Specks on coating of view camera lenses

[EdSpence]

A lifelong friend died last year, and I inherited all his camera equipment. There are three lenses, two Schneiders and a Caltar IIN (Rodenstock) that have small specks all over the glass, on every glass-to-air surface. It looks like dust, but it will not come off with cleaning solution and tissue. I didn't rub it, like I would a frying pan, of course. I know there's something called Schneider-itis, but I believe that's a separation of the cement around the periphery of the lens. I've never heard of Caltar-itis or Rodenstock-itis. There's another Schneider and another Caltar/Rodenstock without the specs. Could they be etching into the coating by saliva? That would explain the specks on the front and rear surfaces, but not on the interior surfaces. I don't suppose I'm going to get them off, but I'd like to know if anyone has a guess as to what they could be.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

"Schneideritis" refers to the separation of the black anti-reflective paint used on the edge of the lens elements, and it can happen to any lens. It isn't a serious defect, but it will usually lower the price of the lens.

Element separation usually happens with older lenses that used canadian balsam cement, instead of modern UV cured cement.

 

[EdSpence]

Thanks to David for the clarification about Schneideritis. Elsewhere I read that Listerine would remove mold, so I tried that, and it worked. The coating seems no worse for it, and the glass is beautiful. I guess mold was the culprit, which would make sense.