My dusty 85 1.8 - is it worth getting cleaned?

[tdigi]

<p>I picked up an 85 1.8 at a good price but it has a lot of dust inside of it. Cosmetically the lens is perfect but inside there are many tiny specks of dust. I took some shots and they look great. Is this something I should consider sending to Canon to get cleaned? I contacted Canon and they could not give me a price so I have no idea if its worth even bothering. </p>

<p> </p>

[goulden]

<p>there is also lots of dust in front of your camera every time you take a picture....</p>

<p>but seriously, no, don't worry about it, all lenses have dust in them and it makes no difference to the pictures you take. the 85 is a wonderful lens, enjoy it and never worry about the dust</p>

<p> </p>

[tdigi]

<p>Thanks, I did look around doing a search and that seems to be the general consensus but this is more then just a few specks. to many to count, its like a sprinkling of dust all over it. I figured if it was fairly cheap to clean I would. Canon would not give me any info without sending it to them.<br>

<br /> By the way, it is a great lens, its my new favorite prime.</p>

[david_amberson1]

<p>Just send it to them, they will give an estimate before they fix it, then you can decide. They will most likely do a clean and calibrate while its there. Which is good for you. Sometimes they do it for free. Depends on how much and what type equipment you have.</p>

<p>If not, most estimates I hear are in the 75-125 range. Its definitley something to look at in conjunction with the price you paid. You dont want to tie up more money than what you could have bought new for.</p>

<p>As a side note, I have a 1D3, and 70-200 f2.8L IS and 24-70 f2.8L that I sent in back in Feb when the last focus issue was delt with. The 70-200 was way out of warranty, bought second hand and they replaced the third element, focus mechanism, cleaned and recalibrated all free of charge! The 24-70 and 50 1.8 were also out of warranty, they cleaned and recalibrated both....free! They also replaced some mechanism inside the 24-70 as well.</p>

<p>So you never know what they will do for you. Like others, dust isn a big issue, but lots of dust could have some effect on IQ...if its a lot of dust. Dont know what you consider lots of dust. I shoot motocross sometimes and have had issue with dust on front element causing hazzy images, used air can to blow off. This was lots of dust.....I was at a motocross track.</p>

[tdigi]

<p>So should I make it known just how much Canon gear I own when I send it in? Seems worth it to send it and let them check it out. </p>

[digitmstr]

<p>If the pictures show no artifacts due to dust (it seldom happens unless there is a HUGE amount) why worry? It's not fungus which continues to grow and needs to be taken care of ASAP.</p>

[Michael R Freeman]

<blockquote>

<p><em>"I took some shots and they look great."</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>That tells you just about all that you need to know right there. It takes a LOT of dust within a lens to cause a noticeable loss of contrast or veiling flare. People obsess over internal dust in SLR lenses way too much IMHO. But it's your money, and if getting it cleaned makes you feel better, then there is certainly no harm in sending it in for an estimate (it's unlikely Canon will care <em>"how much Canon gear I own"</em> when they make that estimate).</p>

<p>Bear in mind that whatever the amount of dust you see now is, after you get it cleaned, that same amount of dust will in all likelihood eventually return.</p>

[tdigi]

<p>Michael, I am not so sure this much would return. I have owned many lenses and I never noticed any dust, well, maybe a spec or 2 but not enough to even really notice.<br>

<br /> if I had to guess I would say this one has maybe 70 or so tiny specs scattered over the inside with something that looks like a tiny hair in the corner. Imagine quality is great and the lens is really amazing, especially on a 5D. I just figured I would ask, If it can be done cheap or better yet, for free it would be worth it to send it in. If not, I'll just use it as is.</p>

[tdigi]

<p>Here is a sample with it on a 5D2.</p>

[tdigi]

<p>Opps let me try that again.</p><div></div>

[Michael R Freeman]

<blockquote>

<p><em>"I would say this one has maybe 70 or so tiny specs scattered over the inside ..."<br /> </em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>I seriously doubt that you would see any noticeable effect from even this much, the key word in the above being "scattered". In David's motocross example above, his front element was likely coated with fine dust (not individual specks) from center to edge, and in this case you'll certainly see a loss of contrast (hazy image) or veiling flare if the sun strikes the front of the lens.</p>

<p>Generally with simple primes, dust tends to collect on the element surfaces of the front and rear groups on either side of the aperture, as this is the area where there are usually openings within the lens cell for mechanical or electrical connections. Some lenses tend to collect more dust then others, either because of the nature of the design or where the lens would normally be used. It got in there before from using the lens, and in the right conditions it could return again over time (and that time might be measured in months, years, or decades).</p>

<p>However, it will only cost you postage to send the lens to Canon to find out how much, if anything, it will cost to clean it, and that is really the only way to find out. What Canon did for free for someone else they might not do for free for the next guy. Probably depends on the lens and the work involved, whether it is still under warranty (although dust is not really a warranty issue), and perhaps the mood of the supervisor at the repair center on that particular day. But there is no harm in asking.</p>

<p>Happy shooting. :-)</p>

[luis_g]

<p> I wouldn't bother if the pictures look fine.</p>

<p> </p>

[digitmstr]

<p>You already have established that the dust doesn't affect your images (they look great, as you said) however, if indeed there is a fair amount of dust in the mechanisms (focus) that could cause problems with use, eventually. That would be my main concern (dust grinding the focus mechanism, etc...).</p>

[w_t1]

<p>either don't worry about it like the others said, or take the thing apart and document it for us. I mean, the 85 1.8 is a realtively cheap lens, considering. ;=) <a href="http://heliodorj.blogspot.com/2008/05/disassembling-canon-powershot-a650.html">http://heliodorj.blogspot.com/2008/05/disassembling-canon-powershot-a650.html</a></p>

[angel_bocanegra]

<p>yes fix it.</p>

[sven_felsby]

<p>You KNOW there is dust inside, and I guess it is nagging you just as it did me with a Nikkor 55/2.8, which I ended up giving to a friend. As others said, it probably does not affect IQ. I would not have it cleaned. Use it or sell it. </p>

[maciek_stankiewicz]

<p>It depends what You are using this lens for... If mainly for portraits then I would leave it like that. If specks are too small to be visible, (in the future) You may notice kind of glow around highlights which is beautiful.<br />If You need razor sharp, contrasty pictures, then send it to Canon. And Yes, good engineer always calibrate all groups so You'll get highest possible quality from Your lens.</p>

[andrewsoem]

<p>I see the dust is big enough to decapitate the poor guitarist. :)</p>

<p>Seriously, it looks fine to my eyes. Try this trick if you dare: turn the AF off on your 85/1.8, hold the camera upwards, place a dime (or something soft the size of a dime) on the front element of your lens (not on your filter)...do your best to stay the dime in the center and shoot away at something (ceiling, tree leaves, whatever). Look at the pic...voila! No dime, nothing! Here, I just did a minute before I posted this to prove my point. The center is a bit brighter than the edges, but my point is that unless you have a very, very big dust problem in between the elements, chances are they won't affect IQ any bit. <br>

<a href="http://s1017.photobucket.com/albums/af300/andrewsoem/?action=view&current=_MG_2541.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af300/andrewsoem/_MG_2541.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a></p>

[g dan mitchell]

<p>Depends on what you mean by a lot of dust. If there is <em>some</em> dust in the lens it almost certainly makes no difference whatsoever to your photographs and there is no reason to worry about it at all. (If you did see it, it would not appear as "dust spots" but more as faint and very blurry irregularities in brightness.)</p>

<p>If you really have a ton of dust - think "broke open the lens and left it out for a week" - then you might need to have something done to it.</p>

<p>While you don't want to let your lenses get really, really dusty, many people grossly overestimate the effect that a small amount of dust might have (generally no effect at all) and overestimate the need to keep the lens pristine.</p>

<p>Dan</p>

[david_amberson1]

<p>Michael, it was a lot of dust on the front element. Very fine dust. But it was also all over camera, me, my 4 wheeler transportation.....and in some areas we wont discuss here. But you got the point. Only then did I notice anything. I just try to keep my stuff as clean as possible to allow best function. I doubt from the look of his photo, theres a problem.</p>

<p>I once took my daughter to the local water park where we have roller coasters etc. I noticed that all my pics from that day had no contrast and overall very dull and somewhat soft. I dont have to tell you, owning a 1D3 coupled with a 70-200 f2.8L IS and still getting bad photos weighs on ones mind....alot. I took the lens off, just from grins, and noticed my lovely daughter had a nice finger print right in the middle of the rear element. Looked like she had lotion on her hands or something. A good laugh, wipe clean and whola, back to goodness. Point...something that severe caused a problem, but later at home just for grins, I was able to make nice photos of those with some post work as I shoot RAW. Even those could be saved. And I still to this day dont know how or when she did it. Always, always always use both caps even if you just leave the room for a moment.</p>

<p>Cost wise, no Canon doesnt care. But if he could note somehow in vague conversation in discription oif his issue to note what he has, it could help.</p>

<p>Ex:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>My name is Tommy and I own a 85 f1.8 and have some issues with it. I have alot of dust spots in my lens and it seems to be in the pictures sometimes too. Also, focusing inaccurate more often than my <em>70-200 f2.8L IS, 24-70 f2.8L, 24f1.4L, 50 f1.2L.</em> Its used on a new 5D2 and its not performing as I am accustomed to with past Canon equipment.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Just something like that may save him some money or perhaps free. I know they caiter to customers who have shown loyalty and spend alot of money as well. So they may do it in good faith. Dust isnt a failure issue, but who knows. If the load is light, its a quick fix for those guys no doubt. I know they fixed my stuff and I can see it was to make good on that equipment. No reason why it should fail 2yrs after purchase. This stuff should give years of use. Maybe they should start following Nikon and do 5yr warranty. For me, I think from the photo, its good. Thing is, it will happen again. Its not sealed.</p>

[m._scott_clay1]

<p>Hi Tommy,</p>

<p>After reading these comments I decided to buy a used one that has dust like yours. Got it cheap and it takes great images. What did you decide to do? Are you going to have yours cleaned?</p>

<p>Scott</p>

[tdigi]

<p>M. Scott. I am probably going to hold off and just use it as is. </p>