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10-20-2014, 04:27 PM   #1
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What should I do with this lens?

I bought an A series 35mm 2.8 lens on ebay recently. It arrived today and when I shined a light through the rear optics I discovered this: LINK

The scratch is really not as prominent as the picture might indicate. It cannot be seen with the naked eye or by shining a light on the front element itself. I have not had the chance to take any pictures with it yet, but I am guessing it will probably not affect the image quality much if at all.

The auction said the optics were clean and in great shape so I should have no problem getting a refund.

Just curious if you guys have any thoughts on this before I send it back and am out money for shipping.

10-20-2014, 04:40 PM   #2
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I can see that's a tough call. If it's a stateside seller, I shouldn't think the shipping cost will amount to much. OTOH, if you can't see any evidence of this defect in photos taken with the lens why not just keep it? In other words, it's your call--I don't think there's a wrong option.
10-20-2014, 04:45 PM   #3
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Tough call. One thing to remember is that even if the seller did not know about it you do, so the potential selling price (if you ever sell) will be lower. Are you buying to keep or eventually re-sell? Was the price top of the market or a good buy? If you paid top price I would consider sending it back, if on the lower side of market price I would likely keep it, assuming there is no impact on the image quality and all other aspects are good.
10-20-2014, 04:45 PM - 1 Like   #4
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You may not need to send it back. First confirm the scratch does not effect image quality. Then assess what you paid for the lens.
If you feel you paid fair money for a cosmetically clean lens, then reach out to the seller and politely mention the scratch and point
out that such a scratch does affect resale value even if it doesn't affect image quality.

I had a similar incident occur not long ago and the seller refunded 30% of the sale price in compensation. I was quite content with
that resolution.

10-20-2014, 04:48 PM   #5
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What Dave and the others said ^^. Definitely give it a try. But the rear element might concern me a bit. Are those blobs of oil? I saw something like this on an F35-70 a craigslist seller was showing me. Turned out the lens was full of oil from the aperture blades, and was actually stuck wide open. Check the aperture lever to see if its "snappy". Hope everything is ok, because this is an excellent lens.
10-20-2014, 04:58 PM   #6
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Check the eBay listing, to see if it was covered by the EBay money back guarantee. If it is, And the seller did not describe it properly, the seller has to pay return shipping, Even if the seller does not accept returns. Read the eBay guaranteed to see if your covered and then make your decision.
10-20-2014, 05:08 PM   #7
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As said above shine a light in from both ends and make sure there is not oil, separation, fungus, etc.

The scratch should reduce the value to about 1/3 to 1/2 IMO--so you should be able to negotiate a significant cost reduction. Take pictures in strong light at various angles to see if it flares noticeably. If not it is likely of no real effect. And worth the purchase at reduced price.

I don't know what the paypal procedure is but if used you may want to check/follow their procedure--I would expect as this is not as described, if you want you should get a full refund including shipping both ways. Not same--but when I had this/similar few times with KEH, I asked and was credited all including shipping both ways.

10-20-2014, 05:08 PM   #8
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Looking at the picture, are you referring to,
1) rear element blotches?
2) bright line indicating possible scratch on front element?
3) excessive amount of dust?

To me 1) probably causes more concern as it could be fungus, mould or something else. Both 2) and 3) are common in older lenses but usually does not affect image quality although as someone mentioned, may affect resale value if you decide to sell it later. I would suggest contacting the seller to advise of the situation first, and then clean the rear/front element of the lens. If the problem goes away, then you have to evaluate whether it is worth keeping it (which depends on how much you pay for it). Of course, YMMV.
10-20-2014, 05:20 PM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by tvdtvdtvd Quote
You may not need to send it back. First confirm the scratch does not effect image quality. Then assess what you paid for the lens.
If you feel you paid fair money for a cosmetically clean lens, then reach out to the seller and politely mention the scratch and point
out that such a scratch does affect resale value even if it doesn't affect image quality.

I had a similar incident occur not long ago and the seller refunded 30% of the sale price in compensation. I was quite content with
that resolution.

Good advice and thank you for mentioning this option. That would probably be the easiest solution. I will most likely throw that out to the seller and see what he says.

---------- Post added 10-20-14 at 08:23 PM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by paulh Quote
What Dave and the others said ^^. Definitely give it a try. But the rear element might concern me a bit. Are those blobs of oil? I saw something like this on an F35-70 a craigslist seller was showing me. Turned out the lens was full of oil from the aperture blades, and was actually stuck wide open. Check the aperture lever to see if its "snappy". Hope everything is ok, because this is an excellent lens.
I don't see anything too unusual other than the scratch. The light I used was quite bright so it definitely lit up the usual dust like a Christmas tree. Thank you for mentioning though. I will give it a closer inspection.

---------- Post added 10-20-14 at 08:32 PM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by aleonx3 Quote
Looking at the picture, are you referring to,
1) rear element blotches?
2) bright line indicating possible scratch on front element?
3) excessive amount of dust?

To me 1) probably causes more concern as it could be fungus, mould or something else. Both 2) and 3) are common in older lenses but usually does not affect image quality although as someone mentioned, may affect resale value if you decide to sell it later. I would suggest contacting the seller to advise of the situation first, and then clean the rear/front element of the lens. If the problem goes away, then you have to evaluate whether it is worth keeping it (which depends on how much you pay for it). Of course, YMMV.
1) looked like a fingerprint (who would touch the rear element with their finger??). I gave it a quick clean with lens cleaner and a microfiber cloth and it looks good now.

2) Yes, the bright line is the scratch I was referring to. Need to evaluate if it affects IQ.

3) Not really concerned about the dust as this is an old lens and the light I was using was pretty darn bright so it lit up everything. Wouldn't expect it to affect IQ.
10-20-2014, 07:33 PM   #10
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Since the add said glass had no problems I would ask for a partial refund at least.
10-21-2014, 10:10 AM   #11
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So I got an interesting response from the seller. I proposed a partial refund of $30, which I figured would make the price I paid about equal to the price of this lens in similar condition. He immediately told me to return the lens and said that he hadn't got what he expected out of it on ebay and would like to sell it again. That makes me wonder if he is going to advertise the scratch in the next auction. I did pay a pretty good price for it but not THAT good. I'm also not sure that he understands he is responsible for the shipping under the eBay Money Back Guarantee.
10-21-2014, 10:27 AM   #12
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Is this line visible when looked at lens just normally, without any torches ? If not - then I would call it rather a cleaning mark perhaps, that gets badly highlighted - I have them on several older lenses and they are common and usually absolutely harmless. If it is visible in normal light as a scratch - so that you clearly see the GLASS is damaged = then I would return it rather, as lens might not perform to the best of its abilities. Again - do not confuse cleaning marks on COATING with actual glass SCRATCHED. It is hard to distinguish the true nature of this line from your photo though, but from my experience faint cleaning mark on the coating gets highlighted by torch quite strongly , at the same time is really harmless, where physical scratch to the glass is visible even with external light and would affect the IQ ( especially on rear element ).
10-21-2014, 12:56 PM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by manntax Quote
Is this line visible when looked at lens just normally, without any torches ? If not - then I would call it rather a cleaning mark perhaps, that gets badly highlighted - I have them on several older lenses and they are common and usually absolutely harmless. If it is visible in normal light as a scratch - so that you clearly see the GLASS is damaged = then I would return it rather, as lens might not perform to the best of its abilities. Again - do not confuse cleaning marks on COATING with actual glass SCRATCHED. It is hard to distinguish the true nature of this line from your photo though, but from my experience faint cleaning mark on the coating gets highlighted by torch quite strongly , at the same time is really harmless, where physical scratch to the glass is visible even with external light and would affect the IQ ( especially on rear element ).
I can see the scratch clearly with a torch shined from the rear of the lens through the front (seen in the picture). I can barely see the scratch, and only at a certain angle, when shining a light directly on the front element and I cannot see a scratch at all with the naked eye under normal light.

You think that's probably typical for a lens this old and should not affect IQ?
10-21-2014, 01:01 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by vagabond79 Quote
I can see the scratch clearly with a torch shined from the rear of the lens through the front (seen in the picture). I can barely see the scratch, and only at a certain angle, when shining a light directly on the front element and I cannot see a scratch at all with the naked eye under normal light. You think that's probably typical for a lens this old and should not affect IQ?
If so then I wouldn't call it a scratch but cleaning mark - thin scratch on the coating - not glass itself. This will not affect the image quality in any way. Majority of used lenses will have at least one or two of those very faint , invisible to naked eye marks - usually from previous cleaning, that are on the coating only. Scratch to the GLASS would be visible clearly with naked eye and I would claim a partial refund for that or return the lens altogether.

i don;t know how much you've paid for this lens but if it was a good price - I wouldn't return it before giving it a go and checking whether I like what am getting from it or not.
10-21-2014, 03:28 PM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by manntax Quote
If so then I wouldn't call it a scratch but cleaning mark - thin scratch on the coating - not glass itself. This will not affect the image quality in any way. Majority of used lenses will have at least one or two of those very faint , invisible to naked eye marks - usually from previous cleaning, that are on the coating only. Scratch to the GLASS would be visible clearly with naked eye and I would claim a partial refund for that or return the lens altogether.

i don;t know how much you've paid for this lens but if it was a good price - I wouldn't return it before giving it a go and checking whether I like what am getting from it or not.
I paid about $130 for the lens including shipping. I think it's a pretty good deal considering these have a good reputation and don't come up for sale all that often.

Question about cleaning marks: How do they happen? Is it from improper cleaning? I always use cleaning oil and a microfiber cloth so it's hard to imagine that could scratch the coating as seen in the picture of this lens.
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