Used lens with problem... What would you do? HELP!

[mathew_gardella]

<p>I recently purchased a used sigma 30mm 1.4 for my canon eos 40D.... upon inspection, the lens has a large hair in the front element INSIDE the lens... it does not seem to show up in the pictures and the pictures appear sharp.... i looked on a 100% and could not see it either but don't know if this will be a problem later. can the hair move? could it eventually show up? can I remove it? are there any tests i should do to see if it affects image quality? i do have a 7 day return policy on the lens and am at a loss( i received the lens today)... i have never experienced this before and don't have hair in any of my other lenses..... for the record, it was purchased on ebay and was not described accurately in the listing.... what should i do? please help!</p>

[mark_pierlot]

<p>What I would do, Matt, is ask the seller for compensation to have the hair removed (if you want to keep the lens), or return the lens to the seller for a full refund (if you don't want to keep it). After all, the seller has a 7 day return policy.</p>

<p>In the worst case senario (that is, if the seller is belligerent and will do nothing), you could simply pay out of pocket to have the hair removed. It would cost you very little. It really comes down to how good a deal you got on the lens, and how badly you want to keep it. And only you are in a position to answer those questions.</p>

[mathew_gardella]

<p>if it helps, the previous owner said the lens still has two years left on the warranty however, i don't know if sigma will accept it because: 1. the owner filled out the warranty card with their info (i also did not know this) and 2. i don't have the original reciept.... i have never sent a lens of any brand in under warranty so i have no experience in this department..... i will aslo include a couple pics that i took under low light at night, in my dining room.... thanks for the help!</p><div></div>

[mathew_gardella]

<p>here is another one....</p><div></div>

[chrisjb]

<p>If and when I buy a 2nd hand lens, I have a local repairer clean and adjust it anyway, does not usually cost much, last 50 1.4 was 30aud but YMMV. A hair,dust , scratch, or aperture blade rarely affects it, well aperture blade may. only shows when bright light such as sun or street lights are in the VF. You have to make a choice, was it cheap enough to warrent the extra cash ? :0)</p>

[dogbert]

<p>If it were dust I would say don't worry. It is inevitable. A hair might be a different story. It probably won't ever affect image quality, but it could move around and get caught in the aperture blades (juts guessing). If it were me, I would send it back unless you think it is till a good deal.</p>

[HenryUK]

<p>Foreign objects and damage on the front element of a lens generally only show up at minimum aperture.</p>

<p>Try setting the lens to f:32 and take a picture of a uniform, light coloured subject. If you can see a shadow of the hair then it needs to be removed.</p>

<p>Henry</p>

[elliot1]

<p>Unless you got the lens at a bargain price, I would return it. Have the seller fix it and then send it back to you. If he won't do it, get a refund.</p>

[mathew_gardella]

<p>thanks for the responses.... so far i'm waiting to get a quote to fix it locally....</p>