One of the lens elements on my G5 has become detached & is just rattling around inside the lens assembly. Although I can't remember a recent event, it may have been dropped. Also, recently, the lens would not retract but I eventually very gently helped it to retract & it has remained problem free until now. With lens open or closed the inner element can be seen slightly out of line &, with the camera switched on & the lens out, very lightly tapping the side of the lens barrel with a finger causes the loose inner element to move around. Bearing in mind the age & current value of the camera an expensive repair by a professional is out of the question so I'd like to repair this myself if at all possible. I'm pretty good at this kind of thing but would appreciate some pointers. Firstly, am I wasting my time? & secondly, where can I find a step by step guide?

Is it possible yes, is it recommended no. Lenses are full of little tiny precise parts that are difficult to assemble. The smuges you see are probably mildew. This will eat into the coating on the lens. Hanimex was a an importer based in Australia. They did not manufacture lenses themselves. I have used many legacy lenses on Olympus cameras, Hanimex and others. As a general rule I found these lenses did OK as a macro but only average in general use.

This is probably a problem with the lens, thry cleaning the lens with a cleaner kit.

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Open the door and grab the inside drum top and bottom, Wiggle back and forward, if it makes a knocking sound then either the bearings are worn or the drum has become detached from the bearing mount.

Hi,IF I were you I will search the eBay for a same lens as " parts only " which means lens does not work but you can use the some parts of it ..There are a lot on ebay..one example is below URL..pls visit both..
Brand name services always do this..Since you were doing unauthorized repair ,they do not like it..
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Item condition:For parts or not working

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nikon-Nikkor-18-200mm-ED-AF-S-3-5-5-6-READ-/200635517251?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item2eb6cf0943
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parts;
http://photography.shop.ebay.com/Lenses-/3323/i.html?_kw=Nikon&_kw=parts&_dmpt=Camera_Lenses&_stpos=&gbr=1

The fog is most likely lens fungus and is very difficult to remove, so is also expensive to remove. It's not suited to a DIY repair without special tools and equipment. Spare parts for your lens are practically unobtainable, and camera and lens repairers are much rarer these days.

With all due respect, your lens is nearly worthless even if in perfect condition, so your lens is totally beyond economic repair.

You have the following options (in no particular order):-

1. Discard your lens and replace it. You can find replacements very cheaply online, although you may need to be a little flexible as to what's acceptable. Tamron Adaptall-2 lenses can be very good and you can switch the lens mounting to fit your Minolta MD. Lesser-regarded brands such as Sunagor were also in reality very good lenses and their 80-250mm has a very similar effective focal length to your Vivitar. Hoya were also a less-regarded brand despite actually making many of the lenses for "better" brands (including Vivitar, from time to time). You can also find replacement lenses for free either by asking around friends and relatives or by looking/asking on FreeCycle and Gumtree, although it is harder to find them for Minolta than say, Canon, Nikon or Pentax. On the flip side I have had many complete and perfectly functional 35mm SLR outfits from FreeCycle, so if the lens comes with a body attached who's complaining?

2. If the fogging does not affect your images then live with it. if it does reduce contrast, then consider scanning your negatives/transparencies and using free software to repair the images.

3. Leave your lens out in daylight with the lens cap removed. Some of the common types of lens fungus are destroyed by UV light. It won't physically remove the fungus, nor will it repair any damage to the optical elements inside your lens, but it can recover an otherwise unusable lens. If the fogging inside is due to moisture instead, then the fogging may dissipate if the lens is left in a warm and sunny location which is well ventilated. Marks may remain, but they'll rarely affect image quality.

Good luck.

Hi

Thanks for using FixYa. To start with try to blow compressed air around the lens cover so that if there is any dirt it cleans if off. You can also stick a thin strip of paper between the lens shutter and the outer support ring & move it in a way that it clears the debris that's stuck in there. If still the issue is not resolved then you'll have to replace the lens assembly & lens mechanism to fix this issue. It is recommended to be done by a professional. Please do rate the solution if the issue is resolved or post a comment for further assistance.

Thanks

Rylee

Hello. First of all be sure that the lens and the camera are set to autofocus. If that doesn't solve the problem for you, turn on the camera, go into the menu and find the reset function. Reset the camera, what this will do is simply take the camera to all of the factory settings it had when it was new out of the box. J.

Who found the mold? The lens cannot be disassembled by you. It must be done at a Canon service center and it will be expensive.

This should help you reassemble correctly--

http://www.cloudynights.com/documents/cleaning2.pdf