I have a 70's version 50mm Summicron & a 90 TE, both of which seem to have a little less sparkle than before. Could a CLA help?

My impression was always that a lens CLA was primarily to fix mechanical problems, not optical. Has anyone seen a marked optical improvement after having a lens CLA'd?

-- Jay D (jayd@netvigator.com), October 20, 2001

Answers

The short answer is yes, the longer answer, it depends. The worse the lens is, the more difference it can make. Fogged lenses, fugus infested lenses, will gain sharpness and contrast if they clean up nicely (Sometimes the fungus has etched the coatings, or worked into the cement between elements--then we're talking more than CLA.) Here's a good resource on lens issues: Lens Faults.

-- Phil Stiles (Stiles@metrocast.net), October 20, 2001.

I have a mint Rigid Summicron that I sent to Don Goldberg to have a stuck lens head fixed. He did a CLA in the process and the lens now produces even better images despite no apparent problems in the first place.

I think all old lenses can benefit from a cleaning.

-- Bud (budcook@attglobal.net), October 20, 2001.

Yes, a CLA can help improve a lens' image quality. I had a Leica M 135mm/f2.8 lens with goggles that was CLA'd by John van Stelten (Focal Point). I think the slides shot with the lens after the CLA had more contrast and cleaner colo

-- Muhammad Chishty (applemac97@aol.com), October 20, 2001.

......cleaner colors...........................

-- (applemac97@aol.com), October 20, 2001.

The contrast was improved and the lens was more resistant to flare after I had my 135mm tele cleaned.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), October 20, 2001.

I recently had two lenses cleaned,lubricated and adjusted by Leica and the lenses were returned to me in like new condition. The glass just looks much cleaner and mechanically the lenses function much smoother. I think it a good idea to have this process done especially if the lens is more than 10 years old or if there are obvious signs of fungus or other abnormalities.

-- John Alfred Tropiano (jat18@psu.edu), October 20, 2001.