WTB: old Nikonos RS 13mm lens with great glass, or better yet a newly converted RS/Sony lens by Isaac Szabo

 

Thank you,

 

Brandon Cole

brandoncole(at)msn.com

3 hours ago, Brandon Cole said:

WTB: old Nikonos RS 13mm lens with great glass, or better yet a newly converted RS/Sony lens by Isaac Szabo

 

Thank you,

 

Brandon Cole

brandoncole(at)msn.com

 

I'll mention that there is one on eBay for $2800 plus shipping/taxes. The front dome appears to have lots of water stains, and the seller says it also has a small/minor scratch. However, if you are planning to have me convert the lens to Sony, it's worth noting that I do have the ability to polish the front dome for an extra fee of $100. It would definitely remove all of the water stains, and it can also remove very light scratches and somewhat diminish deeper scratches. 

 

If you or anyone else is interested in maybe purchasing that copy, I would recommend messaging the seller and asking if they might accept less given the condition issues. Considering that other lenses without the condition issues have sold in recent months for prices similar to what they're asking, I personally would think somewhere around $2300-2500 would be more reasonable. And it has been listed for quite a while, so maybe they'd be motivated to accept a lower price. 

Isaac, what do you use to remove those water stains? This is an issue that has been discussed a few times in relation to water stains on ports. 

2 minutes ago, TimG said:

Isaac, what do you use to remove those water stains? This is an issue that has been discussed a few times in relation to water stains on ports. 

 

I use a benchtop buffing machine with cerium oxide powder mixed in water on the buffing wheel. It removes water stains from glass very effectively. It can remove scratches from glass as well, though it does so very slowly. Since I'm doing it manually it is only practical for removing light scuffs and scratches - deeper ones would take too long. Care must be taken to not let the glass heat up too much during polishing, which means polishing passes of 5-10 seconds followed by immersion in cool water for at least the same amount of time before continuing polishing again. At some point in the future I hope to figure out an automated system so I can leave it running for hours/days and remove deep scratches. 

 

Back when I used acrylic domes I removed scratches from them with the benchtop buffer with a plastic polishing compound on the buffing wheel. It worked very well and didn't take too long. It was much easier than polishing by hand and gave me much better results. Again it was important to keep the dome moving so no particular area heated up too much and to take periodic breaks to let it cool down.

4 hours ago, Isaac Szabo said:

cerium oxide powder mixed in water on the buffing wheel. It removes water stains from glass very effectively.

 

My 16-year old Subal 45-degree viewfinder has a fair bit of water-staining on the glass. Clean this maybe by rubbing gently with the cerium oxide powder and a soft cloth?

On 9/10/2024 at 2:28 PM, Isaac Szabo said:

 

I'll mention that there is one on eBay for $2800 plus shipping/taxes. The front dome appears to have lots of water stains, and the seller says it also has a small/minor scratch. However, if you are planning to have me convert the lens to Sony, it's worth noting that I do have the ability to polish the front dome for an extra fee of $100. It would definitely remove all of the water stains, and it can also remove very light scratches and somewhat diminish deeper scratches. 

 

If you or anyone else is interested in maybe purchasing that copy, I would recommend messaging the seller and asking if they might accept less given the condition issues. Considering that other lenses without the condition issues have sold in recent months for prices similar to what they're asking, I personally would think somewhere around $2300-2500 would be more reasonable. And it has been listed for quite a while, so maybe they'd be motivated to accept a lower price. 

Thank you very much for your message, Isaac. As always, your detailed information is very helpful to all of us. (And your stunning freshwater photography shames me for never having seriously pursued such... You've shown us absolutely beautiful fish and critters right here in the USA!) I first noticed that particular RS 13 lens on eBay a while back, and saw the water spots, and that has given me pause. But it is good to know that you have the wizardry necessary to remove them. I think I will most likely wait for a better one to materialize. (I know I have let a few slip through my fingers over the last year...) And then I will certainly be in touch. Approximately how much of a backlog/waiting list do you have for conversions? Thanks again! Brandon

Edited September 11, 20241 yr by Brandon Cole

12 hours ago, TimG said:

 

My 16-year old Subal 45-degree viewfinder has a fair bit of water-staining on the glass. Clean this maybe by rubbing gently with the cerium oxide powder and a soft cloth?

 

I haven't tried hand polishing with cerium oxide, but I do think it could work. 

 

Also, it may be obvious, but I should note that polishing with cerium oxide can remove optical coatings from glass. I'm not sure if your viewfinder is coated and if so whether removing the coating would cause any issues. The front dome of the RS 13mm is coated, but I have not been able to detect any issues from removing it. 

4 hours ago, Brandon Cole said:

Thank you very much for your message, Isaac. As always, your detailed information is very helpful to all of us. (And your stunning freshwater photography shames me for never have seriously pursued such... absolutely beautiful fish and critters right here in the USA!) I first noticed that particular RS 13 lens on eBay a while back, and saw the water spots, and that has given me pause. But it is good to know that you have the wizardry necessary to remove them. I think I will most likely wait for a better one to materialize. (I know have let a few slip through my fingers over the last year...) And then I will certainly be in touch. Approximately how much of a backlog do you have for conversions? Thanks again! Brandon

 

Thanks for the kind words about my freshwater work, Brandon! 

 

Sounds good. Hopefully a few more pop up soon.

 

The turnaround time has varied quite a bit depending on how many other lenses I have in at the moment and whether or not things have been going smoothly. Sometimes it has been as short as a week or two, other times well over a month. Currently I am running behind as a number of things have conspired against me (lots of orders, difficulty getting good optical alignment on one lens and having to redo it a few times, my 3D printer breaking and needing parts/repairs, my basement flooding, and just today getting covid for the first time and feeling horrible). But once I get caught up again my goal is to be getting them done within around a week (or two at the most).

19 hours ago, TimG said:

 

My 16-year old Subal 45-degree viewfinder has a fair bit of water-staining on the glass. Clean this maybe by rubbing gently with the cerium oxide powder and a soft cloth?

Hi Tim,

 

I removed all water stains plus some very small scratches on all my glass ports polishing by hand with cerium oxide/water mixture.  It takes some time but the result is 👍👍👍. Br Markus

8 hours ago, Isaac Szabo said:

 

Thanks for the kind words about my freshwater work, Brandon! 

 

Sounds good. Hopefully a few more pop up soon.

 

The turnaround time has varied quite a bit depending on how many other lenses I have in at the moment and whether or not things have been going smoothly. Sometimes it has been as short as a week or two, other times well over a month. Currently I am running behind as a number of things have conspired against me (lots of orders, difficulty getting good optical alignment on one lens and having to redo it a few times, my 3D printer breaking and needing parts/repairs, my basement flooding, and just today getting covid for the first time and feeling horrible). But once I get caught up again my goal is to be getting them done within around a week (or two at the most).

Thank you, Isaac. Sorry to hear that you've had a rough go of it lately. Hope you power through the Covid soon-

11 hours ago, Brandon Cole said:

Thank you, Isaac. Sorry to hear that you've had a rough go of it lately. Hope you power through the Covid soon-

 

Thanks Brandon. It's hitting me pretty hard at the moment, but I'm sure I'll get past it pretty soon.

Get well soon, Isaac. 

3 hours ago, TimG said:

Get well soon, Isaac. 

 

Thanks Tim!

There is a downside to Isaac's conversion (get well soon, Isaac). By dividing the lens into two parts (port and lens) it opens up the opportunity for dumb photographers to leave one part at home. In my case I am on a Komodo to Alor trip with the port, but the lens is in England.

In my defence we're in the middle of moving house and everything is in boxes, which made packing much trickier than usual. Fortunately for us dummies, Sony cameras are so popular amongst UW folks that there are plenty of fisheyes on board to borrow!

8 hours ago, Alex_Mustard said:

There is a downside to Isaac's conversion (get well soon, Isaac). By dividing the lens into two parts (port and lens) it opens up the opportunity for dumb photographers to leave one part at home. In my case I am on a Komodo to Alor trip with the port, but the lens is in England.

In my defence we're in the middle of moving house and everything is in boxes, which made packing much trickier than usual. Fortunately for us dummies, Sony cameras are so popular amongst UW folks that there are plenty of fisheyes on board to borrow!

 

Oh no, sorry Alex! I hope it doesn't put too much of a damper on your trip.

 

Maybe I should look into tethering the lens to the port?

13 hours ago, Isaac Szabo said:

Maybe I should look into tethering the lens to the port?

 

Just a hat with "Don't forget your lens, Dummy!" written on it!

 

Alex

1 hour ago, Alex_Mustard said:

 

Just a hat with "Don't forget your lens, Dummy!" written on it!

 

Alex

 

Hehehe, funny in retrospect but I'm sure it was annoying as hell at the time.  "Ahh, how we laughed...."