is it always difficult to turn the focus knob

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I just received my new M6 and 50mm f2 summicron. It is fairly difficult to turn the focusing knob on the lens. Is that normal for a new leica lens compared to nikon or hasselblad ?

-- stuart babcock (stubab@camcomp.com), February 23, 2002

Answers

if its harder than a new hasselblad lens... thats not right

if its BRAND new, get it replaced by your vendor, if you'd had it a while, it needs a warranty vacation

-- Charles (cbarcellona@telocity.com), February 23, 2002.


The focusing ring should turn very smoothly. Like butter.

-- David Enzel (dhenzel@vei.net), February 23, 2002.

Call Leica repair & ask. Their number is 800.222.0228, ext. 217. You'll get either Brenda or Ernie--both are quite competent & have seen it all...

-- Patrick (pg@patrickgarner.com), February 23, 2002.

The 90 and 135mm lenses are on the stiff side, but my current style 50mm is smooth as can be.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), February 23, 2002.

Should the 50 cron be as smooth as the 35 A cron?

-- Tse-Sung (tsesung@yahoo.com), February 24, 2002.


No, a new lens focus ring should be a pleasure to turn. Veeery smooth.

Yesterday though, I was shown a 35 cron (4th type) whose previous owner had had the focus ring stiffened to the point where it was a real effort to turn it.

-- Tim Franklin (tim_franklin@mac.com), February 24, 2002.


My 21A, 2/35A and 2/50 are all very smooth -- and all very similar -- to turn. Both current 90s I used were hard to turn, and the 75 even worse, but I've never heard anything diffent here from anybody else (about any of those aforementioned lenses).

-- Michael Kastner (kastner@zedat.fu-berlin.de), February 24, 2002.

stuart,

a new lens should not be hard to turn. i picked up an old 35 'cron, 8-element this past weekend and the focus was STIFF. it went around smoothly and with the same resistance throughout it's range, but i don't think it was used much in 35 years and the lube dried out. some excersize loosenned it up some, but it's still stiff; i kinda like it.

theory: my longer lenses tend to be focus stiffer than my wides. leica designs them this way because smaller movements in the longer lenses produces larger focus ranges.

-- chris chen (chrischen@msn.com), February 25, 2002.


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