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  #1  
Old 3rd April 2015, 11:31 AM
davidgc davidgc is offline
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Default Oil on aperture blades

Why is oil on aperture blades mentioned in second hand sale descriptions?

Is it a warning that the internal lubricating system is leaking and maintenance will need to be carried out in the near future or is the oil just something that builds up over time ?

Is there only a need to be concerned if the build up of oil is sufficient that it may drip onto the glass or is there ever enough in the system for this to happen?

Thanks, David
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  #2  
Old 3rd April 2015, 11:59 AM
studentphoto studentphoto is offline
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Oil on the blades is becoming a common issue for cameras due to their age.
The issue usually occurs from lack of use, being stored in a warm/hot climate (or just old age). Oil on blades doesn't necessary mean that the camera (or lens) requires a service, but does require work to remove the oil, as this will make the blades open/close slowly.

Depending on the extent of oil, it may not necessary drip onto the optics, although it is recommended to clean them at the same time (as optics needs to be removed to gain access).

A competent repairer (or even keen person) can complete the job quiet easily (depending on what the item is). If you are buying from a retailer, the camera should be oil free, and is part of their warranty. If buying privately from certain auction sites, then bid accordingly. From experience, once you solve one issue, another generally arises.

Once the oil has been removed, and the blades are polished, it should give you peace of mind for quite a long time.
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Old 3rd April 2015, 12:10 PM
Richard Gould Richard Gould is offline
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I have found that oil on the aperture blades can point to the shutter being over lubed, and can cause the aperture blades to stick, the oil needs to be cleaned off and unless you are confident in yourself to do the job you need a camera repair person
Richard
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Old 3rd April 2015, 12:18 PM
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B&W Neil B&W Neil is offline
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Yes, Richard's advice is spot on. Generally this is not good news and it needs to be sorted out to avoid the shutter eventually failing.

Neil.
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Old 3rd April 2015, 01:17 PM
davidgc davidgc is offline
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Thanks Neil and Richard.
I should have made it clear that in this case the oil has been described on a 35mm mechanical aperture lens (Leica 40mm summicron-c) without a shutter system in the lens.

David
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Old 3rd April 2015, 01:17 PM
alexmuir alexmuir is online now
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The oil can be the manufacturers original lubricant. It has a tendency to creep onto the aperture blades if the lens spends a lot of time sitting horizontally. I have heard that storing lenses vertically is best to avoid the problem. I now do that with all my lenses. I have successfully cleaned a couple of 35mm SLR lenses. They were of simple construction, however, and easy to disassemble. If in doubt, use an expert for these repairs. You can see oil residue quite easily when you look through an affected lens, although some wide angle lenses have very small apertures, and you need to look closely. The problem sometimes exists in enlarger lens, but it doesn't have any real adverse effect because you set the aperture manually. In most SLR lenses, problems arise because the camera mechanism has to stop down the aperture to the pre set value as soon as you press the shutter. The oil makes that action sluggish, and the blades don't close enough by the time the shutter opens. You end up with a shot taken at a wider aperture than you had set, leading to over exposure. Most lenses for 35mm SLRs have some sort of actuating pin or lever on the back in the lens mount. You can sometimes test if the blades are sluggish by setting f16 or similar, pressing the lever to open the blades and releasing it to see how quickly they close. They should return to the set aperture instantaneously. Any hesitation suggests a problem. You can also do this test with the depth of field preview lever if the lens is attached to a camera.
As Richard points out, this problem also affects the action of leaf shutters which are commonly found on medium format cameras and large format lenses. I would agree entirely with him and Neil that repair of these is a job for a specialist.
I wouldn't buy a lens where the description advised of oil on the aperture/shutter blades, and I would return one that had the problem if it wasn't mentioned. Even if the aperture or shutter is still working correctly, the oil will eventually cause a malfunction.
Alex.
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Old 3rd April 2015, 01:49 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by davidgc View Post
Thanks Neil and Richard.
I should have made it clear that in this case the oil has been described on a 35mm mechanical aperture lens (Leica 40mm summicron-c) without a shutter system in the lens.

David
You may still experience the blades sticking / dragging causing inaccurate apertures. I may well take a time for it to come to this so you could carry on and keep an eye on the situation. Or send it in now for a service / clean, which is what I would do.

Neil.
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Old 3rd April 2015, 01:52 PM
Richard Gould Richard Gould is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by davidgc View Post
Thanks Neil and Richard.
I should have made it clear that in this case the oil has been described on a 35mm mechanical aperture lens (Leica 40mm summicron-c) without a shutter system in the lens.

David
It could still cause problems with the aperture sticking, stiffness, drag I would get it fixed asap if it were mine,
Richard
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  #9  
Old 3rd April 2015, 04:48 PM
Coastman Coastman is offline
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Default In camera goo

Hi,
Some old Canon AF film cameras suffered from black goo on the shutter blades, I know this is different from what you are describing, but this problem was due to a decomposition of some sort of seal that leaked onto the shutters, I owned one like this, I couldn't use it and the repair was going to be more than the camera was worth.
Just a thought for anyone looking at an old Canon EOS film camera .



Tim
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  #10  
Old 3rd April 2015, 08:18 PM
DavidH DavidH is offline
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Grease migrating from the focus helix is very common. I have de-greased many lenses over the years of various makes. I agree that it's not a good idea to leave it there, even when the iris doesn't have to stop down and open automatically. It can become very sticky and there's a danger of damaging the blades simply by your normal manual opening and closing of the iris.
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