Greetings all! I've subscribed to the list for a little over a month now
and thoroughly enjoy it. I have some specific questions (requests for
advice really) that I'll post a little later. Right now, I'm unexpectedly
in need of some other advice.
I've been acquiring lenses and bodies the last several weeks to supplement
my meager OM kit in anticipation of this summer's vacation. (That will be
my first trip to Europe.) Most of my purchases have been through eBay, but
a couple have been from list members. (Thank you BBB & TS.) I haven't had
a chance to shoot with any of the new equipment but did take everything
outside Sunday (for a little sun). I'm trying to decide what speed print
film to use this summer (future question, to be elaborated on down the
road). After reviewing Gary Reese's excellent lens test results, I had
decided that f8 was the optimum aperture for most of my lenses. I was
metering in the back yard with my OM-4 to see what shutter speeds I would
get at f8 with various film speeds. I decided to mount the other lenses to
just get a feel for the various perspectives. (The other future question
will concern what lenses to take this summer as I don't want to take them
all.) Well, all went well until I mounted the just acquired 35-70 f3.6.
The shutter speed dropped from the 1/250th range to around 1/15th!! Sunday
night I examined the lens and saw (externally) what was going on. Please
pardon my lack of knowledge of lens nomenclature in my description.
As you look at the back of the lens, there are a couple of tabs that move in
slots. One (I assume) has to do with stopping down the lens when you take a
picture. The other is coupled to the f-stop ring. As I looked at other
lenses, I saw that as I would change the f-stop, the tab would move. That
would be involved (I assume) with metering. Well, on this lens the tab
moves freely. If I move the tab to one extreme (counterclockwise looking
from the back of the lens) and have the f-stop at an extreme (3.6 or 22,
don't recall which), it would move as I moved the f-stop to the other
extreme. However, when moving the f-stop in the other direction, the tab
stayed put. That's the problem, as best I can describe. Here's more to the
story.
This is the eBay description of the lens:
"This is a very nice lens - with a bit of a history! Widely acclaimed as one
of the best zooms OLYMPUS ever made - and certainly better than the 35-70's
that have followed - this particular zoom has had a little DUMB treatment,
creating problems that I have just had professionally serviced. It seems
that the front filter ring assembly was once taken off and returned, but in
a cross-threaded mess! I first noticed it when I tried to put a filter on
the lens and it would not take. The picture shows the lens in this
situation - BEFORE it was repaired. Well, the result is a filter ring that
works fine, but is a little "rough." It also resulted in an insignificant
amount of coating wear right in the middle of the front element. It does not
show up in pictures - even stopped down all the way. The rest of the lens is
in fine shape, with a really nice barrel and mount. Interior glass is clear,
and there are no scratches anywhere. Operationally, all is well. Zooming is
smooth, focusing is fine but a little "noisy" in one spot, aperture blades
are clean and responsive, etc. This is STILL a great lens - f3.6 all the
way! It just needs to be treated with care...Comes with OLYMPUS front and
rear caps (55mm), a 55mm Skylight filter and a nice soft pouch! High bidder
to add $4.50 Priority shipping - insurance extra, if desired. Thanks for
viewing by no-reserve (ALWAYS) auction, and be sure to check out my other
great OLYMPUS items on auction right now. Good luck!"
I e-mailed the seller Sunday night explaining the problem and asking where
we go from here. I suggested that perhaps the repair shop in dealing with
the front filter ring assembly accidentally caused a problem with the f-stop
coupling. He replied last night (Monday night). I saw the message this
morning before heading for work but didn't have time to respond. He was
nice enough but basically thought it possible (probable more like it) that I
had caused the problem. He said he was pressed for time in replying and
would get back to me later with other thoughts. He also mentioned that he
had sent the lens back a second time to the shop because of something they
didn't do right the first time. He was sure that someone would have noticed
the f-stop coupling problem if it had existed. With shipping I only paid
$110 for the lens, so I'm not out a great deal of money and I've yet to hear
his other thoughts/suggestions, but I'm sure getting a sick feeling here.
This fellow (sgswest@xxxxxxx) does a lot of eBay business. He's not a
Zuikoholic nor was this his personal lens. (By the way, has anyone pulled a
Pat Riley and copyrighted {or whatever} Zuikoholic? Should I send someone a
dime for using the word twice?)
Anyone have any thoughts on what I can do to convince the seller that I
didn't cause the problem? I don't even know HOW to cause such a problem.
Would it take a hammer or a slam against the wall? Would anything which
would screw up the coupling also leave external evidence of damage? (The
lens doesn't have any such damage.) How easy would it be for a repair
facility to cause (or not see) a problem with the f-stop coupling? I assume
that generic repair facilities don't have scores of camera bodies around so
they can check metering after a lens repair. I might even assume that if
presented with a specific request ("fix the front filter ring assembly")
they would focus on fixing that and pay no attention to anything else before
or afterwards (short of a huge crack in the glass). I would appreciate any
thoughts either on or off list. Thank you very much.
Mike Williamson
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