The dirtiest lens you ever loved

[Diane Maher]

Another thread regarding lens cleaning made me think of this. I know there are a lot of us out there who wind up with some of the filthiest, grungy looking lenses for LF that most small format photographers would freak out at. So, when you cleaned up your dirty lens, did you find that you loved it and use it a lot? What kind of lens is it and can you show a picture of how dirty it was?

Mine is a Crown Anastigmat Series I 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in a Compound shutter. It's a great lens on the whole plate format.

[Skorzen]

I found a SMC Takumar (Pentax) 85mm f1.8 small format portrait lens at a second hand store for $15 that was covered with dust and some kind of oily residue. I cleaned it up and the glass was perfect. As I already had a very similar lens I sold it later for $300. Dirt is ok if it just sits there and is cleaned carefully.

[Michael Graves]

159mm Wollensak WA. The inside elements had a coating of some sort of film that I didn't notice when i purchased the lens. The first few shots came out with this dreamy not-soft, not-sharp effect where all the highlights glowed. I stupidly cleaned the lens while I had it apart and it hasn't been the same since. Now all it does is give sharp evenly exposed photos. What fun is that?

[Mark Woods]

Michael, maybe you could use some hair spray or dulling spray in between the elements and get some of the fun back. ;-)

[Glenn Thoreson]

159mm Wollensak WA. The inside elements had a coating of some sort of film that I didn't notice when i purchased the lens. The first few shots came out with this dreamy not-soft, not-sharp effect where all the highlights glowed. I stupidly cleaned the lens while I had it apart and it hasn't been the same since. Now all it does is give sharp evenly exposed photos. What fun is that?

Michael, I've heard other people say the same thing. "I cleaned all the crud off. Now it's ruined". One never knows.

[Jim Noel]

Several years ago I bought a 75mm WA Dagor. It was so encrusted with dirt I had to scrape to identify it. After careful cleaning it is a wonderful lens. Easily cover 4x5.

[Carsten Wolff]

My "new" Cooke 7.3" Series II perhaps....came in a cigar box with some other lovely lenses.(Doppel-Anastigmat)...amongst the many pieces of glass in that box was also an early 120mm/f6.8 Dagor , a nice B&L RR, an interesting Aplanat and a brilliant tiny ~7" "landscape lens" which seems to cover way more than 5x7 in an accurate, reliably working(!) Ensign-Simplex shutter... plus a number of Kodak Anastigmat and other cells....all for a few bucks incl. shipping. None of the stuff seemed to have been touched since the Great War... The Cooke: http://blufiles.storage.live.com/y1p0-chEdS-4msyy6wt5ojMMIPpyqKjExDQ5stGeU9Nx2vTBL--KFuEqU-RzGLWgfPr
The Goerz Berlin, in focussing mount: http://blufiles.storage.live.com/y1p2yZ7sJ2MlYa7AGSFXQP_JOOcdWkoLR_Xq07Hx99zhw6UIhTP_B1UAXDfOen0C4Yu

I haven't taken any "after" shots of them yet...also, I never bothered totally restoring the barrels; just cleaned the optics to be able to use them. The Cooke is wonderful on the 5x7, and the Goerz fine for 4x5. Another bottom-feeder thread...:)

[Ole Tjugen]

There's one I don't dare clean: A 15cm f:3,5 Schneider Xenar Typ D. It's "self coated" with a thin layer of "bloom", and any but the most careful cleaning might dameage the natural coating.

And then there's the one I would like to have recemented: A very early Steinheil Aplanat. The balsam in the front cell is yellowed and cracked, but it's still as sharp and clear as it was when new - almost 140 years ago.

[Joe Smigiel]

8.75" Verito in Betax shutter. It had been found in an attic and was so filthy with encrusted dust I barely recognized it on eBay. I think I paid about $110 for it IIRC and it cleaned up to be in excellent condition.

[Jim Noel]

I once purchased a small lens in a Deckel Compur shutter that was so dirty I could not tell what it was.Paid $35 for it because I needed the shutter.
When I cleaned it I found a beautiful 75mm WA Dagor. I used it for a while and when I went to larger cameras I sold it to a friend who still uses it on a 4x5.

[Allen in Montreal]

159mm Wollensak WA. The inside elements had a coating of some sort of film that I didn't notice when i purchased the lens. The first few shots came out with this dreamy not-soft, not-sharp effect where all the highlights glowed. I stupidly cleaned the lens while I had it apart and it hasn't been the same since. Now all it does is give sharp evenly exposed photos. What fun is that?

I had a 159 like that too once upon a time, like a typical young fool at the time, I thought it was junk and tossed it in a box with a bunch "old junk" I sold off to finance a modern lens.

I would give anything to have it back now. :mad: