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Posts Tagged ‘Tears’

LensRentals tears down Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8 Mark III and Mark II

01 Sep

LensRentals Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8 Mark III and Mark II teardown

When Canon announced the EF 70-200mm F2.8L IS III USM earlier this summer, the company was pretty open about the fact that it was a minor upgrade to its predecessor, featuring tweaked coatings and a new finish, but the same optical-mechanical formula.

Never ones to take a press release at face value (and since repairing lenses is a big part of their job) Roger Cicala and the team at LensRentals opened the lenses up to see whether Canon made any hidden changes. Not to spoil the surprise, but what they found… wasn’t a surprise.

All images courtesy of LensRentals, and used with permission.

LensRentals tears down Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8 Mark III and Mark II

The new Mark III version of the 70-200mm F2.8 is indeed optically and mechanically identical to the older Mark II. In Roger’s words: “If you think there’s an optical or performance difference, please contact me about some Tennessee Beach-front property I have for sale.”

But that doesn’t mean that they’re not optically and mechanically interesting lenses. According to Roger, the various versions of the Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8 are possibly the most popular lenses that the company has in their loan stock, but because they’re so complex, internally “the 70-200mm f/2.8 is […] one of the ugliest bits of engineering in the Canon fleet”

LensRentals tears down Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8 Mark III and Mark II

If the containing tape in the last photograph didn’t give it away, the camera-side internals of the 70-200mm F2.8 II/III are something of a rats nest of fragile ribbon connectors, wires and PCBs. “Not much fun to work with” says Roger, and we believe him.

LensRentals tears down Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8 Mark III and Mark II

This shot shows the rear group (being lifted off) connected by one remaining ribbon to the image stabilization unit. The rear group acts as a single centering element, making it “a bit of a pain to adjust”, requiring repeated adjustment, reassembly, more adjustment, reassembly (again) and so on, until it’s correctly aligned.

LensRentals tears down Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8 Mark III and Mark II

Here’s the IS unit, removed from the main lens barrel. The tweezers indicate one of the four posts that stop the IS unit from moving around too much inside the lens. To avoid damage to the IS unit during travel or shipping, Roger recommends turning IS off when the lens is still on the camera. Otherwise the element won’t lock and these plastic posts are the only things stopping the lens from banging around freely inside the barrel.

LensRentals tears down Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8 Mark III and Mark II

Two layers of weather-sealing tape (which the LensRentals team tells us is pretty much the same material as this stuff) protects the 70-200mm’s front group, and helps prevent water ingress. This is how the LensRentals team gets access to the front element of the 70-200mm, which they have to do a lot, to replace scratched front elements, get rid of dust and make optical adjustments.

So is the new Mark III version worth upgrading to? We’re not convinced, and neither are Roger and his team. Both are excellent lenses, and if you can find a Mark II for a good price, go for it.

For more details – and a lot more images – read the full blog post at LensRentals.com.

Read the full tear-down at LensRentals

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Lensrentals tears down the Sony a7R III in search of better weather sealing

21 Feb

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Our good friend Roger Cicala over at Lensrentals finally got around to tearing down the Sony a7R III, to see if Sony was being honest when it claimed the newest a7R was much better weather sealed than its predecessor. The results? Well, it’s a “good news, bad news” situation. Yes, Sony was being truthful… but it screwed up in one major place.

You can see the full teardown over on the Lensrentals blog—Roger tears the thing all the way down, even giving us a great look a the IBIS system and how far the sensor can travel—but the TL;DR version goes something like this:

Sony weather sealed most of this camera very well, much better than its predecessor. BUT, for some reason, Sony left the bottom of this camera extremely vulnerable to water. You can see just how vulnerable in the gallery above. Or, if you prefer words, here’s Roger’s conclusion:

Sony spoke truly. Except for the bottom this camera has thorough and extensive weather sealing, as good as any camera I’ve seen. (Before you Pentax guys start, I have not taken apart a Pentax so it may be completely sealed in a super glue matrix for all I know.)

That being said, the bottom of the camera is not protected worth a damn. If you’re out in a sprinkle or shower, this probably doesn’t matter; water hits the top first. But if you’re in severe weather, near surf, or might set your camera down where someone might spill something, you need to be aware of that.

To read the full conclusion, scroll through the entire teardown, and see just how many rubber gaskets and foam pieces Sony added to the a7RIII to keep it safe from inclement weather, head over to the Lensrentals blog.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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iFixit tears down the iPhone X, gives it 6 out of 10 on ‘repairability’

05 Nov
Image: Ifixit

The brand new Apple iPhone X just got a complete teardown from iFixit.com, which rates the device a 6 out of 10 on its repairability scale, putting it on the same level as the iPhone 8 Plus and Google Pixel 2 XL. It’s easier to repair than a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 though, which scored only 4 points.

The iFixit team were particularly impressed with the repairability of battery and display; the latter, for example, can be replaced without removing the biometric Face ID hardware. On the downside, the analysis found that unrelated components are tied together by cables, turning them into complex assemblies that are difficult and expensive to replace.

The teardown also gets us a good look at the iPhone X Dual 12 MP cameras—wide-angle and telephoto, with F1.8 and F2.4 apertures and OIS—and the 7 MP TrueDepth front camera with F2.2 aperture, 1080p HD video recording, and Face ID. Head over the ifixit.com for the full report and lots of detail images of iPhone X innards.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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The clockwork lens: Lensrentals tears down famed Minolta 40-80mm F2.8 Gearbox Zoom

27 Sep

Lensrentals tears down famed Minolta 40-80mm F2.8 Gearbox Zoom

Photograph by Tom Leonard

The Minolta MC Rokkor X 40-80mm F2.8 zoom is a unique lens, which uses a gearbox for controlling focus and zoom. The advantage of this design? It’s pretty small for an F2.8 zoom, especially one made in the 70’s, and more precise than a conventional helicoid. The downside? It’s fiendishly hard to take apart – as Roger Cicala and Aaron Closz at Lensrentals recently found out…

Lensrentals tears down famed Minolta 40-80mm F2.8 Gearbox Zoom

Image courtesy of Lensrentals

Roger and his team started by removing parts of the rear lens assembly, including the aperture ring. So far, so conventional. In Roger’s words: “We were starting to feel a little confident now. That confidence, as you will see, was entirely misplaced.”

Lensrentals tears down famed Minolta 40-80mm F2.8 Gearbox Zoom

Image courtesy of Lensrentals

Removing the leatherette that covers the lens barrel revealed several screws which – once unscrewed – allowed the gearbox housing to be removed, revealing the complicated mechanism for controlling zoom and focus.

Lensrentals tears down famed Minolta 40-80mm F2.8 Gearbox Zoom

Image courtesy of Lensrentals

Inside the housing, you can see the macro selection and focusing mechanisms, both of which move what Roger is calling ‘The Magic Slot’ (indicated with a red arrow). If this looks complicated, that’s because it is. In Roger’s words, “this is a mechanical art of the highest order”, ensuring that even when the lens is zoomed, the focus point remains unchanged. That was impressive stuff for the 1970’s (and even today).

Lensrentals tears down famed Minolta 40-80mm F2.8 Gearbox Zoom

Image courtesy of Lensrentals

Back to the lens barrel, and things are getting even more complicated…

Here, the green arrow is pointing to the zoom stem, while the red arrow indicates a heavy duty brass post covered with a white bumper. Since “normal lens terms like helicoid and cam don’t work here” Roger is calling this ‘The Golden Post’.

Lensrentals tears down famed Minolta 40-80mm F2.8 Gearbox Zoom

Image courtesy of Lensrentals

For a full explanation of exactly how all of this works, we’d recommend heading over to Roger’s original blog post, which explains things in fascinating detail. In the meantime, here’s a picture of the mechanical zoom and focus assembly, removed from the lens barrel.

Lensrentals tears down famed Minolta 40-80mm F2.8 Gearbox Zoom

Image courtesy of Lensrentals

With this assembly removed, the 40-80mm starts to look rather more like a conventional lens. To completely disassemble it, though, the team referred to ‘Aaron’s Second Rule of Disassembly’. Specifically – All leatherette must be removed. Because underneath leatherette, you’ll invariably find screws.

Lensrentals tears down famed Minolta 40-80mm F2.8 Gearbox Zoom

Image courtesy of Lensrentals

Finally, after “about an hour of time and a thorough and complete use of our full lexicon of unprintable words”, Roger and Aaron managed to get the inner barrel out of the outer casing.

Lensrentals tears down famed Minolta 40-80mm F2.8 Gearbox Zoom

Image courtesy of Lensrentals

With the front optics taken out, the aperture blades were revealed. After such a complex disassembly, Roger and Aaron “were glad to see something that looked familiar”.

Lensrentals tears down famed Minolta 40-80mm F2.8 Gearbox Zoom

Image courtesy of Lensrentals

And here is the 40-80mm F2.8, reduced (almost) to its component parts. Roger’s final takeaway, from one of the most complex disassemblies he’s ever done?

“There were some slick engineers working on things at Minolta back in the 1970s, thinking way outside the box”.

If this article whetted your appetite, we’d encourage you to head to Lensrentals for a full explanation of the entire process (including MTF charts!) and read more about the unique 40-80mm F2.8 in Tom Leonard’s article, ‘A forgotten solution: Why this strange 1975 zoom lens is so sharp’. See links below.

Read the full article on Lensrentals.com

Read Tom Leonard’s writeup of the Minolta MC Rokkor-X 40-80mm F2.8

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Splitting Bricks: Architectural Art Installation Tears a London Building Apart

10 Aug

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

A London building appears to have fallen victim to an earthquake tremor or foundation collapse, with a jagged section of its brick facade split in half and threatening to collapse altogether. But the deteriorating appearance of this otherwise pristine structure isn’t quite what it seems. Artist Alex Chinneck used 4,000 bricks to create the effect of a ripped piece of paper to create ’Six Pins and a Half Dozen Needles,’ a nearly 66-foot tall sculpture outside a mixed-use complex known as Assembly London.

With the paper reference, the artist pays tribute to the site’s former life as home to the publishing company Hammersmith. Chinneck says he spent months scanning torn sheets of paper to find just the right pleasing edge for the split. The sculpture blends into the main building behind it, partially obscuring a few windows, and its elevated position makes it a real eye-catcher. It’s two bricks deep, and took 14 months to complete, with the help of structural engineers, steelworkers and brick makers. Its stainless steel framework is bolted and welded to the building behind it.

Chinneck previously dropped jaws and raised eyebrows in London with two particularly dramatic installations: an upside-down car clinging to a curling piece of pavement outside the Southbank Centre, and a brick facade sliding off the front of a building in Kent. Unlike these previous works, however, ‘Six Pins’ is permanent.

“The work was onceived to engage people in a fun and uplifting way,” says Chinneck. “Although we use real brick, it was designed with a cartoon-like quality to give the sculpture an endearing artifice and playful personality. I set out to create accessible artworks and I sincerely hope this becomes a popular landmark for London and positive experience for Londoners.”

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[ By SA Rogers in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

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Lensrentals tears down the Nikon 105mm F1.4

03 Dec

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The folks at Lensrentals had high hopes for the construction of Nikon’s new ultra-fast 105mm F1.4, and in some many ways were satisfied with what they saw inside the lens. Take a look at a few images from the process above, and head to Lensrentals’ blog for the full teardown. It’s well worth your time as Roger Cicala picks a bone with Nikon’s marketing department, identifies the lens-repair equivalent of ‘crossing the streams’ and ultimately offers a look inside a very high quality, well-made lens.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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‘Built like a tank where it counts’ – LensRentals tears down Canon EF 35mm F1.4 L II

10 Dec

‘Built like a tank where it counts’ – LensRentals Canon EF 35mm F1.4 L II teardown

Roger Cicala at LensRentals has a great job – he gets to take things apart whenever he wants, and get paid to do it. And even better, he gets to pay himself to do it. Roger just got his hands on Canon’s new EF 35mm F1.4 L II, and just like us, he’s been very impressed. But, it must be said, for very different reasons. Click through this slideshow for a quick look at what he found behind the red ring, and if this whets your appetite, read Roger’s full tear-down at lensrentals.com.

‘Built like a tank where it counts’ – LensRentals Canon EF 35mm F1.4 L II teardown

This is the plastic ring which sits at the front of the all of the elements of the 35mm, underneath the cosmetic nameplate.

According to Roger, ‘In most lenses rings like this hold the front element in place, but in this case, it seems the entire purpose of this ring is to improve weather resistance […] It fits tightly around the glass and into the front barrel of the lens, and it has a rubber gasket for further sealing internally.’

‘Built like a tank where it counts’ – LensRentals Canon EF 35mm F1.4 L II teardown

Where most lenses use only three lightweight screws to attach the filter barrel, the Canon EF 35mm F1.4 L II uses six ‘long, strong and deeply threaded’ ones. 

Behind the screws, Roger’s team found that ‘each hole contained a brass reinforcing spacer with a spring around it. So basically each of the 6 screws passes through the brass spacer and screws into the front barrel, with a spring maintaining tension. This is an expensive way to do things and obviously serves a purpose.’

‘Built like a tank where it counts’ – LensRentals Canon EF 35mm F1.4 L II teardown

With the rear barrel removed, two more layers of rubber felt sealing gaskets were revealed and a ‘a very, very robust eccentric collar set […] used to optically adjust the rear group.’ (that’s the notched, circular thing towards the top of the rear group in this image, surrounded by red gunk to lock it in place).

In Roger’s words. ‘we consider thick nylon collars robust, brass collars very robust, but these massive heavy collars with a center locking screw are beyond anything we’ve seen outside of super telephoto lenses and the 70-200 f/2.8 IS II’.

‘Built like a tank where it counts’ – LensRentals Canon EF 35mm F1.4 L II teardown

Unusually, even for weather-resistant lenses, the EF 35mm F1.4 L II features tough, moisture-resistant tape underneath the rubber focusing ring, to prevent water getting underneath and into the main body of the lens (the tape has been removed in this image).

‘Built like a tank where it counts’ – LensRentals Canon EF 35mm F1.4 L II teardown

‘With the focus ring off, we can see another set of robust optical adjustment collars that adjust group 2. (Later experimentation hinted that these were primarily centering collars, with the rear collars primarily adjusting tilt.)’

‘Built like a tank where it counts’ – LensRentals Canon EF 35mm F1.4 L II teardown

As the disassembly progresses, the EF 35mm F1.4 L II seems to get more and more robust – ‘With the USM motor and barrel off we can see the focusing helicoids and the heavy metal rollers that move the focusing elements within the helicoid. In almost every lens, these would be small nylon washers over a screw, not the relatively huge metal rollers we see in this lens.’

‘Built like a tank where it counts’ – LensRentals Canon EF 35mm F1.4 L II teardown

Roger’s team took a closer look at those helicoid rollers.

‘When you look close up you see these aren’t just sliding posts, there are actually tiny ball bearings inside them. There’s also a spring tensioning system around one of the rollers. […] By this point I was really rather awestruck by the amount of careful over-engineering that went into making this lens. Nobody, and I do mean nobody, else is engineering lens mechanics like the newer Canon lenses.’

Roger’s final analysis: 

‘[The EF 35mm F1.4 L II is] designed thoughtfully and logically. Things that will inevitably get damaged on any lens, like the front element and filter ring, are designed to be replaced easily. There are some things inside, particularly with the tensioning screws and springs, that I’m not certain I understand the purpose of, but I am certain there is a purpose. If I had to summarize the mechanical design of this lens, I would say simply that no expense was spared, no corner was cut.’

Click here to read the full teardown at lensrentals.com

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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iFixit tears down Sony’s new a7R II to find its secrets

19 Aug

Earlier this week we took you ‘under the hood’ of the Sony a7R II, metaphorically. Now, thanks to our friends at iFixit, it’s possible to take a literal look inside the a7R II. Ifixit took delivery of a production sample a7R II at around the same time as we did, but while we were out testing its AF system and checking to see how its sensor measures up, the hard-working crew at iFixit were busy taking it to pieces. Click through to see what they found  

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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iFixit tears down Samsung Galaxy S4, finds it surprisingly repairable

27 Apr

34FPIHpvkG3ElD2L.jpeg

We starting to test the camera capabilities of the brand new Samsung Galaxy S4, but the guys at iFixit.com have been tearing theirs apart. The iFixit crew cracked open the S4 to see what its inner workings tell us about the latest flagship phone from Samsung, and how easily it can be repaired. The S4 came through iFixit’s teardown with flying colors, receiving an 8 out of 10 repairability score for its replaceable battery and straightforward disassembly. Click through for all the gory details. 

News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Connect: iFixit.com tears down the GoPro Hero 3

23 Jan

cboko3aPVSfwwGho.jpeg

What makes a GoPro go? That’s the sort of question that the curious folks over at iFixit.com love to answer. To find out, they’ve torn apart the Wi-Fi-enabled, 4K-capable GoPro Hero3 to reveal its inner workings and release its secrets. In the course of their tear-down they found that the Hero3 is impressively repairable, thanks to its minimal use of adhesives to hold everything together. For all the gory details, images and a link to the full tear-down, click through to our article on connect.dpreview.com.

News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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