Another method, using this tool is like old gunmakers used to use getting dents out of shotgun barrels,. You cinch up the tool so that the toggle side is against the dent. Add some but not a lot of pressure and, using a small nylon hammer, tap on the tool on the opposite side to the dent. This flexes the metal and encourages it to go back to its original shape. You just tap and tighten until the dent is out.
I think that's the correct way to use this tool. Even has a flat spot on the end to hit it with a hammer. And also give gentle taps around the dent with a soft hammer while there's pressure on it from the vice. I went to autobody school and repairing dents isn't brute force pounding out dents with a hammer. It's putting pressure on the dent with a dolly and then gently hammer with a somewhat sideways blow around the dent and that causes the metal to vibrate which relaxes it and the pressure moves the dent out.
Always warm the thread with a hairdryer and add a small amount of lubricant to the threads before you work on it. Use a black permanent marker on the threads after to hide the silver
Thanks for the video! I have 2 different tools on the way to try them out. I've seen videos where it worked and where it did not. I guess it really depends on the amount of damage and the way you use the tool. You are the first person that has said to make sure to keep the tool perfectly level with the ring. That makes sense so you do not cut the threads accidentally. I mainly need to get the front glass off my lens and the bent ring will not allow the name ring to come out. Hopefully the tool can get it straight enough to get the front apart.
@@jackthehatphoto In hind sight, I probably should have. I've done enough hole tapping to know that lol. But I did get the lens apart and the glass all cleaned up thanks to your video :).
Your video was very informative. Amazon has the tool you described now and I have placed it on my 'Wish List' for future purchase. This would be a great addition to our local club members when an issue of a dropped lens does come around. One of the best areas in your video is the little template of cardboard to protect the lens. Thank you for your insight.
wow this tool's great. i thought it's the end of the world when i accidentally dropped my 16mm lens. hope i can find this kind of tool here in the philippines.
I would not recommend doing that, because afterwards you must remove all the grease from the threads without using aggressive solvent, wich is a hard thing to do. maybe you could use a bit of soap instead of grease, but I also don't know if that is such a good idea.
@@chipcurry Even worse than grease.....Try cleaning that out of a lens with having to dismatle it, never put grease or oil in a lens where it doesn't need it, lenses very rarely need oil, capillary action is a devil.
Hi Tom, this tool has now been updated. The new version of this tool can be found here: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BFHYZZKH I will update the link on RUclips.
@@jackthehatphoto Cardboard can absolutely scratch the coatings on a lens like this. At minimum i would at least just cut a piece of microfiber cloth to use for this. If it's worth fixing your thousand dollar lens, it's worth cutting up a $5 microfiber cloth.
@@lethalmindninja I agree a cloth would have been better but I think simply placing a piece if card on the surface of the lens is very unlikely to cause any damage.
@@lethalmindninja as an owner of dozen lenses from top line modern 135 lens to vintage large format lenses from the 30s, I can tell you a cardboard like this will definitely not damage modern coatings, modern coatings are even harder than the glass beneath, stop babying your lens its tougher than you imagine
@@passcomcompass2623 That's fantastic Marvin. I however spent years working in manufacturing producing some of the most expensive rifle scope optics on the planet sourcing and paying for the rights to use some of the exact patented coatings used on the modern lenses in question. I can absolutely with 100% certainty tell you that cardboard can and will scratch these coatings. There is a reason you're not even supposed to use cotton to clean these lenses. Though these scratches will not alter the light transmission in any perceivable or detrimental way to the image it is very easy to scratch these coatings badly enough that a person looking at the lens will see them and massively lower the value of the lens...something any professional should be cautious of. I have $45k lenses sitting in our gear room as i'm writing this and any person working here would be fired on the spot if they were caught cleaning a lens with cotton let alone letting cardboard sit on the surface of the lenses. I'm not sure why anyone would bother to argue that people should be LESS careful with their equipment but any person that relies on their gear for work and has invested their own money in that gear with entrepreneurial intentions should absolutely continue to 'baby' their gear and make sure it retains every dollar of value possible. ESPECIALLY when it's something as easy to avoid as this.
If the filter thread is slightly mishapen is it possible to fix this? And if when attaching the lense to the camera it may over rotate, if using to much force ..is that something that can be fixed?
Hello! Cool video for sure. I have a problem with a Tokina 16-50 2.8, but I can't remove the front ring... there's no gap to place a spanner... D you have any idea how to remove this ring so I can acces the screws behind it? Thanks in advance... Cheers!
I'm not sure. Some front rings can only be removed by using a rubber lens tool like these: www.ebay.com/itm/9in1-Rubber-Lens-Repair-Tool-Filter-Wrench-Opening-Ring-Set/122530615391?
@@jackthehatphoto If you don't have a friction tool (or the right size one) blue tack is a good alternative: Roll out a thin sausage of the stuff to encircle the ring (protect lens first), then use the palm of your hand to twist the ring loose.
Fine for lenses with metal filter threads. What about those with plastic? Are they repairable? Usually?Often/Rarely/Never ?? Would all that flexing risk breaking a chunk out of the filter thread?
I doubt this tool would work with plastic threads. Plastic has a habit of springing back into place and cannot be bent back into shape like metal. Sorry.
I have the same problem :( I somehow stepped on my damn lens in a hotel room at night and now it's dented just like this. Took it to a camera shop and they were able to get the broken filter glass out, but not the threads of the lens filter. It's crunched a small bit into the threads of the lens. I wish I were brave enough to attempt this with your device, but I'm not. How much do you think Canon would charge to fix a lens with approximately the same dent as in this video?
If I were you I would have a go at removing the remains of the lens filter yourself. As long as you don't damage the front element of the lens you won't have much to lose. Even if you make a mess of it, the professional repair bill probably won't increase. I don't know how much Canon would charge for repair. If you're in the UK, I recommend a company called Fixation. They did an excellent repair job on my 24-105mm f4L.
I tried this out on my micro-nikkor, got the dent out to the point where I can screw on a filter, but unfortunately with that repetitive twisting motion it seems I may have damaged the helicoid… it’s totally jammed and can’t be turned to focus at all… solved a minor issue and created a major one
@@allshreeek8054 I managed to get it to turn but it’s very rough and something is grinding on the inside... I’m just going to take this as an opportunity to upgrade to the f/2.8
YEAH! This worked for me. Thanks for demo-ing how it works. I can now use an old used lens w/ polariser filter. & instead of cardboard I cut up some photo lens cloth to cover. My lens had a centimeter of metal around it so I had less to worry about scratching. would be scary on a big lens with glass to edge. Cheers
I know this video is a few years old, but good video non the less, my question is to Jack the Hat Photographic, were you using the correct lens hood when this happened?
I wasn't using a lens hood. I picked up my camera bag without realising it was open and 3 lenses fell out onto the concrete. This lens was the only one that had noticeable damage.
Hi, you can buy the tool here: www.jackthehat.co.uk/lens-repair-vise-tool-fixing-filter-threads-p-1186.html You can pay in US dollars, UK pounds or Euros. We ship worldwide.
This makes me a bit nervous, considering you're using force to try and straighten out the threads. i wonder if anyone has destroyed the threads doing this? I dented my filter threads on my 16-35mm 2.8 LII. Called canon, and they can provide a new barrel assembly for ~$80. So if you buy this tool and can't fix it, or mess it up, a new barrel assembly isn't that expensive. I can't find any guides or tutorials online of how to replace it thought, and Canon doesn't give a guide.
My theory is that, even if you make a mess of the repair and damage the threads permanently, the bill for getting the thread assembly replaced by a professional is going to be no more expensive than it would have been anyway. I have repaired a few other lenses using this method since I made this video and all have been successful so far. Obviously use your own judgement, some lenses are not going to be repairable if the lens is very badly dented.
A very handy tool and with patience, and the result is fantastic !!
Thank you for sharing.
Another method, using this tool is like old gunmakers used to use getting dents out of shotgun barrels,. You cinch up the tool so that the toggle side is against the dent. Add some but not a lot of pressure and, using a small nylon hammer, tap on the tool on the opposite side to the dent. This flexes the metal and encourages it to go back to its original shape. You just tap and tighten until the dent is out.
This ^, lens vice repair tools like this should really come with a small hammer else people will just crank it out and hope for the best.
I think that's the correct way to use this tool. Even has a flat spot on the end to hit it with a hammer. And also give gentle taps around the dent with a soft hammer while there's pressure on it from the vice. I went to autobody school and repairing dents isn't brute force pounding out dents with a hammer. It's putting pressure on the dent with a dolly and then gently hammer with a somewhat sideways blow around the dent and that causes the metal to vibrate which relaxes it and the pressure moves the dent out.
Handy tool. Just removed a dented B&W filter from my Olympus lens. Awesome!
Always warm the thread with a hairdryer and add a small amount of lubricant to the threads before you work on it. Use a black permanent marker on the threads after to hide the silver
Thanks! What lubricant would you recommend? Won't it leak onto the glass? I have a badly dent lens here as I just dropped my camera... Thank you
@@jd5787 A lithium grease if you any or a very small amount of oil.
@@geoffankrett7012 thanks! Wish me luck... The lens was in mint condition for 30 years before meeting me... 😭😉
Ummm. No, not for me.
@@TBNTX That's probably because you haven't spent a life in engineering
Thanks for the video! I have 2 different tools on the way to try them out. I've seen videos where it worked and where it did not. I guess it really depends on the amount of damage and the way you use the tool. You are the first person that has said to make sure to keep the tool perfectly level with the ring. That makes sense so you do not cut the threads accidentally. I mainly need to get the front glass off my lens and the bent ring will not allow the name ring to come out. Hopefully the tool can get it straight enough to get the front apart.
I should have also said to use some grease or lubricant in the threads to help the tool move more freely. Best of luck!
@@jackthehatphoto In hind sight, I probably should have. I've done enough hole tapping to know that lol. But I did get the lens apart and the glass all cleaned up thanks to your video :).
Your video was very informative. Amazon has the tool you described now and I have placed it on my 'Wish List' for future purchase. This would be a great addition to our local club members when an issue of a dropped lens does come around. One of the best areas in your video is the little template of cardboard to protect the lens. Thank you for your insight.
Thanks for your kind comments. The tool is available to purchase on our website: www.jackthehat.co.uk
what's the link in Amazon?
wow this tool's great. i thought it's the end of the world when i accidentally dropped my 16mm lens. hope i can find this kind of tool here in the philippines.
Would it make sense to put a small amount of grease onto the tool to reduce friction between the tool and the lens filter thread?
Yes. That's a very good idea. I didn't think of that.
I would not recommend doing that, because afterwards you must remove all the grease from the threads without using aggressive solvent, wich is a hard thing to do. maybe you could use a bit of soap instead of grease, but I also don't know if that is such a good idea.
Maybe a little graphite…
@@chipcurry Even worse than grease.....Try cleaning that out of a lens with having to dismatle it, never put grease or oil in a lens where it doesn't need it, lenses very rarely need oil, capillary action is a devil.
Thanks! I just dropped one of my lenses... Pretty badly bent on 1 side. That video will come in handy!
The Amazon link says 'Currently Unavailable.' Any idea when it will be?
Hi Tom, this tool has now been updated. The new version of this tool can be found here: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BFHYZZKH
I will update the link on RUclips.
Brilliant! Worked like a charm!
The tool looks excellent but I don't like the idea of putting card on my lens
Why? Cardboard cannot damage the front element of the lens.
@@jackthehatphoto Cardboard can absolutely scratch the coatings on a lens like this. At minimum i would at least just cut a piece of microfiber cloth to use for this. If it's worth fixing your thousand dollar lens, it's worth cutting up a $5 microfiber cloth.
@@lethalmindninja I agree a cloth would have been better but I think simply placing a piece if card on the surface of the lens is very unlikely to cause any damage.
@@lethalmindninja as an owner of dozen lenses from top line modern 135 lens to vintage large format lenses from the 30s, I can tell you a cardboard like this will definitely not damage modern coatings, modern coatings are even harder than the glass beneath, stop babying your lens its tougher than you imagine
@@passcomcompass2623 That's fantastic Marvin. I however spent years working in manufacturing producing some of the most expensive rifle scope optics on the planet sourcing and paying for the rights to use some of the exact patented coatings used on the modern lenses in question. I can absolutely with 100% certainty tell you that cardboard can and will scratch these coatings. There is a reason you're not even supposed to use cotton to clean these lenses. Though these scratches will not alter the light transmission in any perceivable or detrimental way to the image it is very easy to scratch these coatings badly enough that a person looking at the lens will see them and massively lower the value of the lens...something any professional should be cautious of. I have $45k lenses sitting in our gear room as i'm writing this and any person working here would be fired on the spot if they were caught cleaning a lens with cotton let alone letting cardboard sit on the surface of the lenses. I'm not sure why anyone would bother to argue that people should be LESS careful with their equipment but any person that relies on their gear for work and has invested their own money in that gear with entrepreneurial intentions should absolutely continue to 'baby' their gear and make sure it retains every dollar of value possible. ESPECIALLY when it's something as easy to avoid as this.
Hi, nice tool ! Is the threaded area of the tool made of metal, brass etc...any idea what material it is made from....? Thanks in advance.
The tool is made entirely from metal. I'm not sure what kind of metal but it's not brass.
If the filter thread is slightly mishapen is it possible to fix this?
And if when attaching the lense to the camera it may over rotate, if using to much force ..is that something that can be fixed?
It cant just smash back. Would material get together? Ive got same issue. Ill be watching.
Thank you
Impressive - good work!
nice one,,, I got the same problem with my canon 70-200mm 2.8 ii :(
I hope that device available in the Philippines.
Hello! Cool video for sure.
I have a problem with a Tokina 16-50 2.8, but I can't remove the front ring... there's no gap to place a spanner...
D you have any idea how to remove this ring so I can acces the screws behind it?
Thanks in advance...
Cheers!
I'm not sure. Some front rings can only be removed by using a rubber lens tool like these: www.ebay.com/itm/9in1-Rubber-Lens-Repair-Tool-Filter-Wrench-Opening-Ring-Set/122530615391?
@@jackthehatphoto If you don't have a friction tool (or the right size one) blue tack is a good alternative: Roll out a thin sausage of the stuff to encircle the ring (protect lens first), then use the palm of your hand to twist the ring loose.
@@hoverboverer Great tip! Thanks.
Fine for lenses with metal filter threads. What about those with plastic? Are they repairable? Usually?Often/Rarely/Never ?? Would all that flexing risk breaking a chunk out of the filter thread?
I doubt this tool would work with plastic threads. Plastic has a habit of springing back into place and cannot be bent back into shape like metal. Sorry.
I have the same problem :( I somehow stepped on my damn lens in a hotel room at night and now it's dented just like this. Took it to a camera shop and they were able to get the broken filter glass out, but not the threads of the lens filter. It's crunched a small bit into the threads of the lens. I wish I were brave enough to attempt this with your device, but I'm not. How much do you think Canon would charge to fix a lens with approximately the same dent as in this video?
If I were you I would have a go at removing the remains of the lens filter yourself. As long as you don't damage the front element of the lens you won't have much to lose. Even if you make a mess of it, the professional repair bill probably won't increase. I don't know how much Canon would charge for repair. If you're in the UK, I recommend a company called Fixation. They did an excellent repair job on my 24-105mm f4L.
ruclips.net/video/-qQh0X7XAUo/видео.html you can order the part from canon and replace it.. it's easy
I tried this out on my micro-nikkor, got the dent out to the point where I can screw on a filter, but unfortunately with that repetitive twisting motion it seems I may have damaged the helicoid… it’s totally jammed and can’t be turned to focus at all… solved a minor issue and created a major one
If you force it it should give. Sometimes the helicoid can jam and you have to force it back
@@allshreeek8054 I managed to get it to turn but it’s very rough and something is grinding on the inside... I’m just going to take this as an opportunity to upgrade to the f/2.8
Nice, go for it!
Excellent. need one for my Laowa 9mm. Cheers.
YEAH! This worked for me. Thanks for demo-ing how it works. I can now use an old used lens w/ polariser filter. & instead of cardboard I cut up some photo lens cloth to cover. My lens had a centimeter of metal around it so I had less to worry about scratching. would be scary on a big lens with glass to edge.
Cheers
Will the small side fit the eyepiece on a F100
No, sorry.
wish u could fix mine too :-( aahhhhh
I know this video is a few years old, but good video non the less, my question is to Jack the Hat Photographic, were you using the correct lens hood when this happened?
I wasn't using a lens hood. I picked up my camera bag without realising it was open and 3 lenses fell out onto the concrete. This lens was the only one that had noticeable damage.
@@jackthehatphoto was it a Canon cam bag?
@@jimbecarroll5780 It was a Lowepro Trekker AW.
where can i find this tool? cant seem to find on the website
Hi, you can buy the tool here: www.jackthehat.co.uk/lens-repair-vise-tool-fixing-filter-threads-p-1186.html
You can pay in US dollars, UK pounds or Euros. We ship worldwide.
This is cool
Thankyou for this sugestion
in total how long did it take to repair the lens?
Probably about 1 hour but this was my first attempt at a repair so I was being extra careful.
How much money did the glass has
How much did the lens cost? I paid approximately £700 ($1000) for it when I bought it new.
Can’t say I would have held the lens down the bottom like that and torqued against the autofocus motors!
The filter threads on the 200mm lens in the video are not linked to the AF motor in any way. They are firmly embedded in the lens casing.
You can rotate a block of wood inside it to straighten a dented filter thread.
Your tool would be better for expensive lenses though.
my 70-200 ii has this problem too but i am insanely afraid of trying to do that myself. anyone in the comments tried this tool??
I am insanely afraid as well. I wish I could get my 24-105 fixed.
This makes me a bit nervous, considering you're using force to try and straighten out the threads. i wonder if anyone has destroyed the threads doing this? I dented my filter threads on my 16-35mm 2.8 LII. Called canon, and they can provide a new barrel assembly for ~$80. So if you buy this tool and can't fix it, or mess it up, a new barrel assembly isn't that expensive. I can't find any guides or tutorials online of how to replace it thought, and Canon doesn't give a guide.
Here's a guide for the 16-35mm. It seems like a really easy repair. ruclips.net/video/-qQh0X7XAUo/видео.html
My theory is that, even if you make a mess of the repair and damage the threads permanently, the bill for getting the thread assembly replaced by a professional is going to be no more expensive than it would have been anyway. I have repaired a few other lenses using this method since I made this video and all have been successful so far. Obviously use your own judgement, some lenses are not going to be repairable if the lens is very badly dented.
@@jackthehatphoto yeah i have a pretty severe dent in mind, not minor. Gonna replace the front barrel.
Sorry, Thank you.
Are you behind the sale of that somewaht useful tool?
Yes, we certainly are. The tool can be purchased here: www.jackthehat.co.uk/lens-repair-vise-tool-fixing-filter-threads-p-1186.html
@@jackthehatphoto Hi - This link is dead - Is the product still available? Thanks
Get a black touch up pen to mark out the paint removal.
Buy them on ebay and Amazon!
Edit this down to 2 minutes.You oaf
Try the RUclips slider bar, that's what it's for. Or you could just go to 11:27 if you're really that impatient.
Yea, I gave up after seeing the time of this videoooooooooooooooo
How rude you are aaron lucas!! Ingrate.