Advice on lens quality.

knifeinthedark

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So I saw this c330s on ebay from Japan. It is in great shape except for a small flaking of the coating as mentioned by the seller. I would like you guys' opinions on whether to get it. It is my understanding from basic research that this may not have impact, but I was wondering if this is something that could deteriorate over time.
 

faberryman

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I would think that C330s are common enough that you should be able to find one without lens flaking without too much trouble.
 

tedr1

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You don't say which coating, is it lens coating? or body coating (paint)?

In my experience lens coating doesn't "flake" it is adherent to the glass very securely. It may be scratched, it may be worn away by abrasion, it may be stained by some corrosive chemical, but it doesn't flake.
 

summicron1

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One wonders if he is referring to the blacking on the edge of the lens flaking -- Schneideritis, it is sometimes called. Doesn't hurt the image much, but is noticable.
 

btaylor

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It probably depends on the severity of the Schneideritis, the concerns greatly reduce the dollar value of the lens while generally having no practical affect. If it was so bad internal reflections caused a problem I guess you would need to do something about it. I have a Canon rangefinder lens that had internal black paint detaching from an element. A few twists to take it apart and a Sharpie took care of it.
 

Dan Fromm

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Not schneideritis. Schneideritis is the caused by the blacking on the edges of the elements separating from the glass.

The spot's negligible but it might be fungus starting. It also might be a bit of fluff on the front element. Either way, if it is on the front surface it can easily be removed.
 

Dan Daniel

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Looking further behind the marked spot, there is a group of fuzzy spots that appear to be on an inner surface, not the front surface.
 

Ron789

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This spot is quite small, you won't notice any impact on image quality. You could spot it with black paint to eliminate any impact whatsoever. There may be some dust or small imperfections in the lens but that will not have significant impact either. The camera looks great so that is certainly worth buying. I do find the asking price on the high side, though. Over here (The Netherlands) these are sold for less than half that price. You might also want to look at the C330F. Though older, that model is actually more solid.
 

John Koehrer

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The larger spot seems to have tentacles on it. If there are smaller similar spots, probably fungus
and are internal. Depending on where you are it may be expensive to clean properly.
 

flavio81

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Wow, looks fantastic. I don't see anything wrong with the lens, or perhaps I'm blind.
 

Alan Gales

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The C330f has less plastic parts than the C330s but the C330s has a brighter focussing screen. I had a C220 and went to the C220f which has the same screen as the C330s. It helps indoors.

To me it looks like it could be fungus on the inside of the lens. The C330s is pricey both in Japan and the United States. I don't think they are out of line for a camera with a clean lens. I'd keep looking though.
 
OP
OP

knifeinthedark

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Thank you all for your kind advice. I have decided to pass on this one and get a c330f.
 

mrosenlof

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That 330S looks lovely. I'm familiar with that seller's listings, but have not bought from them, but have been tempted at times. They **appear** to have good products, lots of clear photos, and a 100% feedback, and kind of on the high side for prices (but shipping included!). They don't hype condition like EX+++++ or even more amusing MINT+++++.

You could probably take a lot of good photos with that lens.
 

paul ron

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that spot can be a tint start of fungus or maybe a chip.

but the price seems awfully high for what you're getting.
 
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