I know this is super old, 9 years at the time I'm writing this, but this was exactly what I needed to do with my Canon FD 50mm f1.4 SSC. This was a perfect video for this operation. It was very helpful with all the right camera angles to show everything. My lens is back together and working perfectly! Thank you so much!

Thanks for the video - great help in the process of repairing a "fully functional" 50mm 1.4 FD from ebay. Best regards!

I hope I never have to do this with my beloved Canon f1.4 50mm. This video is amazing in detail and content. Well done. Cheers.

This is why KZfaq exists! This is the most helpful video I found in trying to repair my lenses. I can't wait to get started!

One of the, if not THE best lens-repair-tutorials I have ever seen. Thanks a lot for it.

This is going to be a huge help! I've acquired one of these lenses, but the aperture is stuck open at f1.4. I've rebuilt the later FD mount lenses, but never one with the breach locking collar, and wasn't sure how to remove the mount.

Bless you, bless your tools, and bless your heart.

Thank you, with your video I managed to repair my Canon f1.4 50mm!

exactly my model lens and issue! It's so nice to see a quality detailed repair.

so very useful. hoping u make more videos for me about old lenses

i've never heard a more jaded voice in my life. Love it.

everything look so easy to fix Thank you so much

Thanks a lot...so very helpful & nicely shot

The 1.8 FD SC version is slightly different in construction but close to the 1.4 . I was able to remove the rear element in a similar fashion and clean the blades on one side. I did could not remove the blade assembly. This worked for me. Thanks.

very informative and useful video, thanks!

Great video, its exactly my lens and problem. Thank you!

Very nice. Thank you.

Is it totally necessary to remove the rear lens group when cleaning the aperture blades?

Great videos! thank you very much!!

Jake Croop Please take the time and effort to remove the lens group. If you do not remove the elements with the flush cleaning method the dissolved oil and cleaner could end up fouling the lens group. Thank you for your interest in Fix Old Cameras.

Does someone sell a "camera repair kit" which includes items like the friction mat, stopper, adjustable pin spanner, tiny tweezers and special glue, etc.?

I did exactly same as you did. But my one does not synchronize the aperture when I test it after inserting mount ring. The aperture works well without mount ring..

I removed the screws(on the side) from the aperture ring too. 2 steeel balls and a spring fell off. Damned, i dont know how the mechanic inside was before.

Can you tell me what the two small screws on the side of the silver piece do? The piece that is part of the mount. The video is fantastic and very much appreciated. I just picked up an AE-1 with this 50 and I'm excited to restore the old beauty.

Hi, you make it look so simple. I noticed that you did not clean the lens elements nor do you use canned air. Any reason for that?

Very professionally expalined, thanks. I have the lens and use it with sony a6000. I can see dust inside, wondering if I will be able to clean the lens using this guide.

Thanks for the info! Nicely done. One thing: My 50mm 1.4 has a snap-in front ring, not a threaded one.

If, when attempting this repair, the aperture mechanism does not work properly than the aperture diaphragm stopped down linkage was probably not positioned properly. The mount assembly will have to be removed again and reset taking care to keep the lever on the mount assembly to the right of the post connected to the diaphragm blade unit.

awesome thank you so much!

Any idea how to remove the front name plate of canon fd 100/f2 and 35/f2? Thanks

Brilliant. Thank you =

What type of contact cleaner is that? Also, what might be the issues if the blades are stuck wide open - are there springs that control the aperture that can go faulty or have issues with these older breech mount FD lenses?

thx!!!!!!

Thanks for video!!! May you help me to clean the front and rear element for a EF 50mm 1.8 MK1?

Thank you for your help in getting my aperture unstuck. It now operates smoothly. My problem now is that the F-stop apertures are not accurate. For example my F 22 aperture should close to a diameter of about 2.27 mm but is actually closer to 1 mm. Is there a way to re-calibrate the F-stop settings on the Canon FD 50mm 1 : 1.8 Lens? Thank you.

Thanks loads for this! Got one of these lenses really cheap because the aperture was stuck open, followed this tutorial and now it works fine! One question; I went a bit crazy with the contact cleaner and some seems to have got under the focus ring and messed with the grease in there... now the focus is quite stiff, slow and grainy. Any ideas how to smooth it out?

Hi, it seems that the diaphragm of my lens is locked at full aperture. I would try to see if I can unlock it by my self . It's absolutely necessary to unscrew the front lenses ?

Brilliant video! Does anyone know how much this repair should cost at a camera shop? I don't have the tools or confidence to do this one myself so I'll have to take it in.

1:27 Exactly this is what I do in my case occupy goes around the entire element tube lucky as it says in the video but is just where are the hongon Greetings

Excellent video!I have a Pentax KM that had a battery leak in it.I removed the bottom plate to remove the battery and clean up the mess.Now the battery cover is stuck solid.Is there any way to remove it without destroying it?I could cut a slot in it and use a straight screwdriver,but then I'd have to replace it.Mechanically the camera works great and this is the only problem with it.

Hello. I´m trying to clean my lens but 2 of the 3 screws that holds the filter ring are stick. How can I unstick them? Great series of videos, thanks a lot! Guillermo

Hi, thank you for sharing this awesome videos. I'm wondering where I could get replacement springs for the internals of old camera lenses. I have a old Minolta lens where the spring that opens the aperture has lost it's pull. Any clues to where I could find a replacement would be very helpful. Thanks!

Cool, I forgot how to do it all ready...

I have a Canon FD 50mm 1.8 S.C. that will not stop down past f1.8, can you please do a video on that, thanks.

Hi, Great video. I'm sure you have been asked many times before. Where can I find a lens spanner like the one you use?.

Hello, I have a problem with the reassembly. after disassembly+cleaning, the aperture preset ring seems to have lost connection to the aperture itself. When you turn the ring and snap the aperture lever, it alwas closes to about f/8 no matter if the ring is set to 1,4 or 16. I am afraid I may have been moving the lever with the two metal sticks in the wrong direction, reulting in a clicky sound. After getting it back into the initial position, it didnt do anything anymore. is there any way to fix this or is this lens going to be a "fungus-free-glass" donor for my other 1,4s? I am pretty sure I placed the bayonet and the connectors right...

I've got an unusual FD 50mm 1.8 lens (with a min aperture of f/16), and have no idea how to take out the front lens element so I can get to the stuck diaphragm. There are no notches for a spanner wrench, and the element seems to be firmly in place, so it's not falling out. Would I have to go around to the back to try to repair this lens?

I've got a 1.8 sitting here, breech lock similar to your 1.4. I can't get the front name plate off. I'm using the large soft rubber corks. Is there anything I can dribble in the front to loosen it up? I'm tearing it apart to clean the blades I think something has seeped under the name plate and it's sticking. Thanks

can you provide me a link of a video for vivitar 28mm f2.5 kiron made. it has stuck aperture does not go beyond f 5.6 by the aperture ring moves till f22. Thanks

I need to remove the breech lock ring on a similar lens. Is this does by removing the two screws on the side of the ring ?

Hello, Thanks for vidéo ;) I have a problem with mine : i can not unscrew the ring of the front lens! Yet I have a "rubber pad" like yours, I already used on other lens smoothly. Do you have a "trick" to unscrew it ? When I look at the video, it seems that there is a "gray" material on the perimeter of your ring. Is it sticky ? Thanks for your help;) Patrick

Hi Mike & Followers, I have an older Canon 50mm FD 1.8 S.C. lens. I looked at the 1.8 video and it describes the newer style FD lens. I am commenting here as my 1.8 SC is an original FD lens with the bayonet ring, disassembly for this 1.4 lens is mostly the same as the older style 1.8. NOW for my problem, my 1.8 SC has a completely stuck open diaphragm. This lens also has a locking lever on the back. With the bayonet ring released all the levers work smoothly, as does the aperture ring and the "auto" setting along with the "auto" setting release button. Yet the lens is wide open. The small lock lever on the back of the lens is on the white dot and will not move to the red dot. It sticks halfway. Is there any difference in the tear-down procedure due to the back locking lever? Are there any extra springs, or internal parts I need to be aware of? As always if you'd like to actually see the lens and do a video on the older FD lenses with the locking lever I am open to sending it to you for a look. Thanks for all the great videos and your time in answering. Tom Heckhaus

I got a jupiter 8 50mm f2 that have the same problem. Can you show how to open it? Thank you.

Hello Again, any idea if this disassembly is the same for a Canon 50mm f1.4 FL? I have an FL with the breech-lock mount (As all were) and the aperture lever seems loose it flops around and does not operate the diaphragm. Thanks

Hi! Great videos, i have a question. I currently have an minolta MD W.ROKKOR 28mm 1:3.5 that has a stuck diaphram. I cant even move the external ring to make it open (its actually closed) Any idea? what can i do?

Hi trying to fix my Canon 50mm f1.8 FD lens (old type similar to the f1.4 in video), and following your video in removing the front name plate ring, but its seems that its just rotating and not coming out? This lens has bever been serviced at all. Is there a possibility that the thread are off? what can be the work around for this stuck front name plate ring? this has been frustrating as thats the start of this lens CLA.

is this lens radio active?

hay I have two fd lens lens one is a JCpenny and the other is osawa and the guy who sold it to me put on the wrong rear lens cap on both they put the canon brand and the cap is jammed on them ....... one of the lens i tryed the ply it off but it won't budge can I have some help?

I have a Canon FD (not breech, new) 24mm f/2 with oily blades. I went in through the front and have removed all the glass down to the blades. I noticed that with the 50mm f/1.8 you removed the aperture assembly to clean it, vs the 50mm f/1.4 SSC, where you removed the rear glass and cleaned the blades in place. I would prefer to remove the assembly, and leave the rear glass in place. This one has 3 screws with a pretty heavy clear red external lock substance. Is it riskier to remove some FD aperture mechanisms as compared to others? Are you familiar with the 24mm f/2? Thank you for your amazingly helpful videos.

hi. i tried to remove the front name plate, but it is soo damn tight. i dont get it off.. do you have any tips for me?

Is a Canon 50mm 1.2 FD similar to this ?

how come everyone else's FD 50mm is 1.4 when mine is only 1.8 what gives

I’m stuck on the first step because only one of the damn screws would come out...

wow! i am trying to fix my camera since like 3 hours but cant figure out why the parts does not fit together anymore! now i saw, that this silver "plate" (you can see it here, kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qJldksSL39q1qo0.html it is the silver plate with a small hole in it... IT IS ON THE WRONG SIDE! it is on the left in at my camera! is this normal? how can i fix this!

Please help, I don't know what I'm doing wrong, I've watch the video multiple times, I've read all the comments and I can't figure out why I can't install the bridge mount correctly. I have the same model with the silver ring. - when I can make everything align on the bridge mount, including the pin and spring, the aperture only goes from f16 to f2.8, it won't go to f1.4. But if I remove the bridge mount all levers and aperture move freely and smooth - if I move the aperture to f1.4 and try to reassembly, it only goes from 1.4 to 2.8, it won't let me move any further, is just stuck - There is a blade that connects with the stop down lever, I had it on the wrong side of the lever and I fixed it, but that wasn't it. - I also tried to remove the silver cap and reassembly (bad idea) - I need to use an adapter for my camera, and at first it wouldn't let me screw in the adapter, it was all lose. The closest I got to a successful installation i managed to screw it in but I could only use f16, if I tried to adjust the aperture it would unscrew the whole lens from the adapter. But also, that f16 looked a hell lot like an f1.4.... - I tried moving the silver ring but that didn't do much either Can you pls help? I can email some pics/vid, or we can skype or something. I was wishing for this lens for so long and i haven't been able to enjoy it. Thanks in advance!

I think it'd be easier to open the lens up from the front and popping the entire aperture assembly off.