HELP: 24-70 GMII Dropped!

[Raglo]

URGENT! Dropped my A7S3 with the 24-70 GM II and luckily everything seems to be working. The filter thread however is bent so I can’t mount any filters on. Is this serviceable? Also, is there anything else I should be checking to make sure everything is ok with the camera? Images attached below.

UPDATE: I managed to bend the dented part back out and can put filters on but they are a bit tight. Not perfect but I guess it could have been worse.

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[FunWithCameras]

On some lenses the filter thread is easily replaced. I do not know if this is one of those. Why not take it in to a repair place and ask?

[Phormula]

It happened to me back in the '90s.

I wold recommend to have the lens professionally serviced. Even if everything seems to work fine, the hit could had misaligned the lenses inside. Mine was out of focus in a corner after the hit. They will also tell you the cost of replacing the filter thread. I remembered that at the time I spent about one fifth of the cost of the lens (it was a prosumer zoom, not an entry level one neither a professional) and got it cleaned, lubricated, realingned and with a new filter thread by the official repair lab of the manufacturer.

[XKAES]

The EZ way to solve this "problem" is to attach a UV filter -- and LEAVE it there.  There should be one on there anyway -- to protect the lens from scratches and DROPS.  Then, if you want to add another filter, NO PROBLEM.

You can spend a lot of $$$ and have your lens & camera checked out, or you can continue to use it -- and only have it checked out IF you have a problem.

Edited October 15, 2023 by XKAES

[FunWithCameras]

4 hours ago, XKAES said:

The EZ way to solve this "problem" is to attach a UV filter -- and LEAVE it there.  There should be one on there anyway -- to protect the lens from scratches and DROPS.  Then, if you want to add another filter, NO PROBLEM.

You can spend a lot of $$$ and have your lens & camera checked out, or you can continue to use it -- and only have it checked out IF you have a problem.

I wish people would stop say "UV filter" when they mean protective filter.

Last century camera shops would try to sell you a filter to protect the front element each time you bought a new lens. There were two theories as to why they did this: one was that the margin on filters was large, so they made a good profit on selling you one; the other was that the replacement of the front element could be an expensive repair.

Either way, the most common choice as a protective filter was a UV filter (or a "haze" filter, which was another name for a UV filter). UV could indeed cause haziness on film, so there was a real reason to have one on the camera if you were shooting in sunlight, and it had fairly minimal impact shooting indoors, so it didn't hurt much to leave it on all the time. Plus UV filters were pretty cheap as filters go. So it wasn't a ridiculous choice. 

Things have changed. First off - digital sensors are immune to UV, so there's no good reason to put a UV filter onto a digital camera. Second, there are purpose-built protective filters. They are made to be as transparent as possible, with multiple layers of coatings to eliminate reflections and to maximise light transmission. And they are tough - the Sigma protective filter demo with bouncing a large ball bearing off the surface of one of their "transparent ceramic" filters is impressive. Other brands use chemically hardened or toughened glass - they are truly tough, and far tougher than any normal filter, UV or otherwise.

So if you are going to suggest putting a protective filter onto a lens, say "use a protective filter", not a UV filter.

[XKAES]

Your point is well taken, but I meant UV, but not just as a protective filter.  I use UV filters (all multi-coated) for both purposes and since I shoot film and digital sticking with UV makes sense.  Plus, there  are so many used UV filters out there, you can get them for about the cost of postage.  I have no idea about the cost of protective filters, but something tells me you can find a UV for a lot less -- as you point out: "Plus UV filters were pretty cheap as filters go."

So I'll keep saying UV -- a great DUAL-purpose filter.

Edited October 15, 2023 by XKAES

[tadwil]

https://www.amazon.ca/Neewer-Camera-Repair-Adjustment-Construction/dp/B07NJS1RML/ref=sr_1_5?crid=12366D9ZK6F4M&keywords=filter+ring+repair&qid=1697411370&sprefix=filter+ring+repair%2Caps%2C190&sr=8-5

Maybe you can try this filter ring repair tool to straighten out the dent.

[FunWithCameras]

2 hours ago, XKAES said:

Your point is well taken, but I meant UV, but not just as a protective filter.  I use UV filters (all multi-coated) for both purposes and since I shoot film and digital sticking with UV makes sense.  Plus, there  are so many used UV filters out there, you can get them for about the cost of postage.  I have no idea about the cost of protective filters, but something tells me you can find a UV for a lot less -- as you point out: "Plus UV filters were pretty cheap as filters go."

So I'll keep saying UV -- a great DUAL-purpose filter.

Still shooting film is a very good reason to be buying UV filters. Back when I was shooting film I mostly used Hoya Skylight haze filters, but I'm sure other brands are at least as good.

This lens, however, is E mount, which means it probably can't be used on a film camera. I say probably, because maybe there's an adapter I don't know about.

I priced the Sigma transparent ceramic filters when they came out, and yes, they were seriously pricy. Other brands, not quite so much. Someone once commented that a big part of the price of good filters was the multicoating, but I suspect they were talking about filters like the classic coloured filters - I imagine not so much things like cirb-pol.

[XKAES]

The main problem with those tools (there are lots of them out there) is that they create the same exact outward pressure on both sides of the filter ring.  So while you are pushing the dent out on one side, you are creating an equal OUTWARD dent on the other side.  Think Newton's Law.

Plus, they are not cheap.  All Raglo needs to do it get a UV (or clear) filter in place, which he has said can be done, and he's all set with a new set of front filter threads -- AND protection for the NEXT time he drops it.  There WON'T be a next time, of course!

[Landshark]

If it hard enough to damage the filter ring you should have the lens mount checked for alignment, could have not it out of wack