Aperture blades on my 50mm f/1.4 came apart mid wedding shoot in Denver

Shot a wedding in Denver two Saturdays ago and halfway through the reception my 50mm f/1.4 suddenly started making this dry clicking sound, then the viewfinder went dark. Pulled the lens and shook it gently, and three aperture blades just fell loose inside the housing. I finished the night on a borrowed 35mm f/2, but I lost about 40 minutes of dancing shots while I swapped glass and calmed down. Got it on the bench at home and the blade pins are shot, plus one blade is bent at the tip, so this is a full aperture assembly, not a quick fix. Anyone here done a blade rebuild on one of these, and is it worth it or should I just hunt a donor lens?

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wade55820d ago

Blade rebuilds on these are doable but you need to be honest about the skill level. The tricky part isnt the blades themselves, its the timing ring and getting the pins to seat right without bending another tip. You need a clean bench, a bright lamp, and probably a couple hours on the first one because you will redo it at least once. Parts are the real problem since most of these aperture units are no longer sold new. A donor lens is often cheaper and faster, especially if its a version with a scratched front element or dead AF motor. Check the used market for a beat up copy and just swap the whole aperture block, way less risk than bending a blade at 11pm.

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