How do I clean internal lens element on EX1. Sony Service sent back a drity lens.
 

Hello all,

Has anyone taken apart their EX1 lens to clean the internal elements? I can see dust inside my lens on one of the internal elements.

I took my EX1 to Sony Hawaii to have the lens inspected due to color fringing issues. Sony Hawaii doesn't deal with those problems, according to the technician the only lens alignment jig is in California (San Jose or San Diego, I forget which).

The camera came back and still had the fringing issue which i have since learned is typical for many cameras. However the internal lens element(s) came back from the service department splattered with something. It looks like very large pieces of dust/debris on the internal lens elements. So now any back lit scene has about six very noticeable smudge/spots. Thanks Sony!

I'd prefer not sending out not to Sony service for fear of more problems.

Can anyone point me in the direction of a lens service manual or something similar?

Send it on to Sony for proper repair
 

If they messed up your lens, they should fix it. Simple as that.
If you do not get any results from your complaints, make sure you copy the local BBB and let them know about your service woes.

Best of luck.

Now if you are referring to cleaning the outermost rear glass element. Grab a microfiber lens cloth, high-end lens solution, couple of cotton swabs, and get to work.
Couple of drops on the swabs to clean and polish gently with the cloth.
Done.

Thanks Paul, but yep the dust in inside the lens.

You need a lens technician to do that job. It is possible that the specks are bits of paint dislodged during transport, or loosened when you dropped it. Could have left Sony in good condition, but in any case refer it back to them. There is no reason to expect Sony Service to do less than an excellent job (particularly a major service centre) , but I dare say not all technicians are top notch.

When I left my EX1 in pristine condition at Sony service in NJ, it came back with obvious finger print smudges on the high end front clear lens filter and dust on the camera body. Glad I had a clear filter on. No carrier to blame as there was no shipping. It was dropped off and picked up. The observation was brought up at pick up time and basically there was no satisfactory answer from Sony.

Some have taken off the front lens and successfully cleaned it. One guy somewhere had a thread here about finding a piece of fluff within his lens and opened it up himself. I had particles inside my lens and took it to Sony. They not only cleaned it but gave me a new front lens! But now after screwing the Letus adapter into the front so many times my lens occassionally screws loose when I unscrew the Letus EX1 adapter ring. Its no problem. I just tighten it back up again by hand. I haven't taken it to Sony to ahve it resealed just incase I get something inside the lens again I can clean it myself.

So how you open it is......

Look closely at the front piece and you should see a slightly more glossy residue at some point or points around the rim. This is where they sealed it after screwing it on. If you take a thin blade and run it along the crack/rim you will disengage any sealant.

Then, notice the four indentations on the plastic outer rim of the lens? Find something that will lodge in one (or even two) of these holes and gently start turning the lens piece anti-clockwise. The front lens should screw right off.

I cant advise on how to clean it because I haven't done it myself yet. Just know thats how it opens.

Hope that helps.

kubalsky

Thanks Alexander!

I tried what you said and it worked great!
That saved me TWO WEEKS of downtime as the cam would have had to be shipped, so thanks again!!

If anyone else attempts this I would recommend sticking a couple of pieces of cloth gaffer tape on the retaining ring to give your fingers a purchase on the ring. Doing this may eliminate the need to use the engagment holes. Keep in mind the ring may bind a bit (like when unthreading a screw on filter) so distribute the twisting force at different points to avoid binding. Also, work in a low dust environment, have canned air standing by to blast out extra dust, and use lint free cleaning material.
Before you start zoom all the way in. This will move that element back and reduce the chance of damaging it with accidental contact.
Also, mount your cam on it's a tripod for stabilitiy, and tilt the lens up, pointing to the ceiling. The front element is long. Once the ring is off hold the front element in place with your finger tips, tilt the camera all the way down, pointing the lens at the ground (keep holding the lens so it doesn't fall out!). Once the cam is tilted fully down towards the ground allow gravity to assist you in sliding the front element out from the housing (continue supporting the element with your fingers otherwise it'll fall out!).

If you aren't good at precision repairs taking apart your lens shouldn't be considered as a first project.

Re: How do I clean internal lens element on EX1. Sony Service sent back a drity lens
 

Hi Juan,

I also tried to solve the problem with dust in my EX1-lens but because of my bad english I don't quite understand the way you describe the solution and ofcourse I'd like to understand what you're saying.
This is what I did and maybe I did it wrong:
- I pulled of a plastic ring in front of the camera??
- then I think I've got to remove te ring in front, but I can't because its tightened so well??

Could you please help me out because I don't know what to do.
Thx.

Geert

Re: How do I clean internal lens element on EX1. Sony Service sent back a drity lens
 

I recently had an EX1 in the L.A. shop for repairs for the following 2 symptoms:

Issue 1. Lens Fragment Problem:
While shooting a light colored subject like a blue sky, or solid white subject in both telephoto & especially in the wide position, and with the iris settings of 16, 13, & 11, there is a purple “string” looking object that appears at the lower center third of the screen or 6:00 position. It is present in higher f-stops, but is far more noticeable when using lower iris settings.

Issue 2. Focus Problem:
When I perform a slow zoom in or out to max position, with the top handle rocker, or the hand grip servo zoom rocker, then start to zoom out at a medium or super fast speed, (like to re-set a shot) the image goes completely out of focus for a fraction of a second; almost like a brief "focus blooming" effect. This symptom occurred a couple of months ago to present.

I use all manual settings as a videographer, so I always have the focus, iris, white balance, everything set to full manual mode.

Sony concluded that the "Prism Block" will have to be replaced. Part cost: $1,050.00. Not including labor. That being said, the manager at Sony was very nice and they are working to get the camera back asap. This is suppose to take care of both issues....

Joel Brooks
MIT Video
Moments In Time Video Productions

Re: How do I clean internal lens element on EX1. Sony Service sent back a drity lens
 

The front element has 4 small round indentations(shallow holes) on the perimeter(edge). Use these 4 holes to unthread the front glass element. Yes it is tight so use all 4 holes to make the turning force even.

Re: How do I clean internal lens element on EX1. Sony Service sent back a drity lens
 

To Geert:
The front element has 4 small round indentations(shallow holes) on the perimeter(edge). Use these 4 holes to unthread the front glass element. Yes it is tight so use all 4 holes to make the turning force even.