lens repair

tom beard · Sep 14, 2009

I'm not sure I'm in the right forum, but can't find one that fits.

I have a Soligor 70-210mm zoom that I dropped. The last element (lens shade end) is not cracked or scratched, but it looks like the coating may be damaged. It will have to be replaced. I googled Soligar.com and it's a German company that doesn't make camera lenses any more and has no US contact info. I called B&H and they didn't recognise the name. Can anybody suggest a company that repairs out of production lenses with a US contact?

Thanks, Tom Beard

Derrel · Sep 14, 2009

The FRONT element of a lens is not too critical. I once owned a 80-200 f/2.8 one-ring Nikkor zoom that I bought for $375,and it had a dime-sized flying rock crater on the front element, and a couple BIG, deep scratches....and you know what? It had almost no impact on the pictures, unless shooting directly at a bright sun. The light hitting the front is un-focused and has a long ay to go before it is delivered to the sensor. The REAR element is truly the critical element.

It might be kind of fun to try a simple test. Take a small square of dark paper, about 1/4 inch square, and lick it, and stick it right onto the front end of the lens using your own saliva, then go out and shoot some pictures. Heck,just for the fun of it, put TWO pieces of paper on the front of the lens. Shoot some test shots and make sure the pieces of paper are still stuck on the front element.

Continue shooting until the paper squares fall off, but don't pay any attention to when they fall off. See if you can review the photos and see if you can visually be certain that the paper squares had fallen off. Soligor is an old 3rd party lens maker's name,and the lens is probably somewhat old, I would guess. It might cost more to repair it than it does to scrounge up an identically spec'd replacement from eBay or a well-stocked Mom & Pop camera shop located somewhere across the great USA.

tom beard · Sep 14, 2009

Thanks Darrel, The lens is old, early 80's, and it was ten years ago when I dropped it. I continued shooting with it and you're right; I didn't notice any obvious difference, but thought my eye couldn't tell. I'm in the process of resurrecting my old Canon F-1 slr (batteries are tricky) but I found a source and as soon as I get it, I'll do the patch test. Thanks for the tip.

Tom B

Derrel · Sep 14, 2009

Yes, it's hard to find those batteries for older things like Pentax Spotmatics and the M1 Abrams, err,I mean, the F-1.

This is, I believe, the battery you want.

W990120 Wein Cell PX625 / PX13 Button Battery, 1.35 volts Zinc-Air.

I did a quick eBay search and saw an older 70201 f/4.5 Soligor, non-working, for $44 buy it now.

tom beard · Sep 14, 2009

Yes, the battery was tricky. I googled Canon F-1 Battery Problems and got good info. The original battery was a mercury battery which isn't made any more. I found Interstate Batteries (www.allbatterycenter.com) and they have a huge selection. I ordered a 1.35v zinc air battery (product # PHO-0215) replacement battery for Canon F-1. Anybody needing an exotic battery for discontinued cameras or other electronic products may want to check them out.

Thanks again, Tom B

HelenOster · Sep 15, 2009

tom beard said:
I'm not sure I'm in the right forum, but can't find one that fits.

I have a Soligor 70-210mm zoom that I dropped. The last element (lens shade end) is not cracked or scratched, but it looks like the coating may be damaged. It will have to be replaced. I googled Soligar.com and it's a German company that doesn't make camera lenses any more and has no US contact info. I called B&H and they didn't recognise the name. Can anybody suggest a company that repairs out of production lenses with a US contact?

Thanks, Tom Beard