Mamiya 6 Lens — Does The Glass Look Clean?

[stephen_mcateer]

I see a mamiya 6 for sale on an online auction site.

There's only one detailed photo of the lens (See below) and I'm finding it difficult to judge whether or not it's worth bidding on.

The rest of the camera is pretty rough but it might be available for a good price. (I'm not concerned about cosmetics, as long as it works.)

What do you think?

Thanks in advance.

 

[John Seaman]

It looks fine to me, no obvious fungus or haze, the reddish flare towards the top of the picture looks like a reflection of the external lighting rather than anything in the lens itself.

[stephen_mcateer]

@John Seaman Thanks John. Having looked more closely at this pic of the lens, I notice a faint three-pronged shape at the top right, just to the right of the white mark — I'm wondering if that's some sort of fungus? (I'm also wondering what that white mark might be…)

I don't know. This camera looks like it has seen lots of use, but if it's cheap enough I might take a punt on it.

[John Seaman]

I see it, fungus usually consists of a web of fine lines, or fuzzy spots.  Could be a scratch? Who can say? For sure it won't make the slightest difference to performance, only on the retail value if you decided to sell. Of course there may be other issues than the glass, with aperture, focusing problems etc. . You seem to be interested in using it rather than selling - actually the lens looks to be in much better shape than many others I've seen of its vintage.

[Niels - NHSN]

Ask the seller. Make sure to get a return option. You are firstly buying the seller. If you don’t trust them, walk away.

lenses are almost impossible to evaluate from a photograph.

[stephen_mcateer]

4 minutes ago, John Seaman said:

I see it, fungus usually consists of a web of fine lines, or fuzzy spots.  Could be a scratch? Who can say? For sure it won't make the slightest difference to performance, only on the retail value if you decided to sell. Of course there may be other issues than the glass, with aperture, focusing problems etc. . You seem to be interested in using it rather than selling - actually the lens looks to be in much better shape than many others I've seen of its vintage.

Thanks John. You're right — whatever it is, that mark won't affect performance, which is the main thing. As for the other functions — there's no detail in this listing and I can't get one. On the upside, price should be low on account of that. Cheers. 

[stephen_mcateer]

8 minutes ago, Niels - NHSN said:

Ask the seller. Make sure to get a return option. You are firstly buying the seller. If you don’t trust them, walk away.

lenses are almost impossible to evaluate from a photograph.

Thanks Niels. It's an estate clearance, so history / seller rating is not available. (And I don't think there's a return option.) As I said to John, above, the upside is low pricing. I'm going to put in a low bid and see what happens I think. Cheers.

[stephen_mcateer]

3 hours ago, stephen_mcateer said:

lenses are almost impossible to evaluate from a photograph.

You're right Niels. I've bought quite a few duds on eBay over the years — haze (Difficult for sellers to spot this uness they know to look for it) ; sticky shutters; cleaning marks; paint wear — none of which were listed in the description.