arjun_mehra Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 Ummm, can someone tell me what exactly the hell these "dots"/"spots" in my lens are? It looks like condensation or moisture remains. Is there anything I can/should do to "fix" the situation? Do you suppose it will affect my pictures' quality (I know I can "shoot some tests," but, without a lens without these "spots," with which to compare the results, I won't know if what I'm seeing it "right"/"normal" or is not)? Thanks a lot.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leicaglow Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 It looks like lens separation (where the elements are coming apart) to me, but usually it's more noticeable around the edges first. In some way, it will affect the quality of your image; most likely you'll see reduced contrast. Although the problem is bad enough on this lens, it might affect sharpness too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jd_rose Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 Looks like the skin of some sea creature. Take portraits of well-known people and call is artsy. You might make a million. What kind of lense is that, rare and expensive? Pedestrian and common? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_b2 Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 If you have nothing for comparison, just see how you like the looks of what you get. Shoot a light source, like a street scene with the lights on. Shoot a bowl of fruit with a light shining on it and not shining on it. Same for a portrait. See what you get. This is the same with a new lens. You do not have to have a comparison. If need be, see if there is any Web discussion about the quality of that particular lens. Maybe someone will post a picture for the sake of comparison. Like a shot of a 1$US bill from 2 feet away. Then try to match it. If condensate or fungus, you may need to take it apart and clean it. Let's assume that the glass is not etched. Otherwise, you may have a homemade soft focus lens. It depends on what your tests show. If pix are soft, the spots are a problem or you have a low quality lens. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luis triguez Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 It looks exactly like in a Canon Serenar 135 I have. I do not use much this lens with my LTMs, but the few times I did, the results were not so bad. Here are two shots:<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luis triguez Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 second one<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luis triguez Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 I found a third one.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_fromm2 Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 Most likely condensed something. I have some lenses with separations, none show anything like that. Newton's rings and silvery patches are the usual manifestations. Not polka dots. If the lens is valuable, send it out for dissassembly and cleaning. If not, try it out. As Luis pointed out, not all ugly lenses shoot badly. And if it fails test and isn't valuable enough to be worth the expense of cleaning, replace it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivek iyer Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 Meyer Gorlitz Lithagon for Exakta? Buy another sample with bubbles in the glass. They are better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCULUS New York Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 Just imagine how much condensation is in that body, on metal! Ray Hull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pensacolaphoto Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 Send the lens to someone like DAG if the lens is important to you. Maybe it is just condensation. Maybe leaving the lens in the sun will clear some of it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlos e. Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 Time ago I had a similar experience with a lens. Condensation, I had to put separately both body and lens to the sun. If the weather don't allow this, you can to try with a Hair dryer. It's not the ideal but some times it work. Ever you must to have your cameras and lenses with "silica gel" desiccant and the most important, the silica gel it's not eternal. You must to change it after certain time. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geowelch Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 It may be repairable. I had something that looked similar on the front of the rear element on an old Petri 2.8 rangefinder. Once I took the front element(s) off and got a better look, it appeared to be condensation, or some sort of droplets. It was suprisingly easly to remove with lens cleaner and a Q-tip (aperature wide open, shutter on "B"). Still not sure what the stuff was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul ron Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 That is what dried condensation looks like. Is that on or under that element? If it's on, just wipe it off with some denatured alcohol. If it's under, inside the lens, take that element out and wipe it with denatured alcohol, blow it out with compressed air and reassemble. That element will come out if you take that retaining ring off. The more you say, the less people listen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arjun_mehra Posted April 16, 2006 Author Share Posted April 16, 2006 It's a Meyer-Optik Görlitz Domiplan in Exa/kta mount. Here's the uncropped shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arjun_mehra Posted April 16, 2006 Author Share Posted April 16, 2006 I think the effect has actually come out a bit more "apparently severe" in the shots, than it is in reality. I was so adamant not to lose it altogether, that I spend some time setting the lens up just right, so every spot would be caught by the camera. Normally, the spots become visible only when the lens is tilted to a certain angle in relation to a source of light. Bill, thanks for your advice. I'll go ahead and try out a few shots; actually, I'm expecting a new lens soon (not the same as this one), so I guess I shall have something for the sake of comparison (assuming the new arrival is in adaquate condition). I think it is, indeed, condensation that is showing up. I recall now having immersed the whole damned thing in a tub of water (when I was younger), in the hopes of eliminating the few dust specks I saw stuck inside. I've tried to disassmble the lens, and have done so successfully, but I can't seem to get to the "inside" of that front element. It seems to be "sealed" inside a "barrel." I've taken out all the screws, but still nothing appears to give. (I wonder how the hell they put it together at the factory.) The inside of the body is actually pristine. I don't know why, but the metal shows no signs of rust, or anything of the like. Perhaps after my little "attempt," the owner of the lens dismantled it so to dry it out, but, himself, could not reach the "inner" part of the contraption. Hey, if any of you has an idea as to how I can reach what needs to be cleaned, by all means, please share your knowledge. If (with your help ﾗ :-D) I actually can get to the "inside" part of the element that needs to be cleaned, I think I'll first take a shot with the "spots," then another without them. That might give me a good idea as to just how such a thing affects results. Hell, I might even wait to get back the prints from the "spot shots," so to decide whether I even WANT them gone or don't. I've actually left the thing sitting by the window for a few days now, and nothing seems to be happening. Unfortunately, from my window, I don't get a lot of direct sunlight pouring into the lens; sadly, it's the only place I have where I can leave it exposed to any sunlight. What's "denatured alcohol"? Plain old "rubbing alcohol"/"isopropyl alcohol"? "Ethyl alcohol" (usually sold on the shelf right next to the previous one)? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arjun_mehra Posted April 16, 2006 Author Share Posted April 16, 2006 I don't know why that picture didn't post (wouldn't it be nice if we could "edit" our posts?). ATTEMPT #2.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kymtman Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 It looks like Burley frogeye. Could be a bad case of rash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_lofquist Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 I think that it looks like fungus spots, though I cannot be sure. If you have access to a microscope you should be able to verify this. Denatured alcohol is basicly ethyl alcohol (ethanol) with an added constituent (often methanol) to make it unpalatable or even poisonous. This doesn't affect its cleaning properties, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew robertson Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 "I recall now having immersed the whole damned thing in a tub of water" D'OH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winfried_buechsenschuetz1 Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 Whatever it is (I tend to corrosion of the lens cement), the Domiplan was the cheapest lens available for the Exakta and Practika cameras, and a new sample should be available much cheaper than any repair attempt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arjun_mehra Posted April 16, 2006 Author Share Posted April 16, 2006 Actually, I think I can oull it off. The lens body opens up nicely, and the aperture blades are quickly exposed. The rear element unattaches and can be cleaned on both its sides. The front element (the one with the "spot-problem"), however, is bloacked off, and all I can seem to reach are the outside of it, and the outside of the "middle element." Now, if I could just figure out how to get to the INSIDES of the front and middle elements (that is, separate them from each other), I think I'd be able to wipe them clean with a bit of lens-cleaning solution, and a piece of nice clean lens tissue. Would anyone happen to have any idea as to how to crack (not literally) this sucker open? It's really not the "value" of the item (though, certainly, I'd hate to dispose of any lens that can be salvaged, "affordable" as it may be), but the drive to "fix it," that's making me go at this. Thanks, all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_naylor1 Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 Hi, Rahul I think you've just added Chapter 76 to that as yet unwritten book of mine, provisionally titled "101 Things That Can Go Wrong With A Meyer Domiplan Lens" ..... ~~PN~~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arjun_mehra Posted April 16, 2006 Author Share Posted April 16, 2006 Peter, ...what else can go wrong with one? Lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul ron Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 Don't use rubbing alocohol, it has oil in it. If you can't find denatured alcohol, use what is sold as "DRY GAS" for the car. It doesn't leave any residue. Unscrew that retaining ring on teh front of your lens and that element should pop right out. The more you say, the less people listen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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