Gray spots in Schneider lens

[Tri-X]

Hi, everyone. this is my first post here. I am just getting started in large format photography, after years of shooting in 35mm and 120 formats.

I recently acquired a Schneider 120mm f/8 Super Angulon lens for my Deardorff 5x7 camera - I got the lens used from "a well known camera store located in New York City," shall we say. This lens was rated at 9+ and looks like it has been used very little, if any. It looks like a new lens.

Here's my question/concern: When inspecting the lens, I shined a flashlight into the front element and noticed gray spots (alot of them) on the black metal parts inside the lens. I'm wondering if these gray spots will cause degrade my image quality or if they will cause other problems down the road. The lens has a 90 day warranty from the seller, so I can send it back to have it repaired, if these gray spots are something I should be concerned about.

Any information that anyone can pass along on this situation I have with this lens will be greatly appreciated.

[Steven Tribe]

This is known as Schneideritis. Degradation of the mat black enamel. Is found on other manufacturers' lenses too. Other must comment on influence/treatment.
Use the search function.

[Gem Singer]

"Schneideritis".

A common ailment. The black paint around edges of the lens elements flakes off.

Will not effect the image quality, but does affect the re-sale value of the lens.

[Steven Tribe]

Sounds like "condition is 9+ - apart from the fairly bad case of Schneideritis".

[Tri-X]

Use the search function.

I did use the search function before I made my post. "Schneider gray spots" produced no results.

I had never heard the term "schneideritis" until now.

[Kevin Crisp]

It should have been mentioned by the seller or at least shown in photos of the lens if you had those. It does seem to affect value. The condition is extremely common in certain vintages of lens. I don't think anybody has ever backed up a claim that it affects the performance of the lens in any way. If you got a good deal on the lens, stick with it.

If you really need a flashlight to see it, it sounds like a very mild case. It is generally easily visible to the naked eye.

[jonathan_lipkin]

I have a 90mm super angulon with a fairly advanced case of schneideritis, and I think the IQ is fine.

[archer]

I spoke to a Fuji optician and Schneider Lens tester and was told the same thing by both. When MTF tests were performed on examples of lenses exhibiting significant "Schneideritis" there was no quantifiable degradation observable between lens samples with and without the condition. It is merely cosmetic and has no effect on the quality of the images produced by lenses afflicted with the condition. That's good enough for me and if I can pick up a bargain in the process so much the better. This is one place I can relax my usual anal retentivness
Denise Libby

[Steven Tribe]

There is no problem with the blackened lens edges, but there are lens designs which have dulling black enamel between elements. Schneideritis in these cases produces a continuing source of paint flakes on the internal lens surfaces.

[Tri-X]

If you really need a flashlight to see it, it sounds like a very mild case. It is generally easily visible to the naked eye.

It is visible without the use of a flashlight, but when you use a flashlight, it is pretty much rampant. The cosmetics of the rest of the lens looks to be LINB and the exposed glass surfaces are flawless.

Looking thru a lens with the aid of a flashlight reveals alot of things that are not visible to the unaided eye. Your "pristine" lens will not look so pristine. I wouldn't recommend it for the faint of heart or the obsessive-compulsive.