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Has anybody here repaired the Sony PL lenses?


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I have a Sony PL lens which has a stuck iris ring. I tried opening it but it's a strange thing. I didn't get far. I know this is a long shot. But has anybody tried servicing them? I'm talking the ones which came with the F3.

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I"ve worked on a few.. but I wouldn't recommend trying to fix this yourself.

 

The iris ring on lenses like these is simply a ring that actuates an internal lever that then connects to the iris itself. Often the iris moves as you focus, so the internal lever moves with it, sliding through a prong connected to the outer ring. The outer ring part rarely jams, because it's just a ring in a controlled gap, and it's very unlikely the grease has hardened in the few years since these lenses were made. So if there is a jam, it is almost certainly the internal lever mechanism or the iris itself. If it is the iris, you risk permanently damaging the blades if you try to force it. Getting in there requires fairly extensive experience if you want the lens to work properly after re-assembly.

 

The only other possibility is that the lens has been dropped and the housing is deformed, in which case you can't fix it yourself because you need new parts.

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Thanks for the reply. So you have specifically worked on a few Sony F3 PL lenses? You think they are difficult to service and work on as compared to other PL lenses?

 

In my case I don't have much to lose. The lens was damaged during transport. The iris ring is cracked on the external. It was working when it arrived but not smoothly. Then it just kind of clicked in place and got stuck in the fully closed position. That happened as I was testing it once I saw the ring was cracked after I took it out of the box.

 

Since the seller ended up refunding me the money and telling me I could keep the broken lens, I don't have much to lose in trying to open it myself and see if I can repair it. As it is now it's just a big paper weight.

 

If you have experience with these lenses and could guide me to at least get to the iris I would appreciated it. I took the surface crews off but couldn't get in the lens and decided to screw it back and ask for hep instead.

 

Like I said I don't have much to lose and could even learn something in the process. Thanks.

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Actually I've only worked on the Cine Alta Sony primes, I see that the F3 lenses were different.

 

Do they have LDS contacts? That makes it trickier, since you have electrical ribbons, circuit boards and position sensing components in among the mechanics. You should be able to remove the mount and the ring below it to access the iris ring, but you may need to unlatch a ribbon to the LDS contacts. Take some photos.

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Yes, it has the LDS contacts. But I don't care if they get damaged to be honest. Don't use it. I took all rings which had screws off. But they were just covers of sort it seems. The iris ring itself still won't come off and I see no more screws on it. Good news is I can see what the problem is inside through the gap. If I can take the iris ring off I may be able to repair it. I will try to take pictures but it's hard to show it.

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Sometimes rings need to screw off, using a rubber friction ring as a tool. It's also possible the iris ring needs to be turned to a certain point to lift it off. Photos always help.

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OK, I took some photos. I sent them directly to you, so they can be large enough to see the details. I hope it's ok to reach out directly. I sent to your gmail account. Thanks.

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OK, I took some photos. I sent them directly to you, so they can be large enough to see the details. I hope it's ok to reach out directly. I sent to your gmail account. Thanks.

Be nice to put them up here as well. There are a few geeks here, I think. At least one.

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