Trouble with DK-17M

[Airy]

First trouble was losing one in the woods. It would easily unscrew itself from my Df, and I lost it several times. This time, it probably fell silently into the mud.

While ordering a new one, I tried to re-use the one mounted on my D800. As it was not clean, I washed it with lukewarm water and mild liquid soap. Now it is clean but, lo and behold, water made its way between the two elements - they are not cemented, it seems, or at least not properly. Now it looks like a mild case of cataract...

... sigh ... not sure what to do.

[Birna Rørslett]

Put it into the oven and bake for 50-70 C overnight or as long as it takes to be clear view. If condensation or fog returns after the piece is cooled to ambient temperature, repeat the treatment.

[atpaula]

I lost mine a few times and had the luck to hear the noise and recovered it.
Tried unsuccessfully fix it with superglue. It still remains unscrewing. I hate it.

[Airy]

Put it into the oven and bake for 50-70 C overnight or as long as it takes to be clear view. If condensation or fog returns after the piece is cooled to ambient temperature, repeat the treatment.

Thanks. Just had a successful try with the heater (60°C water circulation) and all went well...

[Olivier]

A Tupperware box with a few silica gel bags would also do.
Good to hear you fixed the problem anyway!

[Airy]

yes, thanks - except that the very short screw thread remains an issue with these things.

[Jacques Pochoy]

yes, thanks - except that the very short screw thread remains an issue with these things.

After my third DK17 loss, I bought also a DK 19 (rubber ring eyepiece). Since it hasn't moved a bit... The DK17 isn't easy to fit in the DK 19 without getting fingerprints on the DK17, but when it's done it seems to screw a bit better. At first I thought that the rubber cup would allow it to unscrew easily when having the camera on strap on the shoulder (more friction with clothes) but it seems to hold on better !

Go figure ?

Is the enlargement (DK 17m) beneficial on the Df ?

[John Geerts]

I also use the DK-17M in combination with the DK19. Never had any problems.

[Airy]

Thanks Jacques for the tip, and John for confirmation.
Yes, the magnifying eyepiece was beneficial to me on all cameras - a bit troublesome on D700 ("clipped corners"), not a problem on D800 nor on Df.
I do not wear glasses when I shoot despite some astigmatism. Not sure my focus hit rate with glasses + no eyepiece would rise, and I do not even want to try - I prefer the larger view with the eyepiece.

[Jacques Pochoy]

I prefer the larger view with the eyepiece.

Mmmm, might give it a try. But nowadays I have to wear glasses for all near objects. The latest are of the varifocal type (I do drive) as my two eyes aren't any more identical at distances... (darn thing getting old).
So I first tried shooting without glasses but with the diopter up, then I gave up, because even with the string thing, I would end twisting my glasses (or them getting drops when raining).
That's why I got the DK 19, thinking it would help with the glasses (and it did).
Of course, while manual focusing with older lenses, the DK 17m might be of interest 

[Airy]

Definitely, MF lenses are my main use case.
Not all of them are old - Zeiss comes to mind.
Some Leica R glass is definitely worth the trouble (in my case: Summicron 50/2).

[Øivind Tøien]

First trouble was losing one in the woods. It would easily unscrew itself from my Df, and I lost it several times. This time, it probably fell silently into the mud.

While ordering a new one, I tried to re-use the one mounted on my D800. As it was not clean, I washed it with lukewarm water and mild liquid soap. Now it is clean but, lo and behold, water made its way between the two elements - they are not cemented, it seems, or at least not properly. Now it looks like a mild case of cataract...

... sigh ... not sure what to do.

I lost my DK-17M on the tundra north in Alaska during field work one year due to that my my modified DK-22 adapter cracked in the -34°C weather. More than one year later one of our students found it 100-200 meters from the area I had been in, likely carried there by an arctic ground squirrel that chewed up part of the attached rubber eye cup. The DK-17M was covered in silt, but except from slight irregularities of the coating it was unscratched and no water had gotten into the internals. It is presently still in use.

[Airy]

OK... I'll wait for the next glaciation then.

[Jacques Pochoy]

LOL 

[Øivind Tøien]