Lens coating services?

[carsten_wolff]

I've got a number of old uncoated lens elements which I'd love to get

multicoated. Does anyone know of any companies offering those services

anywhere(or has actually done it)? thanks.

[dan_fromm1]

Got money?

 

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

 

Last time I saw a price quoted, it was $175/surface. And single, not multi-, coating.

[tommyinca]

Just passing the info. I have not use them personally.

 

They are located in Ukraine and charge $30 per element.

 

http://www.araxfoto.com/lenses/info/

[richard_oleson]

that sounds like a really good deal. of course, it still adds up when you have a number of elements to coat.

[richard_oleson]

I've never had this done, but I did own two prewar Zeiss Contax lenses (a 35 Biogon and a 135 Sonnar) that had been coated (not multicoated) afterwards, probably back in the 50s. They were beautiful. I wish I'd kept them......

[carsten_wolff]

Thank you all. I might just follow up on Tommy's link and will keep you posted if there were dramas.

[carl_johnson3]

No, it's not really done. To do the job right you'd have to know the refractive index of the material (i.e what glass it is) to design the multilayer coating, then clean the surface (probably repolish), then do a coating run (well, several, because the different glasses get different coatings), then reassemble. Unless you've sentimental attachment, it'd be cheaper to just buy some new elements.

[carsten_wolff]

Carl,

you're right of course. I had to get all those things done and in most countries that would cost me an arm and a leg.

However, I ended up paying only US$15 per lens surface (plus shipping), after taking the gamble of sending my four 19" Apo-Artar elements uninsured (!) to a coating-lab in the Ukraine. Turnaround by the way was 6 weeks to Australia.

I've just finished my first shoot (on Astia) and I'm ecstatic about the results.