[stevebrot]

Why did you have the lens cleaned? And was it doing anything like this before you had it cleaned? I'm tending to agree with some of the others who think it's something on one of the internal elements of the lens.

It just occurred to me that the "cleaning" may have hazed one of the glass surfaces. All of the example photos above are very soft and such would be an obvious cause. I ran into this once with a used lens where one of the internal elements looked as if it had been scoured with steel wool.


Steve

[pentytaxy]

Inside of the lens is crystal-clear. :\ The technician is trustworthy, but he says the photos might be overexposed, as evident in the outdoors shot up there. Could it be?

And suddenly, my shutter button is stuck. No film, just winded crank, and the button is stuck depressed. The mechanism isn't firing.

[TaoMaas]

Inside of the lens is crystal-clear. :\ The technician is trustworthy, but he says the photos might be overexposed, as evident in the outdoors shot up there. Could it be?

It's not overexposure because some of the pics you posted were just fine...or maybe even a half stop under. By any chance are you hopping out of an air-conditioned car into warm, moist locations right before you shoot? That could cause condensation to form on elements of your lens, but when you check it later, it would be gone.

And suddenly, my shutter button is stuck. No film, just winded crank, and the button is stuck depressed. The mechanism isn't firing.

Sometimes the wind lever hasn't quite advanced far enough to re-cock the shutter. Since there's no film in the camera, push the rewind button on the bottom of the camera and see if that'll let you wind the shutter a touch farther. That may get things back to normal. The other possibility could be that your battery is dead. However, I think the MEs have one mechanical shutter speed so I doubt that's the problem.

[pentytaxy]

It's not overexposure because some of the pics you posted were just fine...or maybe even a half stop under. By any chance are you hopping out of an air-conditioned car into warm, moist locations right before you shoot? That could cause condensation to form on elements of your lens, but when you check it later, it would be gone.



Sometimes the wind lever hasn't quite advanced far enough to re-cock the shutter. Since there's no film in the camera, push the rewind button on the bottom of the camera and see if that'll let you wind the shutter a touch farther. That may get things back to normal. The other possibility could be that your battery is dead. However, I think the MEs have one mechanical shutter speed so I doubt that's the problem.

The shutter button needs repair, but what really confuses me is that the lens looks absolutely and physically perfect. WHY. WHY MY LENS. Could it be the film (fujicolor c200; fresh)?

[tim60]

The pictures look like a tropical environment. That is very humid. Were you taking pictures soon after your camera was in an airconditioned place, such as a car or hotel? In that case you could get condensation on the lens which clears as the temperature of the camera warms up to the outdoor ambient. I have found that in many SE Asian tropical countries hotels and vehicles have the airconditioning set so cold that it really increases this problem.

This is also an effect to watch out for in relation to getting condensation that leads to fungus. I have seen recommendations to keep the camera sealed in an airtight bag until the temperature has equalised to the ambient (maybe an hour or two outside).

If this explains the effect then by the time you have seen the pictures, you say it is film, the condensation will be gone so the lens appears clear.

[pentytaxy]

The pictures look like a tropical environment. That is very humid. Were you taking pictures soon after your camera was in an airconditioned place, such as a car or hotel? In that case you could get condensation on the lens which clears as the temperature of the camera warms up to the outdoor ambient. I have found that in many SE Asian tropical countries hotels and vehicles have the airconditioning set so cold that it really increases this problem.

This is also an effect to watch out for in relation to getting condensation that leads to fungus. I have seen recommendations to keep the camera sealed in an airtight bag until the temperature has equalised to the ambient (maybe an hour or two outside).

If this explains the effect then by the time you have seen the pictures, you say it is film, the condensation will be gone so the lens appears clear.

Hm. Yeah. I'll watch out for it. Thank you!

[rawr]

You say the lens has been cleaned, but what does the interior of the lens look like when you shine a very bright LED torch through it? Try it from both ends of the lens and let us know what you see when you look through the lens.

Bright white LED lights will show up every speck of dust and every bit of gunk and cloudiness etc in a lens ...

[pentytaxy]

You say the lens has been cleaned, but what does the interior of the lens look like when you shine a very bright LED torch through it? Try it from both ends of the lens and let us know what you see when you look through the lens.

Bright white LED lights will show up every speck of dust and every bit of gunk and cloudiness etc in a lens ...

There is a lot of dust in it. Enough to make my brain focus on the dust and not the blurred image forming inside, when I shine an led through it. But, other than that, it looks fine. I guess i'll have to take it somewhere to get it checked.

[elvinhaak]

What happens if you take some new pictures with it now indoors? Same results or effects?

[pentytaxy]

What happens if you take some new pictures with it now indoors? Same results or effects?

I'll post as soon as I get my scans back.

[dakight]

It's either dust, fungus or other contamination on one or more elements of the lens or something with the film. From the pictures it's impossible to tell exactly which or where in the lens it might be. Shine a bright light through the lens and look carefully for any signs of debris or other contamination of the glass. Try a different brand and/or type of film.


Just the fact that you had the lens professionally cleaned doesn't necessarily mean that it is clean or that there aren't other problems such as separation of bonded elements or something else; inspect it carefully and I suspect you'll find the source of your problem.

[pentytaxy]

It's either dust, fungus or other contamination on one or more elements of the lens or something with the film. From the pictures it's impossible to tell exactly which or where in the lens it might be. Shine a bright light through the lens and look carefully for any signs of debris or other contamination of the glass. Try a different brand and/or type of film.


Just the fact that you had the lens professionally cleaned doesn't necessarily mean that it is clean or that there aren't other problems such as separation of bonded elements or something else; inspect it carefully and I suspect you'll find the source of your problem.

Thank you! I'll take a better look when I have time.

[phoebus]

Have you got an uncoated UV/Skylight filter on the front? Just a thought. I've had some problems with an old prime in the past when taking night shots:

[ohaya]

Does it make any difference what you have the aperture opening set to? Do the rings appear regardless of what you have the aperture set to?

[clicksworth]

I asked about such rings a while ago. It turned out to be the weak antihalation of a particular black and white film. Consider it a cool feature that isn't available with digital photography. .
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/107-film-processing-scanning-darkroom/287478-halos.html