you should have a honorary nickname here!

Isco should just make it again! They would clean up I think, regardless of startup cost. Loss-lead for a year then continue... Unless I'm missing something...

[Petter Alke]

Thank's for you reply Tony.  I bought it from ebay over a year ago, I thought it just had some condensation inside the glass due to the airfright....Left it inside a locker for a future project, but now when the future arrived you could say that I feel pretty stupid and naive after paying a big amount of money for this piece of crap....

[JohnBarlow]

So you have basically no chance of a refund and you are stuck with a fkd ISCO36?

 

The chances of getting a good rear element are ~nil. You could wait for a spare/repair but you would grow a long beard. :(

 

OK this is what I would do in your situation --- the results may be a little unpredictable but worth a try

 

1 Source a good condition Sankor 16C about 100-150EUR

 

2 Remove and swap over the rear elements --- they are almost the same diameter 36~37mm BUT they will be different focal lengths!

 

So what is likely to be the result?

 

a) ISCO36 will no longer be 1.5X but bigger maybe 1.8-2x

b) Focus range will change, maybe better maybe worse like losing infinity. Likely to be adjustable, may need to increase track length of the scope cell.

 

 

vandiemenbroadcast.co.uk will advise you better.

[Petter Alke]

Thank's John! I will consider your solution and also contact Vandiemen.

[tony wilson]

vandiemen will take your money and keep you waiting 2 years contact bernie o

[Caleb Genheimer]

Hey, fellas. I was going to post a new topic, but this seems to already be the correct one, just hope I'm not resurrecting a dead thread :)

I have a mint-condition Kowa 16-H that I would like to get serviced. It focuses sharp and smooth, but I want to get some lighter grease put in it, because I am building a double-focussing wireless follow focus system and I want it to require as little torque to focus as possible.

I'm also looking for someone who can put a nice Delrin focus gear on it.

Is there a shop that can do both these things for me? I'm in the USA, and I'm looking for a reasonable turnaround time, not some fart that keeps my lens for months.

[au8ust]

Just wanted to share my experience with Slow Motion Inc. 

 

I sent my Technovision 35mm Anamorphic lens to them to get it serviced and to fix the focus gear. They couldn't make the new part for the focus gear that was broken which is fine. So I let them service the lens as the focus ring and aperture ring were a bit tight. They emailed me the lens has some issues with the PL mount adapter (which was made by Dima in St. Petersburg) that caused the problem so I would never get anything in focus because of the mount.

 

I wasn't clearly understood and thought it was nothing serious. And then the focus gear ring, it was just a bigger version of self-installed gear ring you can easily find on eBay and not seamless gear ring that you would expect from Dima or any other professional lens techs. So I let them remove it since it's useless for me.

 

Then they ship it back. The payment was also painful. I have to print out the PDF form and fill and the info they needed and scan it and then send it back along with the scans of my credit card and passport. Have they ever heard of PayPal or any online credit card system?

 

Anyway, once the lens arrived in my hands. The focus ring moves smoothly as well as the aperture ring which is good. But... I can't get anything in focus! I sent them an email asking why I couldn't get anything sharp with my lens. They replied me with quoted messages they told me earlier that it was the issues with the PL mount from Dima and I have to send it to Dima to fix it.

 

 

The thing is the lens was totally fine. It took sharp focused footage and I shot a lot with the lens before I shipped it to Slow Motion Inc. I even uploaded some video taken from the lens with the PL mount.

 

Haven't heard any reply from them since Friday. Probably today maybe.

[JohnBarlow]

Sorry to hear this, sounds like they have converted it to dual focus.

 

You have every right to kick off big time until you get satisfaction

[richg101]

Thank's John! I will consider your solution and also contact Vandiemen.

 

the separation you're seeing on your rear element will have close to zero negative effect on the image quality of your iscorama.  You might see marginal drop in contrast, but only in very bright conditions.

 

Don't be too concerned about it.

 

 

Here are the facts:-

 

1.  The adhesive they used on your iscorama is an emulsion based glue meaning it will actually be very very easy to separate and re glue by any decent optical firm.  Also, this type of adhesive doesnt stand the test of time and could have faulted due to a change in temps from hot to cold.  Having a nice vintage iscorama comes with the risk that the adhesives might no longer be quite as resilient as they need to be for repeated use in professional environments.

 

2.  since 90% of the optic surface remains bonded, the spacing differences will be null and void.  I imagine if you have any change in imaging capability it will not show on anything less than the d800 or A7R in stills mode.

 

3. I put an iscorama with similar separation up against a mint one a few months ago and there was no difference.

 

4.  The separation may gradually get worse, in which case only then think about having it sorted out.

 

5.  I've been quoted £250 to repair such a separated optic in the past and decided to leave it as it was after being informed it is not worth the bother and that the effects of the separation in the grand scale of things is tiny.  The only benefit to having it redone is that you'll obtain a greater resale value.  

 

6.  I've split cemented optics about 3 times a day every day for about a year and a half.  Not once has a emulsion based join been a problem.  i'm actually considering rehauling my own iscorama completely this year but havn;t found the time.  Ring Camserve.  They have a good lead to a optics company able to separate and re adhere elements.  Van Diemen are an opto-mechanical company and will just farm the work to someone else.  They wont do the glass work-in house.   

[Anthony Vallejo-Sanderson]

This is very interesting. I managed to get an isco 36 with severe fungus on what looks like all elements of glass within the lens. I haven't done much research yet, but I'd really like to bring this lens back to life. I'll post some pictures when I get back, but can anyone point me in a good direction for fungus removal?