I just got one from my neighbor, was in a lens case for like 30 years, has some fungus and the aperture ring is not moving at the moment, with your video i feel empowered to give it a try to fix this beautiful lens ! If it works and u ever come to Germany i owe u a beer =)
I just got the Celtic Minolta version. Focussing is just a BIT slow, on an MD to Fuji X adapter, but it focusses closer than my other vintage 135's and closer than the 90mm 2.0 Fuji. And stays where you focussed it. It gets VERY detailed. Super clean. $28.00 on ebay. Dat's crazy.
I just picked up a rather moldy version of the 135 3.5f. It was only $4 so I figured it was worth attempting a clean up. Thanks for the breakdown it gave me a head start.
Thanks Matt. I did the tear down last night and it cleaned up like a champ. The f3.5 version was similar but even simpler than the 2.8. Aperture was fine so I didn't need to break into that. Next up the Rokkor-x 28mm f2
Dear Matt thank you for this video it helped a lot on taking mine apart. Mine was a bit different, it has 4 lenses in total, they are also of different thickness than yours. I believe I have a MD I 4/4. Yours is a MD II 5/5.
Excellent video - thank you so much! On my copy of this lens the focusing ring is extremely stiff (it can hardly be turned anymore). Any idea what the reason for this malfunction could be?
These videos are just plain amazing. I have this lens and unfortunately the fungus is between the cemented pieces of the rear element 😕, wish I could find a replacement. Anyway thanks again!!!
I just picked up a copy of this lens. Nice, but the forward element that extends has a light rock to it. Don’t know if it will even affect performance but it would be nice ti fix. Any idea how to repair it?
Lost a tiny ball bearing for aperture clicks, now one of my Minolta 135mm lenses is a cine lens, with a smooth turning aperture ring. Works well as a movie lens on a digital camera.
hello Matt I have a MD 135mm 2.8 and I want to use it with my canon 5d mark III what adapter do you recommend? the adaprter with glass or without the glass, thanks
Do you have a repair service.? I have an old tokina canon eos 400mm prime internal focus that needs the internal elements clean. Just haze . If I must , I will try it myself, however, Not sure. I just ordered a lens spanner wrench and hope that's all I need.
Hi Matt, I have a Minolta MD 135/2.8. How much different is this one from the one in the video. I want to use it on my Fuji X-E2 but it has some fungus of dust inside. So before using it, I want to clean it. Your video is so very comprihensive that I want to try cleaning it by myself. And what about the MD 35-135/3.5 zoom? greetings, Lenneke
Dear Matt, I am having serious problems in removing the ring that attaches the front lens. Try to turn with a screwdriver and only manage to damage the aluminum. I applied WD40 without any success. Do you have any tips that can help me? Congrats on the video. Thank you very much for your attention.
You need a Lens Spanner Wrench. Buy on Ebay/Amazon. They also sell rubber “O” rings that grip on the Lens Inscription Ring for removal. But I would never use WD40 any camera and lens equipment, ever.
Hi Matt. I was wondering if it was possible to adjust the infinity stop on a Minolta MD 135mm F3.5 and also a Minolta MD 70/210mm F4. I have a number of Minolta lenses that I use on a dumb adapter to a Sony A6000. I currently have the adapter shimmed and have a Minolta MD 28mm F2.8 and a Minolta MD 35/70mm F3.5 Macro perfect at infinity on it, but when I put on the 135mm or 70/210mm they are both reaching infinity before the hard stop.
You make it look easy! I could never find a good set of screw for this work and seems either wont get a good grip or damage them. Could anyone help me with what brand or set I should buy for the right job?
I took the lens mount of a Canon 135 f2 lens apart, just the silver ring. Now I have ball bearings that I have no idea where they went, any videos or a manual on how to get the darn thing together?
Yes, I believe the version in this video has four elements in four groups. The later edition of this lens with the same name, as well as the MD only version, had 5 elements, while the earlier MC editions had 7 or 6 elements.
Hi Matt, what a great contribution. :) I really liked it. Everything worked out fine for me so far. Unfortunately I lost the ball of the aperture ring during the assembly :( Do you know where I could get a new one? Greetz Gerri
I don't know the precise size for this lens. They tend to be between 0.8 and 2mm for most lenses, probably around 1.5mm for this one since it is a bigger lens but, again, I really don't know. You can buy ball bearing in bulk, or cannibalize individual ones from other lenses. Using other lenses can also help you determine which size ball bearing you need to order. Sorry I can't be of more help. Good luck.
Hey there! The same Minolta ROKKOR 135mm 2.8 was given to me and it seems to be the exact same model as yours. My problem is the inner plastic-ring in the back. It has all these weird white dots on it and when I wanted to clean it, it was smudgy has hell and I wasn´t really successful. I made some macro photographs of it and blew it up to 100% and it really looks totally odd. Like lens-eating alien worms. ;) I´m afraid it might be some kind of fungus and if I use this lens on a body this will spread into the camera and on other lenses. It appears that you have similar little dots and you don´t care, since you think it is in "pretty good condition". Can you tell me what this is?
I put the photos in my dropbox. dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3248153/DSC07453.JPG dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3248153/DSC07453%202.jpg I would like to use this lens so badly...
I've seen this same problem on some other minolta MD lenses, but honestly have no clue what it is. It's not fungus as far as I know, so my best guess is that after 40 years, the plastic is degrading. (Plastic BS is another reason I generally prefer earlier minolta lenses) Again, I'm not an expert, but I don't think this is something you should be concerned about.
I found someone on facebook who also had the problem on a Minolta 200mm 2.8 lens. It appears to be the coating on the plastic which is a matt rubber varnishing. It doesn´t age well in basement air and parts of the chemicals start to crystallize. Because of crystallization is bad for the sensor he dissolved the varnishing with spiritus. Now the part isn´t that good anymore with minimizing reflections, but the crystals are gone and he doesn´t have any other problems with it. I think I will try it out in the next days.
@@ThisIsWideAngle Thanks a lot for the very important bits of information! Do you have any updates on this matter? I'm planning to buy the same lens, but it also has those white spots and I'm wondering if I can safely remove them. Thanks a lot in advance!
I don't know this specific lens, so this is generic advice. Most lenses have a name ring or the entire front lens housing can be unscrewed. For the latter, try focusing the lens out to see if there are any screws near the base of the front section. To remove the name ring, look for holes for a spanning wrench. Otherwise, it may use adhesive or friction to lock into space. A correctly sized pvc pipe with tape or rubber on the end can be used to apply pressure and detach the name ring. Good luck.
I found one of these at a garage sale. It is brand new, still in the box! I can not use it because i shoot Nikon. I also found a brand new in the box 50 3.5. both never been used.
While I can't check this specific lens, I believe it was either a 1.2mm or a 1.0mm ball bearing. It's certainly one of the smaller ones and very easy too lose. I know Micro-Tools sells small ball bearings, or you can take one from an existing lens (Minolta did use several different sizes in their various lenses however). All the ball bearing does is lock the aperture at a set of fixed positions and provide some additional tactile feedback. The lens will work fine without it, and many videographers remove the ball bearings entirely, so it's not the end of the world if you put it back together without one.
Hey Matt Bierner, great vid. I have a Tokina RMC 28mm f2.8 MD... it had a little bit of fungous on the inside of the front element/glass. i took it apart but there are these small difficult screws that are hard to reach. and i don't know how to put it back together lol. i taught it will be as easy as minolta md lenses. minolta md lenses are very simple to disassemble. here's a link of the the specific lens i have. sorry to bother, but if you can help that will be great. allphotolenses.com/public/files/img/8f5bd8be225ab23bf88be29d2ea54cd8.jpg
Hey Matt! I have a soligor 135mm f2.0 that i need to assemble, to you think you can help me? here is some photos of what im working with right now. forum.mflenses.com/viewtopic,p,1452293.html#1452293
+Bror Svensson Media It's pretty hard to give advice from pictures without ever having taken apart one of those before. Almost every lens is different internally, so, although you can use a lot of the same techniques and manufacturers may reused design elements, I would need to actually take apart one to help out.
I just got one from my neighbor, was in a lens case for like 30 years, has some fungus and the aperture ring is not moving at the moment, with your video i feel empowered to give it a try to fix this beautiful lens ! If it works and u ever come to Germany i owe u a beer =)
I just got the Celtic Minolta version. Focussing is just a BIT slow, on an MD to Fuji X adapter, but it focusses closer than my other vintage 135's and closer than the 90mm 2.0 Fuji. And stays where you focussed it. It gets VERY detailed. Super clean. $28.00 on ebay. Dat's crazy.
I just picked up a rather moldy version of the 135 3.5f. It was only $4 so I figured it was worth attempting a clean up. Thanks for the breakdown it gave me a head start.
Glad you found this video helpful. Hope your repair goes well
Thanks Matt. I did the tear down last night and it cleaned up like a champ. The f3.5 version was similar but even simpler than the 2.8. Aperture was fine so I didn't need to break into that. Next up the Rokkor-x 28mm f2
Dear Matt thank you for this video it helped a lot on taking mine apart.
Mine was a bit different, it has 4 lenses in total, they are also of different thickness than yours. I believe I have a MD I 4/4. Yours is a MD II 5/5.
Excellent video - thank you so much!
On my copy of this lens the focusing ring is extremely stiff (it can hardly be turned anymore). Any idea what the reason for this malfunction could be?
Found your response from about 1 yr ago to another follower. Ordered some from micro tools. I believe the 1mm is probably the size. Thanks
Greatly documented. Thank you.
These videos are just plain amazing. I have this lens and unfortunately the fungus is between the cemented pieces of the rear element 😕, wish I could find a replacement. Anyway thanks again!!!
I just picked up a copy of this lens. Nice, but the forward element that extends has a light rock to it. Don’t know if it will even affect performance but it would be nice ti fix. Any idea how to repair it?
Lost a tiny ball bearing for aperture clicks, now one of my Minolta 135mm lenses is a cine lens, with a smooth turning aperture ring. Works well as a movie lens on a digital camera.
hello Matt I have a MD 135mm 2.8 and I want to use it with my canon 5d mark III what adapter do you recommend? the adaprter with glass or without the glass, thanks
Eu acho esta uma das mais bonitas lentes de Minolta. Obrigado por publicar seu muito bom video.
Do you have a repair service.? I have an old tokina canon eos 400mm prime internal focus that needs the internal elements clean. Just haze .
If I must , I will try it myself, however,
Not sure. I just ordered a lens spanner wrench and hope that's all I need.
I love you!!! you're the best... thanks for this videos
Hi Matt,
I have a Minolta MD 135/2.8. How much different is this one from the one in the video. I want to use it on my Fuji X-E2 but it has some fungus of dust inside. So before using it, I want to clean it. Your video is so very comprihensive that I want to try cleaning it by myself.
And what about the MD 35-135/3.5 zoom?
greetings, Lenneke
Dear Matt, I am having serious problems in removing the ring that attaches the front lens. Try to turn with a screwdriver and only manage to damage the aluminum. I applied WD40 without any success. Do you have any tips that can help me? Congrats on the video. Thank you very much for your attention.
You need a Lens Spanner Wrench. Buy on Ebay/Amazon. They also sell rubber “O” rings that grip on the Lens Inscription Ring for removal. But I would never use WD40 any camera and lens equipment, ever.
Wow, this is exactly what I needed!
what do I need to unscrew it? just a Phillips screwdriver?
Hi Matt.
I was wondering if it was possible to adjust the infinity stop on a Minolta MD 135mm F3.5 and also a Minolta MD 70/210mm F4. I have a number of Minolta lenses that I use on a dumb adapter to a Sony A6000. I currently have the adapter shimmed and have a Minolta MD 28mm F2.8 and a Minolta MD 35/70mm F3.5 Macro perfect at infinity on it, but when I put on the 135mm or 70/210mm they are both reaching infinity before the hard stop.
You make it look easy!
I could never find a good set of screw for this work and seems either wont get a good grip or damage them. Could anyone help me with what brand or set I should buy for the right job?
The Wera Kraftform micros are good, as is the case with most Wera tools. They are expensive though.
I took the lens mount of a Canon 135 f2 lens apart, just the silver ring. Now I have ball bearings that I have no idea where they went, any videos or a manual on how to get the darn thing together?
Great video. So this model of the 135mm has 4 lens elements correct?
Yes, I believe the version in this video has four elements in four groups. The later edition of this lens with the same name, as well as the MD only version, had 5 elements, while the earlier MC editions had 7 or 6 elements.
Hi Matt, what a great contribution. :) I really liked it. Everything worked out fine for me so far. Unfortunately I lost the ball of the aperture ring during the assembly :(
Do you know where I could get a new one?
Greetz Gerri
I just lost the ball bearing!!!😩 What size was it and where can I get another one. Please help!
I don't know the precise size for this lens. They tend to be between 0.8 and 2mm for most lenses, probably around 1.5mm for this one since it is a bigger lens but, again, I really don't know.
You can buy ball bearing in bulk, or cannibalize individual ones from other lenses. Using other lenses can also help you determine which size ball bearing you need to order.
Sorry I can't be of more help. Good luck.
Hey there!
The same Minolta ROKKOR 135mm 2.8 was given to me and it seems to be the exact same model as yours.
My problem is the inner plastic-ring in the back. It has all these weird white dots on it and when I wanted to clean it, it was smudgy has hell and I wasn´t really successful. I made some macro photographs of it and blew it up to 100% and it really looks totally odd. Like lens-eating alien worms. ;)
I´m afraid it might be some kind of fungus and if I use this lens on a body this will spread into the camera and on other lenses.
It appears that you have similar little dots and you don´t care, since you think it is in "pretty good condition".
Can you tell me what this is?
I put the photos in my dropbox.
dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3248153/DSC07453.JPG
dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3248153/DSC07453%202.jpg
I would like to use this lens so badly...
I've seen this same problem on some other minolta MD lenses, but honestly have no clue what it is. It's not fungus as far as I know, so my best guess is that after 40 years, the plastic is degrading. (Plastic BS is another reason I generally prefer earlier minolta lenses)
Again, I'm not an expert, but I don't think this is something you should be concerned about.
I found someone on facebook who also had the problem on a Minolta 200mm 2.8 lens. It appears to be the coating on the plastic which is a matt rubber varnishing. It doesn´t age well in basement air and parts of the chemicals start to crystallize. Because of crystallization is bad for the sensor he dissolved the varnishing with spiritus.
Now the part isn´t that good anymore with minimizing reflections, but the crystals are gone and he doesn´t have any other problems with it.
I think I will try it out in the next days.
@@ThisIsWideAngle Thanks a lot for the very important bits of information! Do you have any updates on this matter? I'm planning to buy the same lens, but it also has those white spots and I'm wondering if I can safely remove them. Thanks a lot in advance!
I have a Tokina RMC 135mm, do you know how to remove the front element? It has some fungus I want to clean it
I don't know this specific lens, so this is generic advice. Most lenses have a name ring or the entire front lens housing can be unscrewed. For the latter, try focusing the lens out to see if there are any screws near the base of the front section.
To remove the name ring, look for holes for a spanning wrench. Otherwise, it may use adhesive or friction to lock into space. A correctly sized pvc pipe with tape or rubber on the end can be used to apply pressure and detach the name ring.
Good luck.
I found a little screw in the front section, I removed it and then unscrewed the front element. Thanks
Thanks!! Now i can clean my lens :)
I found one of these at a garage sale. It is brand new, still in the box! I can not use it because i shoot Nikon. I also found a brand new in the box 50 3.5. both never been used.
You still got it? I'll trade you a nikon lens :-)
Great video thanks!!!! It is really helpful
How hard is it to get the lens hood back on!! :[
I lost the ball bearing! Do you know what size it is?
While I can't check this specific lens, I believe it was either a 1.2mm or a 1.0mm ball bearing. It's certainly one of the smaller ones and very easy too lose. I know Micro-Tools sells small ball bearings, or you can take one from an existing lens (Minolta did use several different sizes in their various lenses however).
All the ball bearing does is lock the aperture at a set of fixed positions and provide some additional tactile feedback. The lens will work fine without it, and many videographers remove the ball bearings entirely, so it's not the end of the world if you put it back together without one.
Did i miss something or is he not talking about the ball bearing when re-assembling this ?
Looks like he deals with that around 36:30 and following.
good!!!!
Hey Matt Bierner, great vid. I have a Tokina RMC 28mm f2.8 MD... it had a little bit of fungous on the inside of the front element/glass. i took it apart but there are these small difficult screws that are hard to reach. and i don't know how to put it back together lol. i taught it will be as easy as minolta md lenses. minolta md lenses are very simple to disassemble. here's a link of the the specific lens i have. sorry to bother, but if you can help that will be great.
allphotolenses.com/public/files/img/8f5bd8be225ab23bf88be29d2ea54cd8.jpg
Hey Matt! I have a soligor 135mm f2.0 that i need to assemble, to you think you can help me? here is some photos of what im working with right now. forum.mflenses.com/viewtopic,p,1452293.html#1452293
+Bror Svensson Media
It's pretty hard to give advice from pictures without ever having taken apart one of those before. Almost every lens is different internally, so, although you can use a lot of the same techniques and manufacturers may reused design elements, I would need to actually take apart one to help out.