Economical repair of scratched lens?

[morthcam]

Is there any way to have a lens with lots of scratches repaired?

I'm not talking about a lens with one or two scratches, but with a

whole network of cleaning marks and scratches. I have a lens like

that; it's great as long as there's no light source in the picture,

but get any light hitting the lens surface, and the flare is way

beyond "artistic". The lens isn't worth spending a lot to fix, any

possibilities other than only using it on rainy days?

[m_.]

probably the most economical solution to the lens as described is to use with no spot light source. unless you replace the front lens element or replace th eentire lens, I do not think there is much you can do about the scratches that I know of.

[richie chishty]

You can get the lens cleaned, repolished, and recoated here:

 

http://www.focalpointlens.com/fp_intro.html

 

But it will cost more than a hundred dollars to do it all!

[Rob F.]

Just be aware that resurfacing an element will cause a slight reduction in optical quality.

[max_fun]

I've got quite a lot of those on the rear element of my 35mm 'lux. Since its the rear element, it didn't really affect the optical quality, I think. But I thought to send it into Northvale to see if they can replace the rear element. Well currently, they've decided to ship the lens back to the Motherland to get it done. They couldn't give me an estimate, but if they were replacing the entire element, I doubt that it will be cheap. At least I would know that there won't be any quality degradation due to re-coating or something.

[Niels - NHSN]

Two years ago I asked a similar question to <a href="http://www.angelfire.com/biz/Leica/">CRR in the UK</a>.<br> The answer was rather informative and gives a good overview of the tasks involved<p>

I asked for an estimate on a polish/recoating of the front element + if necessary -removal of haze + a general CLA of the lens. This is their answer:<p> <i>to break down the costs involved to restore your lens, is as follows,<p>

The front surface of front optic, re-grinding/polishing and Mgf2 re-coating UK £ 96<p>

 

The 'hazy' internal coatings may clean with chemicals , but if there is 'etching' of the coating or glass then the only remedy is re-polishing/coating of optics inside the lens.<p>

 

All older Leitz lenses are 'soft-coated' internally , this means that they deteriorate more readily than their Japanese counterpartswhich are 'hard-coated'. Consequently , when condensation is deposited on the internal surfaces , after many months/years , the deposit becomes acidic and attacks the soft anti-reflective layer and also the glass itself.<p>

 

It is highly unlikely that all the optics in the lens have deteriorated too far , but I must stress that chemical cleaning of the inner surfaces will not restore damaged coatings or glass . It will remove the 'cloudy' haze and improve light transmission though . <p> To service the lens , repolish & re-coat the front element and chemically clean the internal optics would , in total , come to approximately UK £ 175. Subject to examination first.<p>

 

This may sound expensive , but every surface that requires re-polishing/coating will add an extra UK £ 90 , as the optics has first to be measured t obtain the correct profile and curvature and a moire pattern obtained so that after polishing the lens willl perform correctly.<p> </i>

[yi_fay]

You can try optical shops, since they do grinding and polishing on eyeglasses, they might be able to help. They might even do re-coating.

[eliot_rosen]

There are two possibilities, as others have mentioned, have the scratches polished out and the lens recoated, or have the front element replaced. Both options are expensive, and probably not worthwhile unless it is a very valuable lens. As for the front element replacement, it depends upon the age of the lens, whether Leica will still have a suitable element in stock or not. But you would be surprised what the Factory keeps around, it is often possible to replace an element on a lens that has not been in production for many years.

 

The right way to do it is to send the lens to Leica, but I agree with other posters that Focal Point in Colorado does an excellent job. I had some work done there by Van Stelten who may mmy lens (dual range Summicron) look as clear as new.

[morthcam]

Thanks guys for the ideas. I had the impression that repolishing is too expensive to be worth it for any but the most expensive lenses. Richie, I'd have no problem spending $150 to get this lens up to par, I got it for a real good price. <BR>

<P>

I asked John van Stelten, here's his answer: <BR>

<P>

<I> "That lens (50/f2.8 Elmar) runs $250 to replace the front element (includes cleaning internal elements)& I have them in stock. We cannot polish & re-coat those element because they are too small for commercial polishing/lapping machines. Leica or Zeiss or whomever designs their own machines to make elements that they need but we cannot afford that. Commercially purchased machines (because of the trow on the polshing stroke) can run 18mm to 150mm whera as the Elmar50/f2.8 is about 13mm." </I>

<P>

Ouch, one of these lenses described as almost mint went on ebay for $330, is it worth spending $250? Or just, like Wentong said, save it for "no light source" pictures? I'd just hate to have that lens on when it was bright and sunny out.....

[jorge]

Keep it for women portraiture. They will love the results. With the price of a softie filter nowadays, no sense in throwing it away.

[dan flanders]

I have a big 58mm �Leica Sonnar� that has a chunk chipped out of the middle of the front lens. I filled it with black paint and it doesn�t seem to affect the optical performance in any appreciable way. However, I would think a serious scratch would be a different matter. From the user�s viewpoint small scratches and wipe marks can be ignored. Even if your friendly neighborhood optician would accept the challenge of re-polishing a lens, I would strongly recommend that you NOT avail yourself of the service (I can�t even find one who can get my glasses right the first time around - and most now, only work in plastic!). If it is serious enough to require repair, then one of the recommended lens services is the proper one to do the work which will involve dis-assembly, cementing, coating,and re-assembly, all of which are labor intensive.

[morthcam]

Just to follow up -- I decided to go ahead and have the front element replaced. That way, I spend $250 and get a virtually-brand new lens (the part that counts, anyway). If I bought another used one for $250 who knows what problems I could be buying as well. (And I don't think I could sell it for much if I described it honestly.) I have a big trip coming up and don't want to have a lens I can't use when the sun's out.

 

So I sent it to Focal Point, John got it back to me in less than two weeks. Optically it's just about perfect now with its new front element and everything else cleaned. That little "bump" I felt when focussing close is gone, too. So I can count on the lens and not worry when I take a picture whether there's too much light.

 

What the hell, it's only money...