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| Nikkor Ais 500mm f/4 |
For a long time I have been contemplating the rebuild of my old and trusty 500mm lens. Even though its optical performance was great, some of its moving parts were showing their age and using the lens was becoming more tiresome. My main concerns were the following:
Sticky focusing ring: The focusing ring on my lens did not have a constant drag. Halfway between infinity and near focus the ring would come across more friction and grind for about 2 cm. Even though I was usually shooting in the minimum focusing distance range, this was still an inconvenience I wanted to get rid of.
Very sticky tripod collar: The tripod collar was so worn that it was nearly impossible to move the camera from horizontal to vertical with one hand. At times, when coming to a sudden stop, I thought that I would damage the mount.
Worn rear lens mount: Like most old lenses, the rear mount was worn down to the point where the camera and lens showed a lot of play. One of the problems with this is that the electrical contacts lose alignment producing an ERR message.
