Vintage Lens Repair, and Test - Auto Chinon 200mm f3.5 - Cleaning the Optics
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- In this latest Vintage Lens Repair video we're taking a look at an Auto Chinon 200mm f3.5 M42 screw mount lens, made in Japan in the 1970s. The lens had been dropped at some time, damaging the integral lens hood and filter thread so those needed fixing. Also the glass elements needed cleaning - more because of dirt and grime than fungus in this case.
In the video we'll dismantle the necessary parts of the lens, fixing the various issues along the way, before testing the lens both for still images and seeing how it performs as a vintage lens for video.
The lens test section starts at 09:53
If you want to see the video featuring the Prinzflex (actually a re-badged Chinon) 135mm f2.8 lens, you can use the link below:
• Retrotech - Prinzflex ...
If you've enjoyed the video and/or it's helped you with your own lens, and you'd like to support the channel to help me create future videos, you can leave a donation using the PayPal.me link below - this is completely voluntary and not a recurring channel membership fee or anything like that:
paypal.me/Grum...
For a better demonstration of the final glass cleaning method I used, head to Theoria Apophasis to see their video: • 😎 WORLDS BEST WAY TO C...
Intro Music
"As Yet Untitled"
by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page)
grumpytim.band...
Additional Music
"Where Was I Going"
by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page)
grumpytim.band...
www.grumpytim.com
Found a hidden gem here on CZcams! Great video, I might have to take apart some of my lenses as well. Loved the typing machine outro!
Hi Bram, glad you liked the video. If you are going to take apart your lenses, I'd start with one you don't love, in case something goes wrong - that way you can get the feel for how they come apart.
A couple of people have suggested that tap water isn't the best option because it can contain tiny abrasive particles so possibly distilled water is a better option for cleaning the glass. Also, washing up liquid might not be the best cleaning product because in some cases it could potentially damage the lens coating. If I was working on an important or expensive lens, I would take more care and time cleaning the optics, but I'm happy enough with my method of working for the ones I've done so far.
Looks like my JC Penney 200/3.3, a fun lens. Thanks for the tutorial.
Stay safe.Peace
Hi Bill, that could make sense, I think some of the Chinon stuff got re badged for a number of other brands, certainly my Prinxflex 135mm is a Chinon lens in disguise.
Great video, mate. I've been looking at some of the old 200mm primes over on eBay and think that might be my next purchase 👍
Cheers David, it was a bit of a struggle finding stuff to shoot locally - the 200mm ends up like using a 400mm with the crop factor of the Micro 4/3 system - I kept having to run off into the distance to get those shots where I'm walking into frame!!!
In the static tests I did, the lens didn't seem that great but that's sometimes the danger of trying to evaluate a lens in that way - once I'd started taking real shots and video clips it gave great results, with a really vintage feel.
@@GrumpyTim Yeah I have a similar issue when I shoot with something like the Hanimar 135 on my apsc cameras, that 135 quickly becomes an extreme close up!😂
I definitely found that - when I set up my first shot, thinking I'd get all of me in frame, ran off down the track then strolled nonchalantly back towards the camera, only to find all I got was my stupid head bobbing up and down in the shot!!!!!
@@GrumpyTim Haha, my stupid head gets a lot of time in my videos so I know that pain😂
I have the exact same lens! Luckily mine was in mint condition when I bought it last year for less than 20 euro. I think it's a bit of an underrated lens, I really like this one (or that is because I don't have many other 200mm lenses to compare it with...)
Hi ohjajohh, it's a strange lens - if I was to base my opinion purely on the static tests I did, I probably wouldn't think the lens is very good, but as soon as I started taking shots of something interesting or shooting video, it works fine, and gives some great results. It definitely has a vintage look to the images produced using this lens. Like yours mine was also dirt cheap.
Some of the video footage I shot did show up a known problem with the Lumix GX80 it was attached to - Panasonic put the tripod screw hole in a really silly place, making the camera tend to wobble on the base plate - with the 200mm lens hanging off the front and the strong winds I was shooting in, some of the footage looks like it was hand held, but it was in fact, just the wind shaking a slightly wobbly set up.
Nice video. That's great
Cheers One Eye
I have the same lens! It's amazing, but needs stepping down a bit, also colour profile in the camera needs to be more contrasty and sharpened. With these in mind, plus in body stabilization, this is quite a good lens. Using this on the MFT system so it's a 400mm equiv.
Hi Jerry, this lens really good value for money, I think I prefer my 135mm to the 200mm but that's mostly because I'm using it on Micro 4/3 and I find the field of view more useful with the 135. I've been really pleased with all my Chinon lenses - virtually all of my videos (unless they're specifically testing out a lens) are shot using a Chinon 28mm f2.8 and a Chinon 55mm f1.4. I agree that the 200mm benefits from stopping down a bit but it's definitely a very useable lens.
Nice work Tim. I see the sub count is going up well too.
Cheers Benedict, that's another tatty old lens brought back to life. The sub count continues to amaze me, it seems totally unpredictable - it rarely goes up when I release a new video, then it creeps up sometime later, while my back is turned........
@@GrumpyTim always the way. A watched kettle never boils. 😉
Quite right too....................one day I'll learn!!!!! :-)
This is so enjoyable, that's actually my first telephoto lens ever and I quite love it for what it gave me when I had so little money for glass. My copy seems considerably sharper, but chromatics is the main character feature whatever you do. That's not that bad for photos though, it's somehow stylish.
Great channel, keep it up! I'm subscribing
Cheers Andrew, I'm a big fan of the Chinon lenses, all the ones I've used are great - maybe not the best in the world but they seem to be a reliable choice and on the whole, fantastic value. My 28mm lives on the camera as my default lens and virtually all of my videos are shot using it (with the exception of videos where I'm specifically testing a lens). Cheers for subscribing 😀
Great vid Tim just getting into vintage lenses , invaluable insight into cleaning techniques and some great sample shots . Loved the woodpecker!
As a pro guitarist was intrigued by the track over the video ? All the best , just subscribed Gary
Cheers Gary, vintage lenses are a lot of fun, and so long as you don't go for the more exotic stuff, they're pretty cheap too. On top of that, you can get some amazing shots that will often give you more atmosphere and character than modern lenses. That's not criticizing modern lenses - if I was heading out to shoot some interiors for a brochure, it would definitely be one of my modern lenses attached to the camera.
As a pro guitarist, you were probably thinking "what on earth is he playing at?!!!". All the music used on my channel is my own stuff, and by my own admission, I'm a terrible guitarist, but I plod on, writing the odd track, mostly using analogue synths because that's another love of mine, plus I've got a bit out of practice on the guitar.....
@@GrumpyTim I’m enjoying the vintage stuff but like you would use a modern lens for more serious stuff ! The music sound great Tim , really liked it … original stuff always grabs me ! Have a great evening … just bought a Carl Zeiss 135mm f3.5 for £48 ! Look forward to using it
Awesome, that should be a really nice lens - those old 135mm lenses are really useful as a short tele lens.
@@GrumpyTim Hi Tim , I’m loving the lens , got some great bird life shots today at Bude canal !
Fantastic - I really must use my version of the lens more often, it's such a good lens.
Great video! I have the same lens but my focusing ring is loose. would you happen to know how to tighten that up? Thanks
It's quite common for the focusing ring to come loose on these lenses - I show the screws that attach it to the actual focusing mechanism at 05:20 in this video - you'll need to remove the front bezel first and then, looking down the gap between the focusing ring and the rest of the lens, you should see the screws. If your focusing ring is completely loose, you may need to tighten the screws just enough so that the focusing ring drives the focusing mechanism, then turn the lens in the direction of infinity until it hits the end stop, then slacken the screws again and rotate the focusing ring itself until the infinity marking is in the correct place. There's no need to do the screws up too tight, you don't want to damage them.
@@GrumpyTim Thank you for the reply and information very much!
You're welcome. Let me know how you get on - I can always take a deeper look at my lens if your issue is somewhere other than the usual attachment of the focusing ring to the rest of the focusing mechanism.
i love ur video, i can clean my lens auto tamron 200mm f3.5 but unfortunately i can't remove the front lens cause the screw was loose
Hi wahyu, thanks for watching, glad you liked the video. Manufacturers use all sorts of tricks to stop you getting inside a lens - sometimes there are tiny grub screws to stop the lens retaining rings from unscrewing - these can be a problem if the head of the screw has been stripped in the past. Also manufacturers often use some sort of lacquer on threads to stop them rattling loose - usually something like acetone (also know an nail polish remover) applied to the thread on the end of a screwdriver will soften the lacquer enough to get the thread moving. One of my Olympus lenses has some fungus between the front two elements, but they're bonded into the front lens housing to make a sealed unit so I'll just have to put up with that - it's not very bad, so I'm not too worried.
On the whole you can have quite a bit of dust inside a lens before you even notice anything on the images (unless you often shoot at very small apertures).
Do you know what cameras this lens is compatible with?
Hi Moriah, there should be adaptors available for most mirrorless digital cameras, ie M42 to Sony or M42 to Micro 4/3. It can be more tricky if you're trying to fit it to a traditional DSLR, because in some cases (Nikon) you won't be able to focus to infinity, and I believe the back of certain lenses can hit the mirror when adapted to mount on a Canon full frame DSLR.
It's possible that Chinon also produced this lens in other mounts such as Pentax PK bayonet (for the later Pentax cameras), in which case you'd need the appropriate mount adaptor to adapt it to a mirrorless digital camera.
If you're talking film cameras, then this lens will fit on any M42 screw mount camera such as the Pentax Spotmatic or countless Praktica cameras like the LTL and so on (not the B series Prakticas such as the BCA - those are all bayonet mount).
Hi ! I have this Lens in a pk version but the aperture ring is working a strange way : when i turn it from one stop to close it s not exactly the same aperture than turning the other way to open for the same aperture. The difference is small but do exist. For example from f11 to f16 is different than from f22 to f16... Do you think there is something i can do ?? I know it s gonna be different inside from a m42.
Hi Vivien, it depends on how far different the aperture looks, if it's only a little bit it could be just a little bit of wear in the mechanism, or even play that was present when the lens was manufactured. As it happened, there was actually a spring inside my lens that was disconnected and that was causing the f22 aperture to close too far, in fact I could close the lens down to f22 on multiple occasions and get several different results each time - once I'd opened it up again and re attached the spring it worked correctly again. I can't remember exactly what it all looked like inside (it's been couple of years or more since I fixed it), but I'd bet that part of the mechanism is the same as your PK lens. I know I had to remove the rear mount and the levers that drive the aperture, then if I remember correctly, there's the cam that sets the position for the aperture blades, and it was a spring on the non driven end of the aperture blades that was detached.
Thank you Tim ! I will give it a look on next weekend. I do appreciate your help.
Hi Tim, great video. I've inherited a collection of chinon lenses and would love to be able to mount them to my lumix GH4, can you recommend a mount/adapter at all? Thanks!
Hi Neil, there's lots of M42 to Micro 4/3 adapters available from ebay sellers or from Amazon - most if not all are probably fairly cheaply produced in China. I have several of the cheap ones and they're fine, I also have one of the slightly more expensive K&F Concept adapters and that one is definitely better quality (in fact, all the stuff from K&F Concept that I've tried has been reasonable). Without exception, all of my M42 to Micro 4/3 adapters are made a little on the short side, this means that you have to focus a fair way from the infinity mark to achieve infinity focus - not a big deal, but it will also mean that you will lose a small amount on the close end of focusing too - again, not too much of an issue.
The same applies for adapting other mount systems, the K&F Concept stuff seems a little bit better but other brands work fine. Generally, the other mount systems I've used seem to be closer to the correct length to achieve infinity without having to focus far from the mark.
You also have the option of using a focal reducer / speed booster instead of just a plain mount adapter - the big expensive name seems to be Matabones but I have ones from Viltrox and Pixco, which are cheaper and seem to work ok - they're never going to be as good as using the lens on a standard adapter because they place another optic in the path of the light, but they will give you a little extra field of view - something you sometimes miss with the 2x crop factor of Micro 4/3. As a first choice I'd always go for a standard adapter before thinking about a speed booster.
You should have lots of fun using your old Chinon lenses - I have several and I love them to bits.
@@GrumpyTim Thank you so much for all this info, it's a huge help and very much appreciated. They were my grandfather's and they're in good condition but they seem quite old so I assumed I could only use them on the chinon camera but knowing I can mount them to my lumix GH4 is brilliant. I know they'll be completely manual but hoping I can get some cool videos and photos with them. Thanks again!
I tended to shoot fully manual even when I was using modern lenses, so switching to using mostly old manual lenses hasn't been too much of a struggle - all my videos since late 2019 have been shot using vintage lenses, with the exception of some close up shots, for which I use a modern (but still fully manual) Samyang macro lens. You'll have loads of fun exploring your grandfather's lenses.
do you have any clue how to disassemble focusing mechanism? i have same looking lens - "helios 135mm 2.8 mc automatic"
after disassembling all parts i came to stuck purt how to tight focusing ring thread while my front lens attached to other thread for focusing. and they got rails so front lens doesnt move
I got it assebled somehow but didnt tight enought focusing ring so i cant reach infinity anymore.......and front elements can jump off thread near full extention
Hi MrDoomsday, ideally, when taking the focusing helicoid apart, you should mark the point at which the outer helicoid detaches from it's thread as you dismantle the lens, because they have multiple start points, and unless you get lucky and pick the correct one, the lens won't focus correctly. The same applies to the inner helicoid (that's the one with the very fine thread - it's only there to keep the lens in place, it doesn't do much for the focusing but if it's not in the correct position, the focusing won't work). Again, ideally, you should measure the length of the inner helicoid at infinity before dismantling the lens and also mark the point at which it detaches from it's thread.
The good news is, that you can still fix it, it just might take a bit of trial and error. Generally the outer helicoid (that's the one with the coarse thread) is the easier one to change, so you could try removing this part and picking a different starting point (use a permanent marker to mark where it currently separates so you don't just end up using the same insertion point). Once you've tried a few different starting points for the outer helicoid, you can look at the inner helicoid, which is more likely to be the cause of the problem - initially you could try screwing the inner helicoid inwards to shorten it's length (use your marker to put an index mark at your starting position so you can tell how far you've moved things) then re assemble the lens and test. You might even need to lengthen the inner helicoid to allow the outer to work on it's correct starting position but only trial and error will get you to the right place.
Don't panic and don't rush, it could take you quite a few attempts to get to the right setup.
@@GrumpyTim sadly I didn’t left any marks….
Don't panic MrDoomsday, it might take you some time to get it back right, but you should be able to do it - take a look at this video by mikeno62 as he dismantles the focusing mechanism czcams.com/video/hxQhmQ_NHhM/video.html - although it's probably too late to follow all his advice, you should be able to work backwards, trying all the different combinations of helicoid positioning to get your lens back focusing correctly.
@@GrumpyTim thanks for your help, appreciate it
@@GrumpyTim his helicoid looks a lot simplier than mine, I will try record video if you have time to check it out….