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I have a 155mm Kodak Ektar LF lens that has noticeable surface scratches on the front element. They are not noticeable without close inspection. I have not used this lens yet (it came with a camera I purchased) so my question is how bad do the scratches need to be to affect the image? Have anyone used a lens in this condition with good results? It is hard to see in a photo, but I tried with the attached shot. Thanks.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...3a28b289ff.jpg
Keep extraneous light off the lens by using a compendium shade or lens hood and you should be fine. Scratches on LF gear isn't much of a concern as long as you don't shoot into the light.
Thanks, Vinny.
The main effect will be loss of contrast, as these will flatten out B/W (mostly in the shadow range) and de-saturate bright colors...
But this effect can be your friend when shooting very contrasty scenes, or when shooting some films that are inherently contrasty (such as Foma B/W that tends to depress lower values), give an "old world" look, or to help boost shadows in low light/night scenes, so sometimes a happy marriage with some films/scenes!!!!
Steve K
check this link out, http://kurtmunger.com/dirty_lens_articleid35.html
Monsta: cool article, thanks for sharing. I will give the lens a trial run this weekend and see how it goes, but the extreme test done by the lens destroyer gives me hope.
I got a lens in a deal for an 8x10 camera and the lens had severe scratches on the front element, far worse than on your lens. The scratches were big and numerous, like they were intentionally done for revenge, sabotage, or some other reason. I tried it and the negatives were sharp. There was a loss of contrast but I was surprised how sharp it was. It's now gone to someone else in a later sale. I wonder if I should have kept it.