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Thread: Servicing a lens

  1. #1
    Scott Davis
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Washington DC
    Posts
    1,875

    Servicing a lens

    Ok- so I got the little Cooke 10.5" f4.5 Series II in my hands today. The glass has a bunch of marks, but nothing that would stop it from making good images.The aperture on the other hand, is super stiff and barely turns. Who would you all recommend for servicing something like this?

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Dec 2018
    Posts
    991

    Re: Servicing a lens

    Carol at Flutot's Camera Repair.

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Sep 1998
    Location
    Loganville , GA
    Posts
    14,409

    Re: Servicing a lens

    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Davis View Post
    Ok- so I got the little Cooke 10.5" f4.5 Series II in my hands today. The glass has a bunch of marks, but nothing that would stop it from making good images.The aperture on the other hand, is super stiff and barely turns. Who would you all recommend for servicing something like this?
    Pro camera in D.C.

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Apr 2020
    Location
    Washington, DC
    Posts
    87

    Re: Servicing a lens

    Bob, you mentioned Pro Camera in DC a few times, but I can't find any info on them (and having lived in DC for 16 years, I have never heard of them). Can you please enlighten me? Thanks!

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Sep 1998
    Location
    Loganville , GA
    Posts
    14,409

    Re: Servicing a lens

    Quote Originally Posted by giganova View Post
    Bob, you mentioned Pro Camera in DC a few times, but I can't find any info on them (and having lived in DC for 16 years, I have never heard of them). Can you please enlighten me? Thanks!
    https://www.prophotodc.com/

    Pro camera is in Chancerville. They would be the second site as they are further away from you.

    Sabu and Nick own the DC facility. Give them my regards.
    Bob owns Charlottesville. Tell him hello for me also.

  6. #6

    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    A Scottish Island
    Posts
    374

    Re: Servicing a lens

    It seems to be a fairly common problem on Cooke lenses from TTH. I have a series III on which the diaphragm would hardly move and I simply sent to my local general camera repairer who sorted it out no problem. Apparently its not a difficult fix but the lenses can be hard to dismantle due to accumulated grime and hardened grease (mine was ~1895).

  7. #7
    Scott Davis
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Washington DC
    Posts
    1,875

    Re: Servicing a lens

    Well... I took a run at it myself. This one was actually relatively easy to do. I got it disassembled, all the old gunky grease removed, gave the outer aperture control ring a tiny shot of lubricant, re-installed the aperture blades, and got the glass all cleaned up. It's now actually kind of pretty, even in its distressed condition. There's a couple of scratches in the glass that will never go away, but nothing that will actually interfere with function. Here's before and after photos:

    Before:

    Click image for larger version. 

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    and after (with some of my other great lenses accompanying it - the Hermagis Eidoscope #3 on the left and the R. Beard daguerrian lens on the right) :

    Click image for larger version. 

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    I've got to get the flange dispatched to Grimes to get it mounted so I can put it on my 5x7 and give it a whirl.

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