Broken 1.4 35 mm lens?

<p>Hi all<br /> <br />I've just purchased a 35 mm 1.4 Nikkor lens (this one: http://www.photographyreview.com/cat/lenses/35mm-primes/nikon/PRD_99065_3111crx.aspx ) from another photographer.<br /> When I bought it, I tested it quite extensively, no sticky blades, no obvious scratches. The only thing I noticed was a minor, hairfine scratch in the coating of the front element (7 mm long or so).<br /> I tested the lens on a D70 (I think, not a FF sensor camera anyway) and everything looked fine.<br /> I've just developed my first film, and on all the negatives, in exactly the same place, there's the same small black line. It's not a scratch on the negative.<br /> I just looked at the lens again, and there's a very fine & small scratch on ( or possible just under) the rear lens element, the one closest to the body. It could also be a hairline crack, just under the rear element.<br /> On the negatives it's about 1/7th of the photo, starting from the right hand side. The minor scratch on the rear element is on the same side, has the same orientation & length.<br /> Is this the reason for this black line on my photo?<br /> I guess so, a hair or dirt would leave a white mark, not a black one.<br /> Money back it is ?</p>

<p><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-NRV7LJ9J18M/TWjuG69UmTI/AAAAAAAACJY/x6Pxard3ENk/s1600/Scan-110226-0010.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="487" /></p>

<p>Would you mark exactly where this line is. I have had a lens or two with scratches or marks on the rear element. All I could find was a fuzzy patch on the image when enlarged a great deal. I suspect whatever is leaving the line is much closer to the film plane.</p>

<p>A scratch on the front or even back side of the lens should not show up as a sharp line in the image, film or digital. The lens could be more prone to flare and you might lose some sharpness due to the scratch.</p>

<p>Perhaps the biggest issue is the value for this lens. Should you attempt to sell it in the future, any scratch will lower the lens' value and if it is serious, you may have a hard time selling it or you'll be forced to sell it very cheaply. If there are such concerns, you are better off getting a refund.</p>

<p>What aperture did you shoot at? I don't claim much technical expertise, but I think at smaller apertures, stuff on the rear element may show up. The anti-aliasing filter in the D70 may have masked this - e.g. I noticed that on a digital Leica M (without such a filter), dust shows up much more defined, and the same would probably be true for film.</p>

<p>That being said, I have a near pristine 105 f2.5 except for a scratch on the rear element (paid $75), and I never had an issue.</p>

<p>I also noticed that the line seems to be more "in focus" at the outer edge of the frame - sure there isn't anything between shutter and film plane?</p>

<p>If you mean the slightly blurred black line going from the middle of the right edge into the lower left direction, the culprit should be a thread or a hair hanging on the film gate.</p>

<p>As mentioned, the scratch(es) on any lens element wouldn't cause such clear line on the film.</p>

<p>Bruno<br>

I do not think that the small scratches on the lens are your problem. Not sure what is causing it but to back up my supposition have you seen this?<br>

<a href="http://www.lensrentals.com/news/2008.10.30/front-element-scratches">http://www.lensrentals.com/news/2008.10.30/front-element-scratches</a><br>

If you like the lens you might think about having it CLA'd<br>

Michael</p>

<p>Bruno - You first say that you don't see it on a d70, a digital body, but you then refer to "films" and negatives, implying that you switched to a film body, and on the film body, you see the problem. From your statements, you apparently also see this problem on other photos taken with that lens/body combination.</p>

<p>a) Can you switch to another film body and check if it's still there.</p>

<p>b) If it is, can you post some other examples of the problem.</p>

<p>My suspicion, although, only a weak one at the present, is that you have a hair or other fiber slightly in front of the shutter on the film body.</p>

<p>Tom M</p>

 

<p>This is my suspicion, too.</p>

<p>I'll develop another roll tonight and see if it's still there.</p>

<p>On the first rol I show with this lens, the line wasn't there.</p>

<p>The line shows up on all apertures, I did some shots from f1.4 up to f16, and the line stays the same as well. If it were a lens issue, there should be a change when changing apertures I think.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the good replies so far.</p>

<p>It may not show up on the D70 because being not FF, the artifact may just lie outside the image region. I had a quite similar artifact on a Contax T3 some time ago. It was replaced without problems. If you could take a shot with your optics on a D700, D3, D3x, or D3s (i.e. a full frame digital), then you would be able to definitively verify whether it is due to the lens or not.</p>

<p>It was already explained...</p>

<p>but if the scratch is on right side, so any possibly picture defect caused by this should be on left side of the sensor.<br>

However the file would get inverted for your display.</p>

<p>See how that would look on any large format view camera, you would have left-to-right, and up-side down, etc... so you could possibly test your lens for this defect without a camera, like an enlarger lens, or a projector lens, but if this is a G lens, it could be difficult.</p>

<p>I just developed another roll full of white walls & open skies, used all apertures, and not a trace of the black line. Looks like it was just a hair/fiber probably between the film & the shutter.</p>

<p>Sorry for the panic :-)</p>

<p>Hair in trapped in the film gate is the only plausible explanation to what you describe.</p>