Voigtlander 40mm F1.4 is one of my favorite CV lens. It renders great on Leica M, and also adapted on Fujifilm X cameras producing pleasant classic looking images without extra modern sharpness. I had few samples in the past required cleaning of the glass surface in the aperture chamber, and typically disassembled the rear area. In this post I’ll also show how to run disassembly from the front which looks easier.
Voigtlander 40mm F1.4 parts
Front area disassembly steps
- Unscrew CCW the front black plate (pic 1.1) with lettering (I’m using rubber ring for that)
- Unscrew three small screws holding the chrome hood/filter mount ring (pic 1.2), then pull it out.
- Use spanner wrench to unscrew CCW the front lens frame outer ring (pix 1.3).
Now you have access to aperture chamber and can easily clean glass there, or aperture blades if needed. You can also disassemble front glass frame for glass replacement if required.
For the rear area disassembly you may also look for very useful guide from helino-photo , I didn’t know how to move further with helicoid disassembly until found that guide and was able only to disassemble the glass frame and lens mount.
Rear area disassembly steps
Use spanner wrench and unscrew CCW ring which secures lens core inside focusing helicoid.
After that pull out lens core and put it aside. Now unscrew four black bolts holding focusing frame with distance indicators.
Now you can unscrew two bolts holding focusing knob.
Grab rear lens frame with rubber band or gloves and unscrew rear optical module CCW.
At this point you’ll have access to the aperture chamber, and also will be able to disassemble and grease focusing helicoid.
Tinkering with photo equipment is my big hobby. It's often quite challenging to explore disassembly steps or designing new useful accessories, but also a joy to share them later with people. I keep these activities apart from primary work, though appreciating a small tips for a coffee if you find my shared results useful.