Mamiya RZ67 110mm dust or separation?

[fadedpastels]

Just received a 110mm from Japan only issue listed was "tiny dusts". Now I've sent over a Mamiya 6 lens to Bob over at Precision Camera Works in the past in almost the same condition to my eyes to have it cleaned but he ended up deeming it as doublet separation. I've heard stories that RZ lenses are notorious for getting dust in the elements which I'm fine with but a 65mm I received with my RZ a year ago was/is clean and clear unlike this one. So what does it appear to be? I don't see anything iffy when I have it mounted and looking through it guess I'll see if any effect is had after a test roll.

 

[ic-racer]

See if it wipes off.

 

[itsdoable]

It's a little hard to tell just from pictures, but I've never seen separation look like that - but I did have one (a Bronica lens) with what looked like haze that turned out to be fungus growing in the balsam. That "looks" like dust, but not "tiny". But the amount of dust appears different depending on the light source.

 

[EdSawyer]

Doesn't look like separation, but looks like dust or oil drop condensation on the surfaces where the aperture sits (between front and rear group). If you have the skills, these lenses are not that hard to work on. I've opened/cleaned/repaired several RZ lenses including swapping shutters, fixing floating elements, etc. - with the right tools, they are pretty straightforward. I have some of the lens diagrams posted here: http://www.edsawyer.com/lenstests/ I don't think I have one for the 110 but it should be similar and straightforward. I'd try going in from the front. Main tools will be JIS screwdrivers, spanner wrenches and rubber friction tools. Maybe a heat-gun if something is really stubborn. That amount of dust/haze will have a visible effect on pictures.

 

[Marco Gilardetti]

Separation generally begins from the border of the lens, it's not as uniformly diffused as in your picture. I would rule it out.

As others said it's difficult to judge by pictures, but a pair of years ago I had to return a Rodenstock lens which showed a similar effect: it looked like tiny bubbles as you said. I have had it inspected by Rodenstock in Germany and they replied that it was an alteration of the coating, and proposed that the single defective lens would be replaced (that is: no re-coating).

If this is indeed also your case, I suppose the pictures will come out just fine, except under paticular light conditions. If you have just purchased the lens, however, I suggest that you return it immediately and ask for a refund.

 

[fadedpastels]

Thanks for the replies. I know how the standard separation usually looks like, but as I stated I had a Mamiya 6 lens evaluated by a professional that looked almost identical to this perhaps a touch worse and it ended up being doublet separation in the end. So I just wanted to see if anyone had also experienced this with RZ lenses as well. I got this lens for $400 and I've seen them going for upwards of $600 now. I could return it but wonder if I should just deal with it as is if it is simply dust I will not worry. With the previously mentioned worse off lens it only seemed to lose contrast in some situations and I could barely see out of the thing. If I had this lens cleaned up by a professional because I haven't had much luck tinkering around with things myself I might end up around the same ballpark as one on the more expensive side so that could just be more work for nothing.