Just found a well used 50 1.8 MK1 and the mf is sticky.

[cactusclay]

I just found an old MK1 and was wondering if anyone knew about cleaning or lubing the mf mechanism. Thanks

[cactusclay]

I was just curious if anyones MK1 MF ring is stiff, or if anyone has had a stiff one (focus ring)in the past and fixed it and how. Thanks Clay

[Citizensmith]

I think that would be one reason not to buy it. Unless you can do it yourself the lens isn't worth the repair costs.

[cactusclay]

Well, it works fine in AF and I think it just needs to be cleaned or lubbed. MF does work, it's just not real smooth.

[DocFrankenstein]

It wasn't very smooth on the one I had... but it fell into "normal" range as far as i remember.

How does it compare to your other lenses?

[ron chappel]

The early EOS lenses has rediculously bad feeling focus rings.:o :o :o
The reason is that -while they had focus rings made of plastic running on plastic just like the newest versions- those old ones didn't have the benifits of modern plastic moulding and polishing techniques.They allmost felt like they had sand in them!
I have fooled with different lubricating ideas for early EOS lenses but have never found anything that works very much.

[cactusclay]

Thanks for the replies. As far as feeling compared to other lenses, it is terrible compared to L's or my 85, but It makes me feel better to know that it just might be normal, like Ron was saying. It seems to work fine, but every once in a while it seems to hit a tight spot. I really wanted the distance scale that the MK11 lacks, for doing self portraits and such and I figured for ten bucks and my MK11 I porobably couldn't go wrong. Anyway, thanks again for the info.

[Bodog]

The early EOS lenses has rediculously bad feeling focus rings.:o :o :o
The reason is that -while they had focus rings made of plastic running on plastic just like the newest versions- those old ones didn't have the benifits of modern plastic moulding and polishing techniques.They allmost felt like they had sand in them!
I have fooled with different lubricating ideas for early EOS lenses but have never found anything that works very much.
Sand, that's exactly how mine feels. I wouldn't worry about it being stiff. Mine has been like that for years and still going strong...

[skyphix]

I can tell you, I've got a cheaper 70-210 f/4 from a few years ago and the manual focus ring is anything but smooth.

[Adam Hicks]

I still don't get the whole allure to the 50mm 1.8 mkI. It's like people think they found a big prize. Either spend a few more bucks and get the REAL metal mount 50, the 1.4, or save some money and get the mkII which is often regarded as higher image quality. Big deal if it's a plastic mount... if you're that rough on your equipment you should be using a 1 series camera, and if you can afford a 1 series, you can afford the 1.4.

Soap box dismount... complete.

[cactusclay]

Well, Adam, the distance scale comes in handy when checking lighting situations in the studio, when I'm by myself and I had a hard time doing it with the MKII. I considered getting the 1.4, but I found this and it only cost ten bucks. After testing this lens out, I really don't see that the MKII is any better optically, at least not that I can see.

[Adam Hicks]

Well if you paid $10 for it than I certainly can't fault you... it's the guys who spend $120+ for them that confuse me.

Interesting comment on the distance scale though... I've never paid any attention to mine, mainly because I'm typically using zoom lenses off the scale. I guess it could be handy in very particular situations...

[Andy_T]

If you found it for 10$, that *is* a steal.
If it is in good and working condition and you advertise it right, you should be able to sell it on eBay for 100$ if you don't like it. That would be 100$ towards your 1.4 :lol:

I wonder why anybody would want to use manual focusing on the 10D/300D/20D anyway, especially with a f/1.8 lens.

I use it a lot (as I use some M42 MF lenses with adapter), but I find it to be *extremely* difficult to get focus right.
For me (I wear glasses), the normal (75%) situation is that the picture looks great in the viewfinder, looks ok when opened at low resolution (800*600) in Breezebrowser, but is blurred when looking at the 100% crops. I normally hit focus when I can focus on something clear-cut (mechanical objects) and take my time, but it's not so easy for portraits.
But that might just be my own ineptitude :o

Best regards,
Andy