Full Service

Our full lens servicing includes the following:

Cleaning, lubrication and adjustment of all necessary parts, including cleaning of the internal optics, removal of most internal dust, and removal of non-baked haze and fungus on non-doublet and triplet blocks.

Doublet and triplet blocks, due to their cemented configuration, can only have their outer surfaces cleaned under this service.

The aperture will be de-oiled as far as possible without performing an aperture rebuild. This usually results in about 95%+ of oil removal.  Only a full aperture rebuild, where each blade is removed and cleaned ultrasonically in isopropyl alcohol, can ensure 100% oil removal.  Full aperture rebuilds are an extra cost, and normally only need to be done for apertures that are thoroughly drenched in oil, which we typically find on older Canon LTM type lenses. Partial aperture work, such as cleaning without disassembling the aperture, is included in the full service.

Removal of the old helicoid grease and the application of new synthetic helicoid grease is also performed.

Aperture ring also gets cleaned and re-lubricated.

If you would like to have the focus ring or aperture move with more or less resistance, please do let us know.  It’s possible to use alternate greases to allow either a smoother/ quicker or more dampened/ slower movement depending on your preference.  Most apertures can also be de-clicked or re-clicked if desired at no additional costs. The change to an alternate grease also incurs no additonal cost and is covered by the full service price.

If the lens is out of calibration, we will calibrate it to proper Leica rangefinder calibration standards under the full service.  In some rare instances, lenses that may have sustained massive impact damage, or have third party attempts to repair the lens fail, may need some additional work not covered under the full service, but these are rare cases.  We can fabricate shims in-house to perform required adjustments, and even remake certain parts that have sustained damage.  We try to cover the making of shims under our full service utilising our in-house CNC and lathe machines, but parts that need remaking due to damage are at extra cost, and not included in the service price.

If the front filter rings are damaged, we attempt to repair and straighten them. Repair and straightening of an existing filter ring is not covered under the full service price, but we can give you a quote once we have a chance to inspect the lens.

We aim to ensure lenses coincide with the rangefinder patch and arrive at infinity at their hard stops.

Certain optical formulas such as Sonnars, which inherently contain focus shift, are typically optimised for the wide open apertures. However, we can also have the lens optimised at other apertures, such as f/2.8.  This means the entire range of focus when using this aperture will be accurate, but outside of this aperture, due to focus shift, there may be slight front or back focus.  With lenses that experience focus shift, we will contact the customer before returning their lens to ask about aperture optimisation and near field vs far field prioritisation.

Lastly, all our full service lenses come with a detailed test certificate, which outlines the extent of the service and adjustments, and validates that the lens has been calibrated to the rangefinder standards.  We back up all our full service lenses with a 12 months transferable warranty.

To book a full service for your lens, please contact us:

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