Scratched lens: Usable/salvageable?

[Sirius Glass]

You’re a good boy.

That is exactly what my dog says to me all the time.

 

[Helge]

That is exactly what my dog says to me all the time.

Sounds like you are both good boys.

Would still love to hear more about the Voyager probe cameras and ground recording of them.

 

[snusmumriken]

If I was buying, I would want to buy a minty one. But FWIW, I did have a manual focus Nikkor 105mm which got chucked across a small boat in a rough sea and ended up with similar scratches because the UV filter smashed. I never used UV filters again, but I did keep using the lens, and never noticed any degradation in performance. I know this will offend some people, but truthfully it was the only Nikkor lens I was sorry to part with.

 

[Helge]

If I was buying, I would want to buy a minty one. But FWIW, I did have a manual focus Nikkor 105mm which got chucked across a small boat in a rough sea and ended up with similar scratches because the UV filter smashed. I never used UV filters again, but I did keep using the lens, and never noticed any degradation in performance. I know this will offend some people, but truthfully it was the only Nikkor lens I was sorry to part with.

That sounds like an incredibly unlikely event. Once in red-blue moon.
Filters have saved 99.9% more front elements than they have damaged.
At sea having to wipe sea water splash off all the time, would be enough reason in itself to use a filter.
A blow that smashes the filter into the front element, would also have damaged the naked element.
The takeaway lessen here should be: When on a boat, hold on to your lenses or have them in a bag at all times.

 

[Sirius Glass]

If I was buying, I would want to buy a minty one. But FWIW, I did have a manual focus Nikkor 105mm which got chucked across a small boat in a rough sea and ended up with similar scratches because the UV filter smashed. I never used UV filters again, but I did keep using the lens, and never noticed any degradation in performance. I know this will offend some people, but truthfully it was the only Nikkor lens I was sorry to part with.

Sounds apocryphal.

 

[gone]

I've seen worse, and at least it doesn't have large gouges taken out of it. I've had lenses like the one shown in the pic, and other than losing some contrast and needing a hood (you wouldn't want to shoot it into the sun), no problems really. Buy it for a good price, and put the savings into film/paper/chemicals.

 

[AnselMortensen]

Don't pay much.
Use a proper lens hood, & don't let any light hit the front element directly.
Don't shoot into the sun.
Expect a loss of contrast.
Portrait subjects will like the results.
Bob's your uncle.

 

[Huss]

None of these people here saying buy it, would buy it themselves. None.

 

[Huss]

That sounds like an incredibly unlikely event. Once in red-blue moon.
Filters have saved 99.9% more front elements than they have damaged.
At sea having to wipe sea water splash off all the time, would be enough reason in itself to use a filter.
A blow that smashes the filter into the front element, would also have damaged the naked element.
The takeaway lessen here should be: When on a boat, hold on to your lenses or have them in a bag at all times.

I bought a Nikon 35-70 manual focus lens for $1 at a flea market because the uv filter on it was smashed. The seller thought it was an integral part of the lens. When I got it home and removed the filter, the glass underneath was perfect.

 

[MattKing]

$20.00 seems like a small price to pay if your intention is to experiment with a lens with characteristics that you don't have in other lenses. Say if you don't have a lens in that focal length.
$20.00 is a gamble if you are in a need of a lens that gives you high quality results in a range of circumstances.
$20.00 is a deal if you are looking for a lens that adds flare and a bit of reduced contrast in portrait conditions.

 

[snusmumriken]

The takeaway lessen here should be: When on a boat, hold on to your lenses or have them in a bag at all times.

Yeh, it was in a padded bag. This was the Baltic. Shallow sea, rough weather makes short, sharp waves. Exciting, wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

 

[George Mann]

None of these people here saying buy it, would buy it themselves. None.

I wouldn't.

 

[Horatio]

I’d pay $20 for it but the asking price is 10x that amount.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

Ghallager salvageable.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

None of these people here saying buy it, would buy it themselves. None.

Something that ugly and uneccesary, I wouldn't be associated with.

 

[Huss]

I’d pay $20 for it but the asking price is 10x that amount.

spit take moment

 

[RalphLambrecht]

View attachment 321502

That looks like a goner to me!

 

[AnselMortensen]

None of these people here saying buy it, would buy it themselves. None.

For $20? Don't be so sure...
For $200? You're darn tootin'...

 

[xkaes]

We still don't know a damn thing about the lens, so everything thing that has been written is meaningless.

 

[Horatio]

We still don't know a damn thing about the lens, so everything thing that has been written is meaningless.

85mm Nikkor f1.4 AF-D, “cream machine.”

 

[AnselMortensen]

Well, now....that changes things a bit.

I'd buy it for $200...if I didn't already have one.

 

[Don_ih]

That scuffing makes this lens useless.

 

[Frank53]

Guess we’ve all seen this one before?

Front Element Scratches

We had a chance to make a pretty fun demonstration today, and here it is. As most of you know, we’re very finicky about our gear. We don’t like even tiny scratches on front elements or dust in a lens (although a bit of that is inevitable). We’re like you. We want the lens to [...]

www.lensrentals.com

 

[Huss]

Well, now....that changes things a bit.

I'd buy it for $200...if I didn't already have one.

Pretty sure you wouldn't. Otherwise why not buy it, and sell your good one and pocket all that cash?

 

[xkaes]

Guess we’ve all seen this one before?

Front Element Scratches

We had a chance to make a pretty fun demonstration today, and here it is. As most of you know, we’re very finicky about our gear. We don’t like even tiny scratches on front elements or dust in a lens (although a bit of that is inevitable). We’re like you. We want the lens to [...]

www.lensrentals.com

As this kinda sorta never mentions, much depends on the f-stop and the focal length. A long lens wide open would show minor problems even with a big scratch, while a wide-angle lens stopped way down would be nasty even with small scratches.