Author Topic: Slightly sluggish aperture on 45mm f/2.8 AiP  (Read 13131 times)

Bjørn Rørslett

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Re: Slightly sluggish aperture on 45mm f/2.8 AiP
« Reply #30 on: September 13, 2016, 13:38:33 »
One needs to have small enough finger to operate it ... not *the* lens for winter photography with gloved hands, that's for sure (I have tried and gave it up).

Also a lens so small it goes easily AWOL. I quickly lost my first sample this way. Asked Nikon Nordic for a 50% refund on a new sample as I blamed the maker for selling such a small item -- and got it at discount price :D

The old GN 45 is a little easier to operate as it has a scalloped (though narrow) focusing ring, but due to its unusual construction the focusing itself is quite stiff and goes in the opposite direction of other Nikkors. I removed the linkage between aperture and focusing cam and now the lens is much smoother to operate, but its touted 'GN' feature is lost.

Th 'P' has modern coatings and thus gives somewhat better image contrast and colour fidelity if these properties are important to you. The old 'GN' is more mellow and rounded in its drawing.

FGAng

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Re: Slightly sluggish aperture on 45mm f/2.8 AiP
« Reply #31 on: September 13, 2016, 14:49:35 »
Yes I am overall very happy with the lens, even though at the moment I am reduced to shooting out of the window pretty much for another month...

But there is a clear trend that the lens isn't stopping down fast enough as the aperture gets smaller, resulting in increasing exposure.  OK, f/2.8 and f/4 there is vignette.  Right now the lens pretty much asked to be operated up to f/8, maybe f/11 max.

Someday I will cannibalize a spring, likely from a damage 35/2.5E, to see if this is the problem.  But I hate opening up a new toy so soon after getting it... :(

Roland Vink

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Re: Slightly sluggish aperture on 45mm f/2.8 AiP
« Reply #32 on: September 13, 2016, 22:35:16 »
I bought a 45P with my FM3a over 10 years ago when they were still new. I never warmed to the 45P. I was hoping the bokeh would be smooth and nicely rounded, I found it to be rather clinical, not terrible but not what I was looking for. The lens is small, too small for me - I don't have large hands or need gloves in the NZ climate, but it was fiddly to operate - when turning the narrow aperture ring I would often touch the focus ring by mistake. Lack of solid real-estate on the barrel made it harder to grip when putting on and off the camera. The f/2.8 aperture also felt too slow for a standard lens. Maybe that's an odd thing to say, I used the 55/2.8 micro for years without complaining about the speed, and I rarely shoot at wider apertures, but I still felt I wanted more speed in a non-macro standard lens. I eventually sold it and switched to the AI 50/1.8 - this lens has much better ergonomics, is over a stop faster and the rendition, while not perfect is smooth enough for me. That was back in the days of film, I never used the 45P on a digital camera.

As for the 45GN, the later "C" multicoated version should give contrast and color fidelity nearly as good as the newer 45P. With only 6 glass-air surfaces the contrast should be high in any case, especially if the front lens is shaded from strong light.

FGAng

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Re: Slightly sluggish aperture on 45mm f/2.8 AiP
« Reply #33 on: April 02, 2017, 11:46:38 »
I am not confident of repairing this lens, so I went to my good friend David Hilos, and he quickly diagnosed the problem: oily blades.  Oily blades could not be seen on the lens aperture, but when he disassembled the lens, oil is found at the periphery of the aperture mechanism!



Cleaned up and it is now all good.  Can't wait to get it back!

armando_m

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Re: Slightly sluggish aperture on 45mm f/2.8 AiP
« Reply #34 on: April 02, 2017, 18:02:21 »
I saw the same overexposure on 2 old lenses, also solved by cleaning the excess oil:
55mm f1.2, oil was outside the aperture assembly but was enough to gum things up
50mm f1.8 E series, excess oil all over the place, I'm surprised it didn't made it to the glass

It's to use them once cleaned, and to have consistent behavior

Armando Morales
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richardHaw

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Re: Slightly sluggish aperture on 45mm f/2.8 AiP
« Reply #35 on: June 01, 2017, 03:31:42 »
just got one from the junk shop and overhauled it in and out last night, down to it's bare parts  :o :o :o

the sluggish iris blades can come from 3 different causes:
  • oil on iris (this lens very vulnerable)
  • a bent iris lever/ring mechanism
  • a bent C-ring on the inside of the objective's casing (very likely,too. I will show you why)

It is very unique and very unorthodox in terms of engineering. I learned a lot working with this lens.

the C-ring had to be implemented instead of the traditional retention collar to save space but this had to be secured (by paint in this case) to prevent it from moving about. if this C-ring somehow managed to get loose, it will impede the iris mechanism's movement. just like how an ingrown toenail is giving me discomfort now ::)

the bayonet part reminds me of the 85/2's mechanism. while this part is robust, it can be damaged when the stop-down lever suffers enough pressure on impact.

mine had a bent aperture ring. I must note that this lens' aperture ring is easy to get warped due to it's thinness and delicate nature. I had to dremel the bulging part to make it work properly. it is of a brittle but malleable alloy so care has to be exercised so it won't crack