Soft Focus Ring Stuck?

[Journeyman]

I was thrilled to open the package for the Dallmeyer 5D Soft Focus 480mm f/6 Portrait Petzval Lens I purchased on eBay. Beautiful!

I've heard that the soft focus ring on these kinds of lenses is often stiff or stuck, so I asked the seller about that before purchasing and he said it moved smoothly. Well, I can't budge it.

This seller gets 100% reviews on 13,000 sales, so either I don't know what I'm doing (I actually hope so), or he misspoke. Since I'm new at working with these antique lenses I thought I check in here with you all (before contacting the seller) to make sure I'm not making some kind of ridiculous mistake.

My guess is that the lens rotates at one of the two places where I've indicated with red arrows. Is that correct? Is there some kind of magic combination that allows this to turn for the change in soft focus effect?

If it's not me and it's truly stuck, are there any steps that can be taken to free it up again?

I appreciate any and all advice. Thanks

[Kino]

Message the seller through Ebay and ask. Don't wait! If the seller is as good as you say, they will clear up the confusion.

If is it stuck,and it was sold as not being stuck, you CAN return it, regardless of what the ad says.

[Ron (Netherlands)]

This might 'help': https://www.largeformatphotography.i...Dallmeyer-Lens (read as from #12)

[Journeyman]

Thank you all.....

Ron, that is Golden! I started to remove that miniature screw, but thought better of it. I'll check it out again when I get home.

Many thanks- Blake

[Journeyman]

Still no movement after removing that screw :-(

Waiting to hear back from the seller....

[MartyNL]

I don't know if this will help but I have a big old Cooke portrait lens with soft focus and it's not turning the ring that does the softening in my case but the actual lens barrel itself turns and adjusts the soft focus!

It could be at either end, soft/sharp so try both directions.
It through me for a while, I hope it helps.

[Journeyman]

Hi Marty,

I've tried all directions with the barrel and rings and removed that little screw. I think it's frozen. The rear element will unscrew, but I don't think that's the intended way. Still room for operator error though. Please keep those suggestions coming. Thanks

[Steven Tribe]

This redesign of the soft adjustment mechanism may have been smart idea at the time - but is much more prone to total seizure if it has been left in unhealthy environments for decades.
No experiences with sellers from Prague, mostly because I have an impression of fairly unrealistic price setting.
You have invested too much in this lens to start a repair which may not have a successful outcome. Send it back!

PS: ask the moderator to move this thread to the Lens section so others can benefit!

[pjd]

I was thrilled to open the package for the Dallmeyer 5D Soft Focus 480mm f/6 Portrait Petzval Lens I purchased on eBay. Beautiful!

I've heard that the soft focus ring on these kinds of lenses is often stiff or stuck, so I asked the seller about that before purchasing and he said it moved smoothly. Well, I can't budge it.

This seller gets 100% reviews on 13,000 sales, so either I don't know what I'm doing (I actually hope so), or he misspoke. Since I'm new at working with these antique lenses I thought I check in here with you all (before contacting the seller) to make sure I'm not making some kind of ridiculous mistake.

My guess is that the lens rotates at one of the two places where I've indicated with red arrows. Is that correct? Is there some kind of magic combination that allows this to turn for the change in soft focus effect?

If it's not me and it's truly stuck, are there any steps that can be taken to free it up again?

I appreciate any and all advice. Thanks

I bought a Dallmeyer 3D BIS a few years back, black barrel (similar to yours). The soft focus thread was stuck, but I was able to free it with a little lighter fluid and patience. It took a couple of days. The threads are fine, be patient if you try it. The lens I bought clearly hadn't been touched in years, and was sold as seen, so I was happy to try DIY repairs. Good luck!

[Journeyman]

I bought a Dallmeyer 3D BIS a few years back, black barrel (similar to yours). The soft focus thread was stuck, but I was able to free it with a little lighter fluid and patience. It took a couple of days. The threads are fine, be patient if you try it. The lens I bought clearly hadn't been touched in years, and was sold as seen, so I was happy to try DIY repairs. Good luck!

pjd - huge favor to ask of you. Could you please send me a short video showing that movement? The guy is claiming that the aperture lever is what produces the soft focus effect. I'm hoping he's just uninformed and can be convinced that he made a mistake. Here's what he said....

I mean soft focus is the lever that is situated in the middle of the lens. This is actually the aperture lever. When You shift it to the wide open- it gets soft. I checked that lever before shipping it to You - it worked fine.What You are talking about maybe is the rear optical element that could be shifted sidewise and that could influence the Soft- focus effect. I saw that mechanism with the lenses that had no aperture ring in the middle. These were earlier versions of Dallmeyer equipped with that mechanism. This lens has no moveable rear optical element. This lens is a different construction one.

Or, if someone has a web link somewhere that will put this debate to rest. As you can imagine, this was a very pricey item and I even asked him about the feature before ordering. If eBay gets involved I want to make it crystal clear who is in the right here.

Many thanks to all....