Crooked hood

Bobonli · 08-23-2010

I'm the proud owner of a new- to - me M6 and 35mm v4 'cron. The hood is new, fresh out of the Leica box. My concern is that, to me, it looks like the hood is sitting a little crooked, pointing up toward the 1 o'clock position.

I'm relatively certain I have it mounted correctly. The white index mark on the hood fits into the groove on the front ring of the lens. No extra wiggle room in the fit of the hood. Lens appears to function properly. Here's a pic:

I didn't do such a good job leveling my P&S to grab the shot, so I'm not sure it's noticeable.

Is this a major problem such that I should return it, or a "known" issue with putting a new hood on older generation lens? In other words, is this something that I should/can live with?

My major concern, other than it looks odd if you stare at it long enough, is that the front element on the lens might be misaligned and the hood is the outward symptom. Should I expect any performance issues? I'm putting my first roll of film through it, but so far haven't experienced issues focusing or adjusting aperture.

Lastly, the hood should protrude into the bottom right of the viewfinder a little, right? I seem to remember this from using this combo in the past.

Thank you.

Mister E · 08-23-2010

Take some pictures, see if they come out.

Parsley · 08-23-2010

I had exactly the same problem when I bought my M6 and 35mm Summicron, except it was much worse. My local repairer found the whole lens body was out-of-kilter, probably due to being disassembled and reassembled by a twit... A bit of minor adjustment put it back in-line.

Bobonli · 08-24-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parsley

I had exactly the same problem when I bought my M6 and 35mm Summicron, except it was much worse. My local repairer found the whole lens body was out-of-kilter, probably due to being disassembled and reassembled by a twit... A bit of minor adjustment put it back in-line.

Did it have any impact on the image?

I'm in a bind. I'm going on a trip next week and hoped to take it and deal with repair on return but not if it's a defect of the type I should return the lens for a refund.

ableforensics · 08-25-2010

Not uncommon with the v4 Summicron 35. Will not affect the picture but is surely annoying.
Many came from the factory not aligned for some reason. The simple remedy is to use a round hood. Alternatively, the front portion of the lens needs to be re aligned. I would not exchange it if you got it for a good price. The repair cost is minimal.

jljohn · 08-25-2010

Mine was slightly crooked--similar to yours. I sent it away for a front-end CLA, and even after the CLA it is still very slightly tilted. However, the lens functions perfectly. I am guessing here, but it seems that Leica must have notched the lenses just off center.

On the Round Hood note, does anyone know what round hood can be used on the 35 cron IV?

Pablito · 08-25-2010

This is a very well known problem with this lens. According to Sherry Krauter, one of the top Leica technicians in the world, it can only be fixed by taking off the front of the lens and RE-CEMENTING it. Sherry recommends leaving it alone. It has no impact at all on the photos, no vignetting.

Pablito · 08-25-2010

Looking at your photo, your hood is only very very slightly crooked. Mine is worse and still not that noticeable. Don't worry about it!

David R Munson · 08-25-2010

When the hood bayonets on, is it that the hood doesn't rotate quite far enough? Or is it that it rotates a little too far before stopping? Either way, one could modify the hood (being a lot less costly than the lens and made of a material more suitable for a slight hack) if the off-kilter-ness of it really bothers you that much or if it's off enough to start showing up in the image. One could either mill away a little on the hood or use a small amount of material for a spacer so that the hood stopped at the right position.

jljohn · 08-25-2010

David,

These hoods do not bayonet on. They go straight on over the front of the lens and clip into place behind a little lip. The rotational position of the hood is dictated by a notch on the top and bottom of the lens that a portion of the hood slides into. The only way to alter the rotation of the hood is to rotate the front cell (element, portion, etc) of the lens.

David R Munson · 08-25-2010

Ah, I see. So much for that.

Bobonli · 08-26-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by jljohn

David,

These hoods do not bayonet on. They go straight on over the front of the lens and clip into place behind a little lip. The rotational position of the hood is dictated by a notch on the top and bottom of the lens that a portion of the hood slides into. The only way to alter the rotation of the hood is to rotate the front cell (element, portion, etc) of the lens.

Yes, that's exactly what I have on my lens. My assessment is that the little groove the hood clips into is shifted in the anti-clockwise position by maybe 2-3 degrees.

Bobonli · 08-26-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pablito

This is a very well known problem with this lens. According to Sherry Krauter, one of the top Leica technicians in the world, it can only be fixed by taking off the front of the lens and RE-CEMENTING it. Sherry recommends leaving it alone. It has no impact at all on the photos, no vignetting.

Thanks. The seller has offered to take it back or repair. As far as I can tell, the lens is spotless, maybe a hint of over run at f2. But I don't think either of these issues affect performance.

As much as the crookedness is annoying, I'm reluctant to have someone perform surgery on it that might introduce other problems.

Bob

Bobonli · 09-03-2010

Ok. I need some more help on this. I sent it back and, lo & behold, seller says it mounts to his camera and is not crooked. I'll meet with him next week, but want to be prepared.

Assuming the lens does indeed mount to a different camera and is not crooked, where does that leave me in terms of figuring out where the issue is?

I think the only thing left is the lens mount of the camera itself. Is it possible the mount is crooked and would I be able to tell by visual inspection? The camera is pristine, so I doubt the mount is faulty but don't know enough about the eccentricities of Leica's manufacturing.

ferider · 09-03-2010

Very, very unlikely something is wrong with the mount, causing this. The M6 chassis is CNC machined.

Do try the lens - if it performs, don't worry about the hood. Having it repaired or replacing it with another lens might give you a worse performer, even if cosmetically perfect.

Roland.

Stoneaxe · 09-03-2010

Mine has been like that since new, except worse. No problem.

ampguy · 09-03-2010

I'd just leave it if the optics are fine. From the photo you posted it looks very close to straight, within a couple degrees or so, I doubt it will come back much straighter from anywhere.

Always be sure to mount and unmount and handle these lenses from the base, not the hood.

Pablito · 09-03-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobonli

Ok. I need some more help on this. I sent it back and, lo & behold, seller says it mounts to his camera and is not crooked.

The seller is basically right. He probably mounted it and could not tell is was crooked because the offset is so slight. It is offset by such a small amount (my guess is about 0.2 degree) that you'd only notice it (or care) if you were obsessive. You now have testimony from many owners of this lens that this is perfectly normal and does not affect anything. Like Stoneaxe, mine was worse than yours when I bought it new. If you don't believe all the respondents here on RFF, call Sherry and she'll tell you so. She loves to talk.

I am often accused of being blunt, so I'll just say stop staring AT the camera and do more staring THRU the camera.

Bobonli · 09-04-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pablito

The seller is basically right. He probably mounted it and could not tell is was crooked because the offset is so slight. It is offset by such a small amount (my guess is about 0.2 degree) that you'd only notice it (or care) if you were obsessive. You now have testimony from many owners of this lens that this is perfectly normal and does not affect anything. Like Stoneaxe, mine was worse than yours when I bought it new. If you don't believe all the respondents here on RFF, call Sherry and she'll tell you so. She loves to talk.

I am often accused of being blunt, so I'll just say stop staring AT the camera and do more staring THRU the camera.

Thank you. You're not being blunt. And yes I'm obsessive but also know when to move on. My concern has not been the crookedness by itself, but that it's an external sign of something else that I just haven't detected yet. I did call Sherry and she was blunt/straightforward and told me that it should sit square on the camera and I shouldn't have to settle for cosmetic imperfection considering the price these things sell for. So I got a different response than you did from her, which further confused the matter.

I'll go inspect it with the seller next week so we can see the same thing together. He's been marvelous about it and considering the lens is otherwise wonderful, I'll likely keep it and "move on." Since I'm new to Leica and buying used, I wanted to make sure I had all the bases covered.

Thank you again,
Bob