My takeaway from this: buy a 0.95 aperture lens if you are planning to leave dust and other crap all over the front and rear elements. I’ll tell my wife this is why I buy Leica Noctilux. Hope it goes well! 😉
That's what i've been finding out aswell. Small scratches on front of the lens, and dust inside has little to no effect. Finger prints / oil and dust on sensor is much more of an issue (sensor being the most important to address), both easy and moderately easy to fix. As the focus point gets closer to front of the lens / sensor, so do the issues become more noticeable. Using the closest focus with small aperture, macro extension tubes, macro lenses... If something will show up, it's in these extreme close scenarios. Just a bit more distance to the subject (typical normal distance), and just a bit more wider aperture and most of the issues dissolve to out of focus blur. So, nowadays i don't worry so much about about a small scratch or few on the front of the element. It's harder to sell, but if you take enough sample images against strong light etc. then that'll make the deal. Or just use it yourself and enjoy it, get over it. As for the dust inside the lens... Typically i leave it there, but if it's a simple manual lens from the vintage era, and there's lot of dust / haze, then it's worth to open and clean at some point. Great learning experience, but take your sweet time, use the right tools and read any instructions if they're out there. Prepare to change the lubes aswell. When there's a LOT of dust, it eventually creates a nice buffet for the bacteria, which eventually land on the glass surface to munch some more. First they just spread on the lens surface, but eventually will start to etch the lens. This take a long time and very favorable circumstances for the bacteria. I'm thinking a dark place, stuffed away to a dead air container (the lens can't "breathe"), some moisture, and years and decades of neglect. perfect. Fungus is rare, but some parts of the world are most prone to it. So, what i would say is that enjoy your cameras / lenses and use them, even if they're little "imperfect". Who's perfect anyways? Take them out for a spin every now and then, give your good care and intention to them, and they'll serve you fine for a long while to comes. Besides, it's only materia, and materia is bound to perish, just like we are. So enjoy them while it lasts, but it's not serious. Don't take lenses nor your life too seriously. Just enjoy the ride, and learn to let go aswell. Happy shooting :)
Agree 100%. My main gear is quite expensive (5Ds R, 11-24, 300 2.8 II ++), but I also have a cheap/light/rough APS-C kit that is always in my car or on my shoulder; 550D/Rebel T2i + EF-S 18-135mm. I want an EF-S 10-18mm, as cheap as possible. I'm not terrified by "some" scratches. But, I'm uncertain of how much "some" is? And *where* on the (front) element it does make most damage to IQ (in flare/ghost situations). I'll assume that centre is worst. I love HQ bokeh and bokeh circles, but I don't make many into-the-sun images with that cheap kit. It is bit sad they didn't test out scratching in incremental steps. They just went from none to catastrophe :-(
Well, what i remember from testing the dust on m4/3 sensor, the issues appear quite linear. So, one could expect linear increase as the dof increases. As for the scraches, i've mostly dealt with old vintage manual lenses. They are not the sharpest (when compared to modern optics), but certainly not slouch either when stopping down a bit. With one or even few slight scraches, i didn't notice any major issues, or anything to worry about. One lens had deeper a scratch, but even then i didn't notice any issues. I didn't do the most rigorous tests in real life, but still enough to push them to extremes (strong light source near-by from an off-angle). So, with these experiences i'd say lenses and glass (and coatings) are much tougher and forgiving we let them credit for. The real issues in my mind comes from: 1. Dust in sensor (easy fix) 2. Fingerprint in sensor (yucky, but still ok to fix) 3. Heavy dust, fungus, haze inside lens (challenging to fix, if succesful). 4. Fingerprint in rear of the lens (easy fix) So, the sctraches don't even appear on that list on mine. The scraches should be abnormally heavy to affect (i'm thinking dragging the lens on a sandy beach, leaving with no cap to purse with keys etc.), and then i'd think the light scattering around would be main issue. Scraches on the center or sides of the lens, can't say which is better or worse. It's hard to predict in what angle and how the light comes to lens. That's my guess on it. Typically you get scratches on center area anyways. Nowadays i don't even go crazy on seemingly serious issues on sensor surface (say a scratch). That's because often the issue in not even reaching the sensor, but glass protecting and behind that a thick UV/IR blocker, and finally the sensor some 2-4 milllimiters behind. So, scratched sensor could easily be converted to let's say Infrared camera, by removing the scraches glass protector and UV/IR blocker.
Here's a little tip for selling damaged lenses. I bought a chipped vintage Nikkon 50mm 1.2 years ago and the damage had no effect on the image quality at all as far as I could tell. When it came time to sell it, I included sample images in the listing of f1.2-f16 and shooting into light in the listing. Because I took the time to do this, I was able to sell the lens for considerably more than I bought it for.
The findings of this experiment is no surprise to any spec wearing people. I have long known that the biggest "enemy" is fingerprint marks, not dust or even scratches on my glasses. I just don't bother cleaning my lenses if there are a few specks of dust on the surface, but I do always wipe off smudges.
Thanks for this video, I had a huge panic attack when I accidently scratched my 150-600mm lens when taking off a stuck filter. There were about 7 very small scratches about the width of a human hair and length of the end of a push pin for example (at the longest). So good to know those microscopic scratches wont affect anything.
A multipack of fitting cleaning swipes on a stick with a fitting solution is about 20$ at the store of your trust. If you have a DSLR and not a mirrorless you also need to find out how to permanently flip up the mirror while it's shut off, but usually this is not a problem.
@@brabanski and that's how you damage the sensor, you dont apply any brush on the sensor and for dirtier sensor using brush can give risk of scratching you sensor, best method is described below with air blower and if its stays, my aforementioned wet method is the most effective way to clean it thoroughly without leaving any residue or streak.
@@rafski123 or you can just put a steamy hot water in a bucket to make the dust settles down around you then work on it that's also to prevent unnecessary risk of water damage and moisture that were left. but a jetblower air blower would do most of the time.
...On a serious note, what I like about your channel is that while being very comprehensive and usefully critical, the videos feel accessible and relatable, and always sneak in some humour. They're not over-produced with lighting, fancy cuts, etc, which can give videos a certain 'remoteness' from the viewer. Plus you've not been tempted to start inserting clips from films/tv that J. Polin has decided to do, which distract and give the impression he's spent too much effort trying to find the clips.
This is why I love buying old vintage SLR lenses. You can get them cheap because of these "blemishes". It's just a matter of getting over the mental block of seeing them, which if I'm being honest, I've resold a few over the years lol
I managed to scratch (big circular scratch) the front end of my Sony 100-400GM lens with the lens cap and looked into getting it fixed. Sony wanted $1800 to replace the front element (in a lens that cost $2400). I have not bothered fixing it, and continue to use it with what seems like a small reduction in contrast when shooting into the sun but otherwise it is still usable. I'll never be able to sell the lens but at least I can still use it. Expensive lesson for me to remember to put a UV filter on these lenses when I travel. It saved my 16-35 when my camera bag dropped out of the back of the car a few years ago. Broken and scratched filter but the lens is still good.
Is this applicable to smartphone cameras as well? Because if it's not making difference, I will thow away my shit bulky case which I am using only to avoid scratches on camera lens.
You could have performed the same test, on a cheap used, UV filter and then gave the lenses away, near free at least on ebay. There wasn't a need to scratch the actual lens itself.
I have bats in my belfry, will that affect image quality? Excellent video, well presented, thanks for sharing. Saves me from sandpapering the front element of my Nikkor 14-24 to find the truth, truth seeking is expensive and happy you two got us covered in the photography realm. Ciao.
How about spots / damage to the coating on the front element - those little spots that just don’t clean off, because coating is missing... do they show as dust or water drops would, or are they less or more noticeable? And is there a fix to restore the glass with damaged coating?
Single straight scratches really aren't a problem and a great way to get cheap pricing on used lenses. Since the image circle is a spherical or almost holographic type projection a straight scratch essentially gets averaged out to nothing by the area around it. It's like subtracting 1 degree out of 360 degrees. 359 degrees of image projection yields 99.7% of the quality. You'll never see it.
Great video! I would add two things: I scratched the back of my lense (fall, may 0.3cm scratech ), no loss of sharpness nor contrast noticeable, at any aperture. I think it does come from the fact that optical corrections which may increased or decreased the visibility of the default had already happened. However, I noticed that, on my DSLR in "OVF mode", the autofocus was affected in low light situation where it often hunted a slight bit more and sometimes would miss the focus slightly but critically. However, in liveview and on my new EOS R, no such thing, since the focusing system is different.
Great video. The first Fujifilm 50S I bought had a dust bunny actually behind the glass covering the sensor element which showed up on each image. It had to be returned for a replacement which was perfect. So, it is bizarre what can turn up even on new cameras and lenses.
I got a little spider under my lense. Ok most of the time but on portrates it sometimes gives the impresseion of a bogey under the nose. It moves about a bit, do you think its alive ? I dont eat over it so im not feeding it. Thanks.
Saw a an old 70-200L previously owned by a journalist. Scratches and a shard of glass missing from the front element, looked so brutal. My old 5DmkII had an ant in it after swapping lens, that was confusing before I understood what was happening. The ant was pretty happy to leave the camera though after I opened it up :)
I once saw somebody post some photos from an old lens with the rear element crack in half on a Thai webboard, and it doesn't really make any different, except some massive flares when shoot against the light.
You have to shoot some vintage legacy lenses to see real impact on image quality. I seen worn-out lenses with fungus, haze, separation, dust/debris and they all have a different look.
One of the cool things you can try. Rip off a corner of a post it note, and stick it in the middle of your lens. You'll see it (varies depending on the lens), but it's much more minimal than you might think.
Thanks so much for that. Pro photog for many years. My biggest fear was the rear of the lens but your test showed both were just as bad. Thanks! I’d like to see how different lens protecting screw on filters such as haze or UV affect image quality vs a bare lens.
Great video! I want to buy a lens from used section in amazon is a 10-20 sigma, price is good and just mention tiny dust that doesn't affect image, do yo think if is just a few tiny tiny dust spots I should get it?
My first lens was a 70-300mm that I got for a bargain price because there was a little dust inside. There hasn't been a single time that it had any noticeable effect on my photos.
This review is so true!. I have a small bug in one of my inner elements on my Canon 85mm F1.8 and i see "NADA" in my images. Like it was never there. :)
I have a dust particle on my Fujifilm X100V, the very first one sold in Singapore. I took it to the shop not because i was having any issues with the image but because it was new and is odd to have it. They said they cant do anything about it.
Hi, is it also possible when import pictures to remove the dust spot? It's always on the same spot. It would be nice to import from the SD card, and directly move this spots. For in sample in Lightroom, photoshop or other program.
I have this old f1.4 50mm lens that has a few “characteristic” scratches and fungus. But man, if i love the thing, its just not to clinical and gives some of that added “imperfection”. I might get cleaned just because the focus ring is binding.
I was also really surprised how little image degradation the dust really do to the final image, so I never put any protective filter on my lens, I also have a crack front element on my 70-200 F2.8 IS II and to my big big surprise, it has almost no effect on the image unless I am shooting against some very strong light source there there is a ugly line show up.
It's the same also in phone camera lenses ? I bought a new Xiaomi redmi note 10 pro and there is tinny dust behind the lens but it doesn't effect my image at all :)
Hi everybody, I need help! I recently bought a polaroid bridge camera second hand as a introduction to photography. The picture on the lcd is completely blurry and I don’t know if the issue is in the lens or settings as the camera came with settings not in English. If anyone has come across that issue please help.
I have a tutorial on my channel about how to polish out lens scratches on coatings using a micron sized diamond paste. It may be of interest to anyone whos looking to repair a damaged lens (and has ended up here!) . Happy shooting!
Thanks for making this... i got some dust in my Samyang 85mm and seriosly got no idea how it got their... i don't notice it at all but it is really anoying, forthanly i am not the only one apprently with dust on the inner elements
Not sure if you or anyone has time to answer this but, my lens cap came off in my bag on a four wheeler ride (never again) did some rattling around and scruffed up the coating on the lens. It doesn't look that bad and I ordered a lens cleaning kit to try that on it to see if it'll buff out, I have tested both image and video quality on the Canon m100 and it doesn't seem to be effected. I'm just wondering if I should get it repaired (if cleaning kit don't work), buy a new lens or will something so minor effect the overall quality? I'm a complete newbie but my soul died a little seeing the damage to the first camera I bought.
I have a couple of lenses where I was using third party lens caps, and they popped off in my bag and it has damaged the coating on a couple of lenses (G-masters)....luckily they are not actual scratches and I have not found a single issue with image quality. Lucky really.... Just resale will be affected - oh well...
Hi, I purchased a new a6100 12 days back. It was fine until it started behaving strangely 3 days back ( which is the cause of my worry ). Once or twice in 5 times, when I turn off the camera, the lens ( kit lens ( 16-50 mm ) which I've been using till now ) doesn't retract. After turning off the camera, a "click" sound comes, then a shutter click sound comes. And then the lens retracts slowly. Is the product defective? Or the lens Is defective? Is it an indication of the incoming product failure? I'm worried because this camera is not even 2 weeks old from the date of purchase. If this is a fixable issue, then what should I do ? Apart from this, everything is normal. It retracts automatically when not in use or when the camera sleeps due to inactivity , this only happens when I turn off the camera.
So when there is the debate about putting a skylight on UV filter on the front of your lens to protect it from dirt and scratches and folk say they won’t do that as the extra glass affects their image quality it’s a load of old tosh unless you’ve put the Dremel across the filter first 😂
