Cloudy lens

I'm unsatisfied of my 80c (chrome lens) in bad light condition (I am

completely satisfied in other condition), so few days ago I have

bought a used 80CF for a good price. It is in very good shape and the

glass seems perfect. But if I look throug the lens toward a bright

and diffused source of light I can see that the glass are not

completely clean, it seems like tarnished (I don't know if is the

exact word; sorry i'm italian), not wery much and don't seems fungus.

I wanted compare with my old 80c and I have discovered that also the

80c is affected by this problem (the 80 c is worst). Now my dubt is:

Will this problem damage the quality of picture (over all with stong

light source in the picture)? The flare and low contrast of the old

80c could depend from this problem of tarnished? Can i have the lens

cleaned by a repairman or (if is better) by Zeiss? How much it cost?

The T* multicoating could be damaged from this cleaning? Do you thing

that is better if I sell the lens and bought another one? I'm not a

professional and this is the first time that i write in this forum.

Thanks to all for the help.

as i mentioned in another recent thread, there is no reason to shell out for hasselblad unless you do all you can to take advantage of the small performance advantage it can provide over some lesser breeds of camera. a blad with a cloudy lens is unlikely to make better pics than a kiev in tip top shape. and as for those who may say that a little cloudiness is unlikely to produce obvious degradation, i respectfully submit that your standards should be a little higher. by going for blad, you are going for the very last drop of performance. don't give it back by tolerating small problems with your gear/technique. my advice, therefore, is to have the lens cleaned (it will cost you less than the differential between what you will get for a cloudy planar 80 and what you will have to pay for a good one). you will also know that your lens is in perfect order. using a blad with a cloudy lens is like driving around in a ferrari fitted with a lawn mower engine. it looks good parked, but the performace will not be ferrari.

A cloudy lens is a disaster, photographicallyspeakingwise. The contrast lost due to light

scattering is quite staggering. If it's just on one lens air-glass surface you have a bad

problem. If it's on two it's 4 times as bad. Bad problem squared, actually.

 

Experience tells me it's one of several things. Very fine dust that your eyes cannot

resolve, distilled oil residue from evaporating grease solvents, hard water deposits from

in-solution minerals from water damage, the glass itself is etched from corrosive

environments. If it were just coatings you would see fine sleeks while looking at the

coating.

 

All you really need to do is get it cleaned professionally and pray (for financial reasons)

that the damage isn't between elements inside lens groups. Not likely tho!

 

Good Luck - Peter, PR Camera Repair Flagstaff, AZ

Various things can cause this, as has been mentioned. My father has an old Vivitar lens for a nikkormat that has a growing (haha)problem, and still seems to take sharp photographs. I can't tell why.

 

Fungus on lens elements is bad. The chemicals they secrete etches the glass. If they didn't do that it wouldn't be too much of a problem. The coating is very sensitive, and can be taken off easily by chemical or abrasion. Get it fixed if you can, and pray that it won't cost too much and that there is no permanent damage to the glass etc. Keep it with Silica gel and in a well ventilated, dry area, because if you get it cleaned, they seem to have a greater tendency to regrow the fungus.