Front Element Marked

Ian W

Ian W

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Ian
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Morning all

I have a lens which I'm about to put up for sale. There is a mark on the front element of it dead centre and whilst I haven't noticed any impact on the shots I've taken with it I'd like to check it more thoroughly.

What's the best way to do this to see if it's impacting on the images produced through it and how much?

Thanks

Ian
 
Nawty said:
I presume you've seen this?

https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2008/10/front-element-scratches/
Click to expand...

OldCarlos said:
Even on a wide angle & stopped down, you might not see any effect. The famous example; http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2008/10/front-element-scratches/

Edit. Ha, I was looking for that as you posted, Ned.

Another; http://kurtmunger.com/dirty_lens_articleid35.html
Click to expand...
I had not seen those at all so thank you for linking it. It's a small scuff really and images appear fine to my eye.

I'd like to be as honest as possible when selling it though, whether it effects the output or not.
 
It will have little to no impact on photos but will have the opposite affect on the value.

I bought a Sigma 85mm f1.4 a while back and upon receipt I noticed a small scratch on the front element so I contacted Sigma who quoted a repair price of approx £130. In the end I came to an agreement with the seller where he refunded £150 for the repair and postage. Needless to say I haven't bothered with the repair but when I eventually sell it on I will either have to get it done or let it go at the reduced price so that the new owner can (if they feel the need).
 
It almost certainly wont effect 99.99% of photos but that won't stop some people being bothered about it.

The only real thing to check is whether it causes a glint when shooting into the sun or at an angle to the sun.
 
Cheers guys. The lens is only worth ~£150 so not sure it can be devalued that much, even for something like this....hopefully!
 
Explain in detail and as honestly as possible about the scratch and how it happened. A tiny scratch caused a 3m drop will have more of an adverse effect on selling price than a scratch caused by keys in your camera bag.
Take clear photos of the scratch. Take tots of photos to show the effect (if any) the scratch has on final images. The selling price will be affected but if you are honest about it and you have intelligent buyers viewing the lens you will still get a decent price.
I would have no problems buying a lens that has a scratch if all the information given matched the lens condition. If however I bought a lens and the scratch was not revealed in the sales description I would demand a refund and return it..

I know this because a couple of years ago I sold a lens that I was not using it without checking it and it sold on ebay for £35 but was returned when the buyer found a tiny bit of fungus in the lens. I photographed the fungus, I took many pictures showing the fungus did not affect pictures and I reposted explaining the lens had fungus, explained how the lens was stored etc and added the photos showing the fungus and the lens sold for £80 with no come backs.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the feedback @redsnappa. The lens element was actually scuffed when I bought it second hand and I only noticed when I removed the 'bonus' UV filter that came with it (obviously fitted post-scuff).

As you say, I'll get it advertised honestly and with plenty photos and see what it brings.

Cheers
 
I have a wide angle lens that has a pretty bad scuff on the front and sometimes it makes no impact at all when wide open and other times it leaves a blurry patch on my photos when stopped right down and especially on a long exposure. If you are selling it on a forum I am sure that any prospective buyer would ask you to take example shots before buying to satisfy themselves that the scuff is not important but selling it on ebay etc it would probably just be best to be frank in the description. until you have owned a lens that is marked you have no idea of just how usable it can be so people will always be alarmed when the words "Scratched" and "Lens" are used in the same sentence.
I am just waiting to find a donor lens and sort mine out.
 
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