Arri Zeiss 11-110mm - Skipped Thread Focus Wheel Wont Turn

Gareth Byrne · July 2

Hey there,

I own a
Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 11-110mm T2 S16 Zoom

It took a tumble a few years ago and skipped a thread on the front, would anyone know of anyone who might be able to repair this. Or if it is at all repairable?

Edited July 2 by Gareth Byrne

Dom Jaeger · July 3

The focus helical thread on an 11-110 zoom is about an inch long with maybe 40 turns, pretty sure it didn't skip a thread. Maybe dented it?

Anyway, hard to tell anything from that description, let alone if it's fixable. Also helps to know where you are. Dubkin? So.. Ireland?

Gareth Byrne · July 4

I had the lens looked at locally here. They managed to remove the front glass but said the focus ring is still completely seized, even with a lot of force. They mentioned that cutting off the multi-start thread might be possible, but re-machining it would be expensive and there’s no guarantee the internals aren’t damaged from the impact.

That shop seemed more commercially focused, so I figured they might not have the time (or interest) to go deeper with it. I’m considering sending it to a more specialised repair centre for a second opinion — just to be sure it's beyond saving before writing it off.