Ever get the feeling... (broken Zeiss Planar 50mm)

[Alan Rosenfeld]

Duclos always does right by me. The lens tech at Abelcine is also very knowledgeable and easy to talk to. I think his name was George? You can't go wrong with either of those two. I have never dealt with Focus Optics, so someone else will have to vouch for them. I also hear the guys at Visual Products are top notch, but Ive never dealt with them personally (other than pestering them for MK III Supers on the phone). I think they are in Ohio? Anyway, good luck with that repair. Hopefully, its a simple element replacement.

We are the Official Zeiss service center in the US, the tech's name is Jorge Diaz-Amador. Check your PM's.

[Steve Gal]

It will be very hard to find that rear element. I have tried in the past with no luck.

[Scott Snare]

Talk to Charles at Serious Gear in Seattle. They refurbish lenses and have great technical knowledge.

[Rob Anderson]

Thank you all for the great input. Once again RU proves to be an invaluable resource. Much appreciated!

[Jorge Díaz-Amador]

Thanks for the kind words, Clint!

I do regret having to say that unfortunately there is likely nothing we can do. The replacement element is not available.

When Carl Zeiss introduced the second generation (Mk. II / T1.3) of the High Speed prime lenses (around 1984), they had the opportunity to increase the maximum aperture of the two Planars in the set to f1.2/T1.3 on the 50mm and 85mm.

Previously, the aperture on these lenses was limited to T1.4 by the need for the rear element to fit inside the ARRI Bayonet mount.

The Mk. II / Mk. III HS lenses accept PL mount only, and the larger diameter inside the PL mount allowed an optical re-design of the two Planars (50mm and 85mm) with larger rear groups that increased the exit pupil diameter. This gave a new maximum stop of f1.2 / T1.3.

If you look at a set of (Mk. I / B-Speed) T1.4 HS Primes, you'll see that the 50mm is f1.3 and the 85mm is f1.4. Both are rated at T1.4. The wider Distagon lenses in the set are f1.2.

The replacement elements for the 50mm and 85mm HS Mk. I lenses have been unavailable for a long time, at least a decade, maybe more. However, for the time being, front and rear elements for the 18, 25 and 35mm are available because the Mk. II elements will usually fit the Mk. I Distagons.

The only suggestion I can make in a situation like this is it to keep the lens and search for a 50mm T1.4 that has a damaged front group. Then it may be possible to do the repair using the best parts from both lenses.

I wish I had better news but I hope this information is helpful.

[Rob Anderson]

Just wanted to update this thread and let anyone interested know we were able to find a suitable replacement on eBay and thanks for the great input from Jorge at AbelCine, our insurance company had no problem accepting and paying our claim. I was nervous because we only just bought the policy less than 2 months prior to the damage. I did my best to let them know it was totally my fault, I dropped the lens myself, I've been cursing myself ever since, and I promise to do my part to keep anything like it from happening again.

Fortunately they were good with that and never even suggested the policy would get pulled. Payment was quick and the eBay seller was fast to ship. All is well in the world, although I still feel bad for breaking a nice piece of glass.