Nikkor 135mm repair- I made an uh-o...

[Roger Monroe]

4x5 newbe here.

The sun is setting last night, and I'm moving my camera to get one more shot- clunk ! Apparently, the lensboard was not secured all the way in the camera, and the lens takes a big ding on the rim. The glass is ok, but the filter threads are trashed.

Can this part of the lens be replaced ? It looks like the glass element can be removed from the outer ring- am I correct ? Who does this kind of work if so ?

Thanks in advance.

[Michael Gudzinowicz]

How to repair the filter threads:

http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/filterringtool.html

[Ted Harris]

If you don't wamnt to do it yourself any of the lens and shutter craftsmen that are alway shighly recommended onthis site can handle it. SK Grimes i sthe one I use most frequently (www.skgrimes.com). Others use Carol at Flotto's on the West Coast and Paul Ebel in the Midwest.

[Jim Jirka]

It is Carol at Flutot's Camera Repair on the West Coast.

[Space Ghost]

Why do we always hurt the ones we love? Why Banjo? Why?! Banjo! Banjo! Banjooooo!

Oh, they can fix your filter threads, don't worry.

[Jack Flesher]

Or you can get this handy tool for $35 : https://www.micro-tools.com/store/Ma...x?ItemCode=LV1

[Roger Monroe]

Thanks guys ! I should have posted this last night before trying to fix it myself. In haste and a tremendous amount of frustration I attempted to straighten it, not doing nearly as elegant of a job as some of tools, tips and repair resources here would have done. It may be beyond repair. Truth be told, it might have been beyobd repair before my attempted fix.. The rim was bent in a 45 degree (or near it) angle to the glass. It looked like a potato chip. Pringles to be exact.

My haste was probably due in part to the frustration of getting used to LF and it's myriad of procedures. I need to give it more time for sure, but it is such a frustrating beast compared to smaller formats. For those of us ( ME !) not inclined toward the minutae of procedure it is a big stretch. Yesterdays outing took place under gale force winds also. " Hey, what's that black sail ?" - my focusing cloth. Of course , I need to give it more time. I haven't even burned through a 25 sheet box of film. ALthough, forgetting to close the shutter before loading film is enabling me to accomplish this faster than I anticipated.

;-) + :-( = ;-(. Frustrated/pissed but still retaining a sense of humor. Damaging a lens was the topper on the end of the day.

I'd like to think that 4x5 is for me, but maybe it's just not in my disposition. A matter of making a paradigmatic transformation OR using the gear that historically has fit my mindset ? For me MF, a Mamiya 7II with a couple of lenses. Time will tell, I guess.

The images for this work require some degree of higher resolution, fast shutter speeds to sync daylight and strobe. Other than that, the benefits of LF may be unneccesary. Trying to sort it out.

Any thoughts on this process? your experiences of LF paradigm transformation ? Solace ? Free beer ?

Thanks !

P.S. I carry a sidearm with me when traveling in the hinterlands. Briefly I considered turning my Wista into a Post modern sculpture via 15 rounds of 9mm. Better sense prevailed. Or maybe I just didn't want to clean my weapon afterwards. Hmm... which one was it ?

[Harold_4074]

Roger: "P.S. I carry a sidearm with me when traveling in the hinterlands. Briefly I considered turning my Wista into a Post modern sculpture via 15 rounds of 9mm. Better sense prevailed. Or maybe I just didn't want to clean my weapon afterwards. Hmm... which one was it ?"

No, no, no---you misunderstand the concept. Nine millimeter is for really small format, like Nikon and Leica. For a Wista, you want at least a .50 caliber, or maybe a 10-gauge.

Maybe you should reconsider that move up to 8x10...

[Roger Monroe]

LOL ! I feel better already.

I thought it went like this:

Point and shoot- .380

Slr/Dslr- 9mm

MF- 6x6 and smaller- .40

LF- .45

Although only a 9mm, my Ruger is chambered with hollow point- does that count ?

Someone set me straight on this, please.

8x10- I can't even fathom that at this point. Hat's off to the larger than 4x5 crew folks !

Thanks for the levity, it was needed.

[darter]

I did the same thing and SK Grimes repaired it perfectly.