That time a Helios 44-2 lens literally fell apart in my hands mid-repair

Got this old Soviet lens from a guy on FB Marketplace for $30. Told him I could fix the sticky aperture blades no problem. Popped off the front ring and the whole glass element just... dropped onto my table with a thud. Turns out someone had already been in there and stripped all the screw holes. I spent 3 hours trying to epoxy it back together and it still won't focus past 5 feet. Anyone else run into a lens that was just too far gone to save?

2 comments

2 Comments

aaron7081mo ago

That epoxy fix sounds like a recipe for more headaches, better to just call it a loss.

terryb111mo ago

Read something about a liquid glass coating that supposedly stops cracks from spreading but seems too good to be true.