Can a desiccant pack eliminate haze in a lens?

[Kirks518]

I bought a lens from Adorama's used dept., that was listed as having 'severe haze'. Most of the time haze is easy clean, so I wasn't too concerned. Also, it was returnable if I felt it wasn't worth the work.

In any case, I got the lens, and was really curious to see how bad it was. The lens came with a case and both caps (which I didn't know when I ordered it), and there was a desiccant pack in the plastic baggy that the lens was in inside the case. I took out the lens, and there isn't a speck of haze anywhere. The lens is crystal clear barring 2 specks of dust.

Could the haze have been some (water, not oil) moisture that was absorbed by the pack, 'fixing' the lens? Or could Adorama just have made a mistake?

 

[gone]

Could it remove anything from within the lens? No, I don't see how. Could Adorama have made a mistake? They have made many mistakes in my experiences w/ them, but none have gone in my favor :{

 

[Kirks518]

I leaning more towards an error, but to say 'severe haze' and get no haze, seems an unlikely error. Since a lens is far from air/moisture tight, I figure there is the possibility.

 

[MattKing]

It may be a sign that the lens is poorly sealed. You may get "haze" again if you take the lens into a humid environment.

 

[paul ron]

if the haze was moisture, the desicant will absorb it n possably help clear it up a bit faster. but removing fungus haze, no way.

anyway, thank adoroma for the wonderful lens n enjoy the heck out of it.

lucky guy.

 

[David Lyga]

Usually that haze is no longer wet; a residue has been left from when it was wet. Thus, it becomes necessary to wipe it. Usually, window cleaner is fine. Thus, it becomes necessary to be able to reach that residue, and that is where the problem comes with some of the newer lenses: access. - David Lyga

 

[DREW WILEY]

Depends what the haze is. If it's just some condensed moisture, this trick often works. Or if a bit of fungal mycelia have begun due to the presence
of moisture, this can be partially mitigated by dessication, but not completely cured. I often keep a tightly sealed little Tupperware box filled with
baked-out "indicator" silica gel when I travel. I a lens or light meter gets accidentally soaked, keeping it in this for a couple weeks often salvages
the instrument, or saves an expensive servicing bill. The last time I used it, a friend had slipped on a rock in a creek in the high country and dunked
a VERY expensive Zeiss MF lens. It was a week of hiking till we made it back to the truck, but when we did, we put the lens in the little dessication
box and left it in there about a month. This did the trick.

 

[Fixcinater]

It may have been a supply issue rather than anything happening mechanically.

KEH has a similar practice in that if they oversell a "bargain" grade lens, they will upgrade to a nicer grade to CYA. It has happened to me in the past.

 

[DREW WILEY]

... but there is a completely different kind of superficial haze due to improper packing materials, analogous to what you get inside a car windshield
due to outgassing vinyl plasticizers on the dashboard. I have certainly encountered it on camera filters merchandised in the wrong type of plastic
containers. This will come off with a decent lens cleaning solution and microfiber cloth.

 

[BrianShaw]

You should return it: not as advertised.

 

[StephenT]

"You should return it: not as advertised."

LOL!!!