Pentax 645 FA 200mm F4... found haze

Pablo Villegas · 01-11-2017, 09:19 PM

Hi, I bought a Pentax 645D a few months ago, and it came with 3 lenses, 45mm, 75mm and 200mm. I haven't noticed before, but today cleaning my lenses I found a lot of haze on the internal element on the 200mm, the one that moves with the focus ring, it's quite a lot, but can't tell if it affects the image or not, I've never used another 200mm on this camera before, and the resolution seems nice to me.

Have anyone else seen this haze on this lens before? Is there a way to test it to see if it's affecting the image?
Is there a way to get it serviced to remove it? Is it expensive to do it?

I know that the Pentax-FA 100mm macro K mount, suffers from this, I haven't found a single 100mm macro used lens that doesn't have haze, is it something similar with this lens?

Thanks for any info or reply.

Last edited by Pablo Villegas; 01-12-2017 at 01:53 AM.

Pablo Villegas · 01-11-2017, 09:31 PM

Here are some pictures from the front and the back of the lens.

Keith23 · 01-11-2017, 10:05 PM

Looks a bit like mould/fungus. If you live in a humid environment, best to store lenses with some sort of desiccant.

Pablo Villegas · 01-11-2017, 10:27 PM

Originally posted by Keith23

Looks a bit like mould/fungus. If you live in a humid environment, best to store lenses with some sort of desiccant.

Thanks

To me, it looks like Haze, like in this page. And photo. http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/flashlight-test.htm

It looks like grease of some sort.

All the pictures that I've seen from fungus look different, they have structure and are not flat, they have a little volume.

I have them well stored in a dry template place with silica bags. But this are used lenses, I just haven't check them before.

**Alex645** · 01-12-2017, 12:41 AM

I have a Pentax SMC A 200mm f/4 for my 645 and although mine does not have any haze or fungus on the inner elements, compared to the 35mm or 75mm, I find it to be a fairly soft lens.
From your photo, I am almost certain it is fungus that will reduce your contrast and sharpness considerably. These lenses are not weather sealed and a pro could probably clean the element, but once you have fungus spores in the lens, they will probably return in time and I donʻt think it would be worth the cost of removing the fungus.
If you have the patience and interest, you could buy some lens repair tools and disassemble the lens yourself to remove the haze/fungus, but again, over time I would expect the problem to return.

Keith23 · 01-12-2017, 01:14 AM

Quote:

All the pictures that I've seen from fungus look different, they have structure and are not flat, they have a little volume.

There are different kinds of fungus. Some can grow very flat. But it is difficult to tell from the photos. And if they are used lenses you haven't check before...

Also, the discolouration appears to be confined to one lens element. The flare appears to affect several elements.

Pablo Villegas · 01-12-2017, 01:34 AM

Thanks everyone!

This photo was taken with that lens... now that I see it it does seems softer in the center.

---------- Post added 01-12-17 at 02:49 AM ----------

I have only shot wide open and handheld with that lens, and it does seems like softer than the other lenses I have in those conditions, well, the 45mm is a lot softer and with ghosting in backlight parts wide open, and that lens is completely clear.

This is another shot of the 200mm.

The 45mm is a lot softer wide open and with ghosting in backlights situations.

Last edited by Pablo Villegas; 01-12-2017 at 01:54 AM.

**mattb123** · 01-12-2017, 08:26 AM - **1 Like**

I have a 200/4 with fungus as well. Mine looks more like classic mold with little strands reaching out.

I can't see any evidence of it in photos taken with the lens so I don't worry too much about it. That is about the cheapest Pentax MF lens you can get so it's not hard to replace. If mine wasn't performing well I'd just pick up another one. I see one in EX condition for $102 BIN right now on eBay, for example.

Pablo Villegas · 01-12-2017, 10:37 AM

Originally posted by mattb123

I have a 200/4 with fungus as well. Mine looks more like classic mold with little strands reaching out.

I can't see any evidence of it in photos taken with the lens so I don't worry too much about it. That is about the cheapest Pentax MF lens you can get so it's not hard to replace. If mine wasn't performing well I'd just pick up another one. I see one in EX condition for $102 BIN right now on eBay, for example.

Thanks! Yeah, if I find that it's ruining photos I'll just buy a new one. But I think most of this used lenses have that problem to some degree.

And yeah, all the photos from fungus I've seen were like that... front he corners and more like branches.

bull drinkwater · 01-15-2017, 05:20 AM - **1 Like**

maybe my eye's are not as good as yours, but the photos all look good to me. I have both the 200mm a and fa, they look tack sharp to me. 3 yrs ago they were all over the place and cheap. these days not so much.

Pablo Villegas · 02-28-2017, 11:27 PM - **1 Like**

Well, it was a smudge, maybe someone pour a liquid on it, or try to disassemble the lens and got wet somehow, thankfully it was on the middle lens, the focus lens, on the front part. I was able to disassemble the front element and clean that middle lens in the front. And it all got away!

I just did some research, bought some tools and did it myself. Also cleaned a Mamiya RZ67 110mm that looked a little hazy. I didn't know it was that easy to take the lens elements apart.

There is some dust, but it's imposible to open up a lens and not introduced some kind of dust... and I don't think it will affect the pictures.

Thanks to everyone that posted.

**Alex645** · 03-01-2017, 12:01 AM - **1 Like**

Bravo on doing the research and cleaning it yourself. In this disposable culture we live in, it feels good to fix and maintain things with your own hands.

Pablo Villegas · 03-01-2017, 12:24 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Alex645

Bravo on doing the research and cleaning it yourself. In this disposable culture we live in, it feels good to fix and maintain things with your own hands.

Thanks! Yeah, it felt good and it only cost me about $50 USD for the tools and shipping. I did contacted a company that could have done the job in the US, but I had to pay shipping to and from, and about between 150-200 USD, so that would have put it at around $250 dollars, these lenses are selling for about $250. So I didn't see the point, and tried to do it by myself, luckily it worked and was on the front side of the middle lens, taking apart the back element is a lot harder, because it's very deep inside the mount, so I don't know if I would have been able to do it.

bull drinkwater · 03-02-2017, 09:02 PM

i'm sad that yours had fungus. I bought both the 200mm a and fa, they were both tack sharp. I buy most of my used lenses from keh they check an grade their lenses for fungus.

Pablo Villegas · 03-07-2017, 11:35 AM

Originally posted by bull drinkwater

i'm sad that yours had fungus. I bought both the 200mm a and fa, they were both tack sharp. I buy most of my used lenses from keh they check an grade their lenses for fungus.

It wasn't fungus, it was a smudge of some liquid. It came right off with cleaning. And I couldn't complaint about the lens, since I got a great deal on a Pentax 645D with 3 FA lenses for $1,500 USD.

01-11-2017, 09:19 PM	#1
Pablo Villegas Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Posts: 158	Pentax 645 FA 200mm F4... found haze Hi, I bought a Pentax 645D a few months ago, and it came with 3 lenses, 45mm, 75mm and 200mm. I haven't noticed before, but today cleaning my lenses I found a lot of haze on the internal element on the 200mm, the one that moves with the focus ring, it's quite a lot, but can't tell if it affects the image or not, I've never used another 200mm on this camera before, and the resolution seems nice to me. Have anyone else seen this haze on this lens before? Is there a way to test it to see if it's affecting the image? Is there a way to get it serviced to remove it? Is it expensive to do it? I know that the Pentax-FA 100mm macro K mount, suffers from this, I haven't found a single 100mm macro used lens that doesn't have haze, is it something similar with this lens? Thanks for any info or reply. Last edited by Pablo Villegas; 01-12-2017 at 01:53 AM.

01-12-2017, 10:37 AM	#9
Pablo Villegas Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Posts: 158 Original Poster	Originally posted by mattb123 I have a 200/4 with fungus as well. Mine looks more like classic mold with little strands reaching out. I can't see any evidence of it in photos taken with the lens so I don't worry too much about it. That is about the cheapest Pentax MF lens you can get so it's not hard to replace. If mine wasn't performing well I'd just pick up another one. I see one in EX condition for $102 BIN right now on eBay, for example. Thanks! Yeah, if I find that it's ruining photos I'll just buy a new one. But I think most of this used lenses have that problem to some degree. And yeah, all the photos from fungus I've seen were like that... front he corners and more like branches. Last edited by Pablo Villegas; 01-12-2017 at 10:43 AM.

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01-11-2017, 10:05 PM	#3
Keith23 Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Photos: Gallery Posts: 69	Looks a bit like mould/fungus. If you live in a humid environment, best to store lenses with some sort of desiccant.

01-11-2017, 10:27 PM	#4
Pablo Villegas Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Posts: 158 Original Poster	Originally posted by Keith23 Looks a bit like mould/fungus. If you live in a humid environment, best to store lenses with some sort of desiccant. Thanks To me, it looks like Haze, like in this page. And photo. http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/flashlight-test.htm It looks like grease of some sort. All the pictures that I've seen from fungus look different, they have structure and are not flat, they have a little volume. I have them well stored in a dry template place with silica bags. But this are used lenses, I just haven't check them before.

01-12-2017, 12:41 AM	#5
Alex645 Site Supporter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Kaneohe, HI Photos: Albums Posts: 3,526	I have a Pentax SMC A 200mm f/4 for my 645 and although mine does not have any haze or fungus on the inner elements, compared to the 35mm or 75mm, I find it to be a fairly soft lens. From your photo, I am almost certain it is fungus that will reduce your contrast and sharpness considerably. These lenses are not weather sealed and a pro could probably clean the element, but once you have fungus spores in the lens, they will probably return in time and I donʻt think it would be worth the cost of removing the fungus. If you have the patience and interest, you could buy some lens repair tools and disassemble the lens yourself to remove the haze/fungus, but again, over time I would expect the problem to return.

01-12-2017, 01:14 AM	#6
Keith23 Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Photos: Gallery Posts: 69	Quote: All the pictures that I've seen from fungus look different, they have structure and are not flat, they have a little volume. There are different kinds of fungus. Some can grow very flat. But it is difficult to tell from the photos. And if they are used lenses you haven't check before... Also, the discolouration appears to be confined to one lens element. The flare appears to affect several elements.

01-12-2017, 01:34 AM	#7
Pablo Villegas Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Posts: 158 Original Poster	Thanks everyone! This photo was taken with that lens... now that I see it it does seems softer in the center. ---------- Post added 01-12-17 at 02:49 AM ---------- I have only shot wide open and handheld with that lens, and it does seems like softer than the other lenses I have in those conditions, well, the 45mm is a lot softer and with ghosting in backlight parts wide open, and that lens is completely clear. This is another shot of the 200mm. The 45mm is a lot softer wide open and with ghosting in backlights situations. Last edited by Pablo Villegas; 01-12-2017 at 01:54 AM.

01-12-2017, 08:26 AM - 1 Like	#8
mattb123 Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Colorado High Country Photos: Gallery Posts: 10,872	I have a 200/4 with fungus as well. Mine looks more like classic mold with little strands reaching out. I can't see any evidence of it in photos taken with the lens so I don't worry too much about it. That is about the cheapest Pentax MF lens you can get so it's not hard to replace. If mine wasn't performing well I'd just pick up another one. I see one in EX condition for $102 BIN right now on eBay, for example.

01-15-2017, 05:20 AM - 1 Like	#10
bull drinkwater Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: pontiac mi. Posts: 392	maybe my eye's are not as good as yours, but the photos all look good to me. I have both the 200mm a and fa, they look tack sharp to me. 3 yrs ago they were all over the place and cheap. these days not so much.

03-01-2017, 12:01 AM - 1 Like	#12
Alex645 Site Supporter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Kaneohe, HI Photos: Albums Posts: 3,526	Bravo on doing the research and cleaning it yourself. In this disposable culture we live in, it feels good to fix and maintain things with your own hands.

03-01-2017, 12:24 AM - 1 Like	#13
Pablo Villegas Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Posts: 158 Original Poster	Originally posted by Alex645 Bravo on doing the research and cleaning it yourself. In this disposable culture we live in, it feels good to fix and maintain things with your own hands. Thanks! Yeah, it felt good and it only cost me about $50 USD for the tools and shipping. I did contacted a company that could have done the job in the US, but I had to pay shipping to and from, and about between 150-200 USD, so that would have put it at around $250 dollars, these lenses are selling for about $250. So I didn't see the point, and tried to do it by myself, luckily it worked and was on the front side of the middle lens, taking apart the back element is a lot harder, because it's very deep inside the mount, so I don't know if I would have been able to do it.

03-02-2017, 09:02 PM	#14
bull drinkwater Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: pontiac mi. Posts: 392	i'm sad that yours had fungus. I bought both the 200mm a and fa, they were both tack sharp. I buy most of my used lenses from keh they check an grade their lenses for fungus.

03-07-2017, 11:35 AM	#15
Pablo Villegas Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Posts: 158 Original Poster	Originally posted by bull drinkwater i'm sad that yours had fungus. I bought both the 200mm a and fa, they were both tack sharp. I buy most of my used lenses from keh they check an grade their lenses for fungus. It wasn't fungus, it was a smudge of some liquid. It came right off with cleaning. And I couldn't complaint about the lens, since I got a great deal on a Pentax 645D with 3 FA lenses for $1,500 USD.