Haze in Hasselblad wide prime lenses for the V system.

[Certain Exposures]

I have noticed that Hasselblad lenses wider than 80mm are often listed as hazy.

Why are Hasselblad wide angle lenses so prone to haze? Have you noticed much trouble from hazy Hasselblad 60mm, 50mm, or 40mm lenses?

 

[mshchem]

Never had a problem. The older Blad lenses may have been kept tucked away in a leather bag, not a good way to store a lens. Dampness is terrible

 

[Certain Exposures]

By "never had a problem," do you mean that you have never seen issues on your negatives due to using a hazy lens wider than 80mm or that you have never had a lens wider than 80mm develop haze in the first place?

 

[mshchem]

By "never had a problem," do you mean that you have never seen issues on your negatives due to using a hazy lens wider than 80mm or that you have never had a lens wider than 80mm develop haze in the first place?

No haze in the lenses. If I am looking for a Hasselblad lens I would not buy a hazy example.

 

[Alexander6x6]

Wide-angle lenses consist of far more lens elements. The greater the number of surfaces, the greater the likelihood of haze formation?

My Hasselblad wide primes are from the 1980s and 2000s, and they are all free of haze. Could this be an issue with older lenses?

 

[Sirius Glass]

I too have had no haze on my Hasselblad wide angle lenses or the rest of my Hasselblad lenses. In fact, I have not had any haze on any of me camera equipment which ranges from my Tessina, Nikon lenses or my 4"x5" lenses for the Grafmatic and Speed Graphic.

 

[Rayt]

I still have an SWC CT*, and had used a Supreme Wide, CF version, and C version over 25 years. Older cameras tend to have some fogging on glass surfaces where the shutter blades sit between due to the minute amount of oil flying out of the blades from use. I don’t have experience with other Zeiss wide angles and can’t imagine why they would be a higher risk of fogging compared to say a 80 or 150.

 

[MattKing]

I expect that people keep and use the Hasselblad wide lenses that are free from haze, and attempt to sell the small number of such lenses that suffer from haze.
Never expect that the market in used items accurately reflects what people actually are using.

 

[itsdoable]

All lenses that are used and not serviced will acquire haze over time, the inner lens surfaces next to the aperture and shutter are exposed to outside air, off gassing lubricants, etc. When these were used professionally, they were serviced regularly, and these surfaces are easy to clean.

Dust/haze inside the front and back lens blocks are typically different, as these are closed units (but not typically air tight). But depending on the optical properties of the glass an lens coatings, you can get internal haze. I have rarely seen this in Zeiss lenses, but keep in mind some of these lenses are 60+ years old. Dust and water have a way to get into everything. You have no idea what an original owner exposed the equipment to.

I don't see a prevalence of haze issues compared to other brands

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I have noticed that Hasselblad lenses wider than 80mm are often listed as hazy.

Why are Hasselblad wide angle lenses so prone to haze? Have you noticed much trouble from hazy Hasselblad 60mm, 50mm, or 40mm lenses?

absolutely none in 40,50(2x) ever

 

[jk0592]

No haze on my 50mm CF lens also.

 

[mshchem]

Yeah, I have a newer 50 floating lens element, perfect. I also have a couple. 1970 50mm Distagon C, takes series 8 filters, it's beautiful. I bought a Leica series VIII uv filter for it. Very well cared for amateur.
Nobody did it like Zeiss.

 

[Certain Exposures]

Thank you, everyone. I suppose only the lemons are listed on the used market.

Are we aware of any repairmen that can reliably clean hazy lenses? I want to try a 50mm FLE someday (or maybe a 40 if I sell a kidney). However, only "MINT+++++" condition lenses with "light haze won't affect image" are available on the 'Bay.

 

[Alexander6x6]

Thank you, everyone. I suppose only the lemons are listed on the used market.

Are we aware of any repairmen that can reliably clean hazy lenses? I want to try a 50mm FLE someday (or maybe a 40 if I sell a kidney).

I would correct the end of your sentence:

(or maybe a 40 IF if I sell a kidney)

 

[Certain Exposures]

Wow, I suppose it is no surprise that a Hasselblad item can be even more expensive. The IF version costs as much as a CF SWC kit.