Photographer
HV images
Posts: 634
Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
So I bought a Nikon 180mm f2.8 ED from fleabay for £35 including postage. The seller was very honest, the lens had fungus growth in all the elements and it was priced to reflect that. Thankfully the fungus was superficial and had not attacked the coatings or glass and is now in pristine condition. Some times it pays to take the risk 
Photographer
Jay Leavitt
Posts: 6745
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Photographer
Jerry Nemeth
Posts: 33355
Dearborn, Michigan, US
I have had this lens for years.
Photographer
rickspix_uk
Posts: 129
Southend-on-Sea, England, United Kingdom
did you clean it yourself? or send to nikon / other for repair and what did it cost ?
Photographer
HV images
Posts: 634
Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
rickspix_uk wrote:
did you clean it yourself? or send to nikon / other for repair and what did it cost ? I do it myself.
Photographer
photoimager
Posts: 5164
Stoke-on-Trent, England, United Kingdom
The lens is one of those forgotten gems. Alas, my version is an earlier manual focus model. Shallower DoF at F2.8 than an 85mm at F1.4 / 1.2 ?
Photographer
L O C U T U S
Posts: 1746
Bangor, Maine, US
HV images wrote:
I do it myself. You know of Any online manuals on dis-assembling the old 180mm f2.8 AF?( I own the older plastic looking model)
Photographer
HV images
Posts: 634
Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Locutus wrote:
You know of Any online manuals on dis-assembling the old 180mm f2.8 AF?( I own the older plastic looking model) No, sorry.
What part are you trying to get at?
Photographer
bruce blosser
Posts: 299
Mendocino, California, US
photoimager wrote:
The lens is one of those forgotten gems. Alas, my version is an earlier manual focus model. Shallower DoF at F2.8 than an 85mm at F1.4 / 1.2 ? yes - much longer focal length
Photographer
HV images
Posts: 634
Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
photoimager wrote:
The lens is one of those forgotten gems. Alas, my version is an earlier manual focus model. Shallower DoF at F2.8 than an 85mm at F1.4 / 1.2 ? The out of focus area aesthetics quality in this lens is absolutely gorgeous IMO.
Edit: I should just surrender and use the term: Bokeh.
Much easier
Photographer
L O C U T U S
Posts: 1746
Bangor, Maine, US
HV images wrote:
No, sorry.
What part are you trying to get at? I want to do the same as you did. A slight fungus growing inside the glass... it annoys me, knowing it is there. 
Photographer
Thomas Van Dyke
Posts: 3233
Washington, District of Columbia, US
photoimager wrote:
The lens is one of those forgotten gems... QFT this piece of glass is absolutely amazing... feather light and considerably sharper than the ubiquitous and ridiculously expensive Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II
the 180mm is available new Gray Market for less than one third the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II
It is less than one half the weight and produces brilliant vibrant color harmonies...
Have two... found a "previously owned" gem at $350 it is also in pristine condition...
Once you shoot with this lens you'll likely never go back to the huge heavy monster 70-200mm VR II
Believe it is truly a "poor man's" 135mm f2.0 DC substitute... just as sharp and even has the same clever retractable hood...
And also like the 135mm DC it is still in production... even after decades of "new" products... there is no arguing with success...
to the OP, enjoy your score... it is a winner...
Photographer
HV images
Posts: 634
Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Locutus wrote:
I want to do the same as you did. A slight fungus growing inside the glass... it annoys me, knowing it is there. I never recommend to anyone to disassemble a lens themselves, unless they are quite skilled with tools and are willing take the risk of ending up with a door stopper.
However, I don't mind sharing knowledge with people willing to learn and experiment, as long as they understand that there always risks involved when carrying out tasks they are not qualified for.
So, you can try and see if this works for you, but I have to stress that this information is given as general guidance only.
As far as I know all of the 180mm f2.8 ED lenses are constructed in similar manner, this is how I took mine apart.
If you extend the retractable lens hood you will see a single flat head screw, that is a locking pin.
Take out the locking pin, then unscrew the plastic sleeve.
Once you remove the plastic sleeve you will expose the front lens assembly, you can simply unscrew it from the barrel.
Once you remove the lens assembly make sure you don't tip the lens upside down or the iris could come right of the barrel.
The glass elements can be removed by unscrewing the two retaining rings with a lens spanner wrench, there is a spacer between the ED glass and the concave face of the first element.
For the rear glass assembly you can simply remove the retaining ring with a lens spanner wrench, there is only a spacer between the two elements.
Depending on the type of fungus and the extent of the infestation, I use the following methods in order of difficulty:
Dry microfibre lens cloth.
Lens cloth + demineralised water.
Tiffen lens cleaner.
Eclipse fluid.
Baader Optical Wonder Fluid.
Acetone (make absolutely certain that you avoid any contact with glues, lens cement and painted surfaces).
There are other mixtures like Hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, windex, etc. I have never used them.
I always finish off by cleaning the glass with a dry microfibre lens cleaning cloth to remove any residues and then I leave them under a UV light source for around an hour.
I hope you find this useful.
Photographer
Dan D Lyons Imagery
Posts: 3447
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Thomas Van Dyke wrote:
QFT this piece of glass is absolutely amazing... feather light and considerably sharper than the ubiquitous and ridiculously expensive Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II
the 180mm is available new Gray Market for less than one third the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II
It is less than one half the weight and produces brilliant vibrant color harmonies...
Have two... found a "previously owned" gem at $350 it is also in pristine condition...
Once you shoot with this lens you'll likely never go back to the huge heavy monster 70-200mm VR II
Believe it is truly a "poor man's" 135mm f2.0 DC substitute... just as sharp and even has the same clever retractable hood...
And also like the 135mm DC it is still in production... even after decades of "new" products... there is no arguing with success...
to the OP, enjoy your score... it is a winner... I was going to buy one used after selling my 70-200 VR2 (to make money so I could buy a D800), but it wasn't a D-model so I passed and got an old 80-200 to cover the focal length. Eventually, I traded that zoom in towards a used 70-200 VR1. I lost money on the trade-in's, and I wish I had've just ordered a new 180mm D-model. It is indeed a lens I'd like to have. I have the 135 f/2 DC, but I like the idea of the 180mm D. I like the versatility of the tele-zoom though, so I wouldn't say it substitutes for a 70-200  But at the cost of the VR2 ($2400ish CAD), one can buy a 180mm f/2.8D *and an 85mm f/1.8G (amazing colours & sharpness), and have change left over!! (and have 2 different kickass lenses, with 2 different "looks")
Photographer
Ryan South
Posts: 1421
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, US
Thomas Van Dyke wrote:
QFT this piece of glass is absolutely amazing... feather light and considerably sharper than the ubiquitous and ridiculously expensive Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II
the 180mm is available new Gray Market for less than one third the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II
It is less than one half the weight and produces brilliant vibrant color harmonies...
Have two... found a "previously owned" gem at $350 it is also in pristine condition...
Once you shoot with this lens you'll likely never go back to the huge heavy monster 70-200mm VR II
Believe it is truly a "poor man's" 135mm f2.0 DC substitute... just as sharp and even has the same clever retractable hood...
And also like the 135mm DC it is still in production... even after decades of "new" products... there is no arguing with success...
to the OP, enjoy your score... it is a winner... I've got both the 70-200 vrii and the ai-s ed 180 2.8 and in no way does the 180 come close to the 70-200. It's "sharp enough" and has a different look but there is a reason the vrii is ubiquitous, heavy as hell and $2400... But I do like the 180. Enjoy
Photographer
Charger Photography
Posts: 1731
San Antonio, Texas, US
A lady was selling a Nikon N4004 for 60 dollars on CL about 3 weeks ago... on the pics I saw the lens on the camera was a Nikon AF 35-70mm 2.8 .... I called her and bought it right away... that lens is awesome.. both camera and lens were like new.. she brought them to me in original boxes.
First 3 pics on my port were taken with that lens.
Model
Jen B
Posts: 4474
Phoenix, Arizona, US
HV images wrote:
So I bought a Nikon 180mm f2.8 ED from fleabay for £35 including postage.
The seller was very honest, the lens had fungus growth in all the elements and it was priced to reflect that.
Thankfully the fungus was superficial and had not attacked the coatings or glass and is now in pristine condition.
Some times it pays to take the risk What a great deal! Good for you.
I currently shoot with a Nikon and think I need to check fleabay!
Jen
|
But at the cost of the VR2 ($2400ish CAD), one can buy a 180mm f/2.8D *and an 85mm f/1.8G (amazing colours & sharpness), and have change left over!! (and have 2 different kickass lenses, with 2 different "looks")