Pan Cinor 16 Lens - fungus?

[mr_x]

Hi,

I just picked up a Pan Cinor 16 lens. The front of the lens looks healthy enough but when I peered down the barrel and opened the diaphragm I saw some nasty looking filaments.

Also, what is that black dot centre - probably just some innocent optical effect though?



Any ideas please?

The lens looks bright enough but the dog-leg viewer is very misty, not good at all, but viewers can be cleaned I have heard - fungus filaments are something else. Whatever this stuff is is seems to be affecting an interior element, but a photo of the rear element (3) also turned up some micro-spaghetti-like filaments.

Comments appreciated.

Thanks,

Ric

[BAC]

The black dot is an optical effect of the reflex viewer. I have bought a few Pan Cinor lenses that had great looking glass up front but when you looked close at the rear element there was mold or haze. My opinion is that it's a crap shoot to buy one even if the seller says the glass looks good. If the mold is on the edge of the glass it may not affect your image. If that is haze on your rear element then that will likely affect your image. I had a similar mold problem with my Kern-Paillard Vario Switar 36EE. I sent it to Roger Sharland in the UK and he fixed it up as good as new. He even got the light meter working. Here's his web site:

http://www.roger-sharland.co.uk/

[mr_x]

...I had a similar mold problem with my Kern-Paillard Vario Switar 36EE. I sent it to Roger Sharland in the UK and he fixed it up as good as new. He even got the light meter working.

Thanks BAC,

I wrote to Roger Sharland after I started this thread - do you think he could salvage this lens? There's definitely something funny going on with the rear element, not the haze effect - that's probably the impossibly difficult photography I've attempted to capture these marks - more the micro squiggles. [picture 3]. It's samazing what a camera will pick up on a lens that the eye will miss.

The front optic looks a-ok, but a blemish on the rear optic would show up on the footage, it's so close to the raw film. I just got rid of a Krasnogorsk lens with a mark on the rear optic, it showed up like a UFO on the film footage.

The reflex viewer is - though - hazy as hell, but a viewer can be cleaned up, it's not going to affect the film.

The problem which faces me now is - even if Roger can patch up this lens, it's going to end up costing me double what I paid for it. If it can be fixed as new I will go for it, but if it's going to be a partial or imperfect fix I'd be better off waiting for a clean lens. Whatever this lens is, 'clean' it is not :-|

Bests,

Ric

Ps. 'crap shoot', yes I agree - wasn't sure what that meant ~ for me the expression would be "a pig in a poke"! :twisted: [lol]

[BAC]

I had about the same amount of mold as you have so it wouldn't hurt to send it to him to get a quote.

[mr_x]

I had about the same amount of mold as you have so it wouldn't hurt to send it to him to get a quote.

Accepted. But this lens was advertised as fungus-free and in good condition. It is neither: the focus, zoom and aperture are stiff (old grease) and the dog-leg reflex is semi obscured, hazy, can't see what's causing this.

Still awaiting Roger's response.

Thanks,

Ric