Dust in lens? would you buy this?

<p>I found a used Nikon 85MM 1.8 advertised as cosmetically good, but dusty inside--I have never owned a lens with dust--is it likely it would impact photos? how would I know?<br>

the description is<br>

<em>However, it is kinda dusty inside, but will NOT affect its photo quality produced. I could bring my camera and laptop along if you want to try it first and take a look at its quality.</em><br>

Advise appreciated!</p>

<p>John</p>

<p> </p>

<p>There would have to be an enormous amount of dust inside that lens to see any degradation of IQ. If the price is right, I would not hesitate to buy a "dusty" lens.</p>

<p>The Nikkor af-d 85mm f1.8 has problems (flare and or ghost) when shooting into a light source. Dust in the lens will probably make it much worse. Bjorn mentions the 17-35mm after much field use and dusty inside developed problems when shooting into a light source. I have some lenses with dust in them and don't have IQ problems. I did purchase a lens with a mark on the rear element that I could see in the image if I looked hard at 100%.</p>

<p>a speck of dust is one thing... "kinda dusty" is another.</p>

<p>Run away.</p>

<p>Every single lens I own has some dust inside after a little while. Unless you always keep your lenses in a display case (or just some case) and never used them, I can assure you that there is dust.</p>

<p>I have no idea exactly what "kinda dusty inside" means. It probably means something different to different people. If you can see lens in person, I would bring a flashlight to check the lens. Mount it on your own camera and take some test shots.</p>



<p>Depends on the price. If it as a bargain and the dust doesn't affect images, why not? Test it out!</p>

<p>Unless it is something monumental, I'd buy. I have two 85/1.8s Nikkors, one is an old beater that has a lot of dust in it, and happens to be one of my favorite lenses. Get a 10-day return and try it. People get way too anal with these things.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>If you are mechanically inclined, it's an easy fix. Plus as been said above, the effect on IQ is minimal, the lens would have to have a boatload of dust for it to really adversely affect IQ....So if the price is right, go for it.</p>

<p>I'd take the seller up on his offer--sounds reasonable to me. I recently bought a lens on eBay. Naturally, I checked it out under a strong light for haze and fungus. There was none, but if you zoomed the lens to just the right point, you could see sharp images of the internal dust. Looked scary. :) Lens is sharp as heck, contrasty and nice. No effect from the dust.</p>

<p>"Kinda dusty" is relative. :)</p>

<p>To the anally retentive, obsessive compulsive gearhead types (not necessarily photographers) who worry about every little thing, if the total number of internal dust specks is more than the number of digits on your extremities, it is "kinda dusty" (or "really dusty" if their OCD is severe).</p>

<p>To the clueless "I don't know anything about lenses or cameras" reseller types who flog their dusty, beaten up estate sale finds on eBay, "kinda dusty" might mean you can barely see through it.</p>

<p>To the first type, I would suggest they *never* shine a light through their precious, pristine clean lenses, as they ain't gonna like what they find. To the rest of us, dust specks in a lens is a fact of life, and in most lenses it needs to be quite bad before it begins to impact our photos, and then it is usually only a problem when shooting directly into a light source (when a lot of lenses will show a loss of contrast or flare/ghost even when absolutely clean).</p>

<p>Since from the context of your post it appears you will be able to inspect this lens in person prior to purchase, unless the internal element surfaces are coated from edge to edge, I would not let a bit of dust be a deciding factor in whether or not to purchase.<br /> -</p>

<blockquote>

<p><em>"I have never owned a lens with dust"</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Sure you have ... you just didn't realize it. ;) :)</p>

<p>You might want to consider how much it would cost for your local qualified camera technician to clean this lens for you versus what it would cost to buy one not advertised as "kinda dusty". If it's still a bargain after that, buy it. </p>

<p>At least that's my usual decision process with this sort of thing.</p>