What to do with a damaged lens

[Dan Fromm]

Its great that you're giving the thing a chance. Early this year I was stuck with a really grotty, as with etched glass, 5"/4.5 Aviar. The difference between my situation and yours is that I paid for mine. The vendor wouldn't take it back so I kept it as a reminder to be less trusting. Eventually I tried it out and it turned out to be quite usable. Not quite as good as the 5" lens I'd been using, so it won't be a regular but ... And, as the 35 mm shooters with more discernment than I have are wont to say, it has great bokeh.

More recently I bought a pair of grab bag items that turned out to be 135/4.8 Lustrars "for the shutters." The #0 SynchroCompur Ps the lenses are in both need overhauls and the lenses both have etching on the front surface of the rear cell. Yes, inside the shutter. Explain that. But, y'know, the better of the two passes light and forms an image that doesn't look too bad, so I've tried it out too. Results are waiting to be sent to the lab.

All this makes me wonder if we aren't all too obsessive about how our lenses look. It seems that cruddy-looking lenses can do fairly well.

Cheers,

Dan

[Dave Moeller]

Y'know, if this thing works out, I might just have to sandblast the rear elements of all of my lenses!

(OK...seriously...if it works out, I might just try sandblasting a filter mounted behind my other lenses.)

[Jon_2416]

Hi Dave,

I have a Leica 90mm Tele-Elmarit that has "Leicaitis"--heavy etching on the rear elements. I sent it to John at Focal Point and he said it wasn't worth repairing. Interestingly enough, the lens is a great performer. I have not tried it in contrasty conditions, but it amazes me the image it produces--especially after looking through the rear elements with the aid of a flashlight.

You might have a really cool lens... or maybe John at FP can polish and recoat it. You might give him a ring. Or not!

[Conrad Hoffman]

I would use flat black paint and a very fine spotting brush. Cover each pit. You may have dozens of 'em, but if the glass between the pits is good, there shouldn't be much optical degradation at all. It will look terrible, and there may be some small light loss if the number is large, but give it a try. If you don't cover the pits, expect lower contrast and lots of flare.

[paulr]

If the pits do hurt the image quality (and it's likely that they will ... rear element damage is typically the worst kind, since it can actually cast shadows on the film), I'd call customer support at Rodenstock. I doubt they'd sell you a new element, but they might replace it for you (which is a better deal, anyhow ... they'll likely match the element to your specific lens, clean the whole thing, and test it. This is what Schnieder does, anyhow). The only question is cost. I did this once, but it was a warranty problem.

[CP Goerz]

Do a Google search for Optical Instruments Ltd(Balham), they are in the UK and have done some great work for me. As someone suggested DO shoot a sheet or two of film or if the groundglass goes milky white don't bother. The single element that is the offender can be removed since it isn't cemented sent alone for polishing, its cheaper that way too. If they have to pull the glass out they charge extra. It isn't expensive and since the lens is free you have little to lose, it'll be about $60 or so for the polishing, for coating (cold type) add another $40 or so. I haven't seen a price list in a while so maybe ask for one first.

CP Goerz

[Bryan Willman]

Does somebody have more detailed information on the shop or organization called "Focal Point"? Typing that into google produces a rather long list of irrelvent answers...

thx bmw

[Dave Moeller]

I shot a couple of sheets today and they're drying now. The image on the GG looked awfully darned good, and the negatives looked good (although it's impossible to tell for sure until they're dry). Should the lens turn out to be a decent performer, I'll find someplace to post a scan of a portion of the negative and a shot of the rear element of the lens...because I don't think many of you realize just what I mean when I say it looks "sandblasted". Filling in the spots with a Sharpie or a fine paintbrush would take weeks and would probably drive me insane. (Not much of a distance to drive, I realize.)

[Dan Fromm]

http://www.focalpointlens.com/

[Paul Ron]

You wouldn't dot each and every ding individually, you'd smear the paint over the entire surface of the lens and wipe it with a paper toel leaving the dings filled. It shouldn't take you more than a few seconds to do and another 20 minutes to dry. Once it is dry, wipe it some more to get the rest of the surface perfectly clean and shoot awway.