Sticky gunky control rings in lens (Nikon6006)

ismael

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Hello,

A friend gave me his Nikon 6006 that has been stored for a long time. The film door latch is broken so I need to figure out a way to fix it. As I grabbed it, the zoom, aperture and focus rings left a sticky black gunk residue in my hands. I wrapped a paper towel around it and you can see the residue. The lens is a Quantaray NF 35-80. The lens glass seems to be in perfect shape so I don't think this affects its operation, but it is quite unpleasant. Has anybody seen this before? Is there anything that can be done? Anybody knows where to get a back door for it?

kdk_0144-vi.jpg


Thanks,
 
Quantaray and lens glass in perfect operation seems to be somewhat oximoronic.

Quantaray is about as cheap and most horrible as lenses can come. I wouldn't be surprised if that gunk is the lurbicant that has seeped out of the lens. If that's the case also take some test photos looking through the lens end to see if the aperture still closes. A drop of lubricant on those blades and they are toast. (or rather honey since they'd be sticking)
 
Thanks for the reply.
It seems the problem is in the rubber grips themselves. It feels like if they are melting, all 3 rings:zoom, aperture and focus. I just checked and the blades are closing and opening fine. But I can't really fully test it yet until I fix the back door and get the correct battery.

Thanks,
 
Quantaray and lens glass in perfect operation seems to be somewhat oximoronic.

Quantaray is about as cheap and most horrible as lenses can come.

Quantaray lenses at the time that Nikon 6006s were sold were made by Sigma, and except for cosmetics, were identical to their Sigma counterparts. This was Ritz Camera's way of offering a better price on a camera combo. Instead of paying full price for the Nikon kit lens, they would pay less for a Quantaray-branded lens from Sigma.

The lenses were very good back then; on par with the manufacturers' kit lenses, but bigger. As I recall, the manufacturers were going to plastic lens mounts and some plastic lens elements. "Optical plastic" they call it. Quantaray/Sigma were still using metal lens mounts and all glass lenses.

I suspect what happened was that someone knew they were going to store that, and decided to oil the lens so it doesn't freeze up. (dumb as that may sound)
 
BTW, the 6006 was a great camera. At the time, it was a much better-built camera than the competition from Canon.

It has a metal frame, metal lens mount, and easy-to-access features that didn't require going through as many menus. The only downside was a lack of DOF preview and a loud and relatively slow motor drive. (compared to the N90s and F4S of the time, which cost 2-4X as much)
 
That could be. Would be a horrid decision though. There's hopefully some very specialised lubricant used in lenses that doesn't seize up normally even when stored for a long period of time.

You could try using a de-greaser like dishwashing fluid or mineral turpentine (be careful as this tends to eat rubber) to get it off but for the love of god be careful not to get a drop into the lens.
 
Hello again,

I talked to the guy who gave me the camera and he assured me nothing was put on it. He just stored it years ago. Also, another friend brought to my attention that he had a similar situation with the rubber grips on his bicycle. So it seems the rubber is just degradating in the tropical heat.
I may consider removing it if I can't stop it or seal it.

Thanks,
 

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