colonel Posted September 3, 2012 Share #1 Posted September 3, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have seen surprisingly few of these threads So assume either dust is not common, or its so common people don't complain Basically I have just bought a new Summilux 50mm f1.4 There is a single piece of dust between the aperture blades and the front element. Can't say exactly where, looks about half way (depth) It is also half way between the centre and the side (plain of the lens) It lights up when a light source is shined in the front of the lens and can be seen when the aperture blades are closed down or open. It is very small and can't be seen in normal light unless a bright light is aimed at the front of the lens and it is looked at at an angle. If this was a nikon 50mm f1.4 I wouldn't care, but seeing as this is an expensive lens I just wondered whether its something that people generally accept around here. I won't have a chance to test the lens fully for a week or so Thanks in advance for your advice Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted September 3, 2012 Posted September 3, 2012 Hi colonel, Take a look here Dust in new lens!. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
andyedward Posted September 3, 2012 Share #2 Posted September 3, 2012 Makes you wonder just how true leicas claims of thorough quality checks are. On the flipside, only the largest of many pieces of dust in my elmarit-r 100/2.8 are visible in lightroom, but this lens is a few years old, not brand new..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted September 3, 2012 Share #3 Posted September 3, 2012 (edited) It's not sealed. Dust is a fact of life. It's all around us. Just getting it out of the box is a risk. You are generating dust all the time as your skin sloughs off. It will not show up in your pictures. Live with it. It's not another reason to beat Leica, sorry... Regards, Bill Edited September 3, 2012 by bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonel Posted September 3, 2012 Author Share #4 Posted September 3, 2012 It's not sealed. Dust is a fact of life. It's all around us. Just getting it out of the box is a risk. You are generating dust all the time as your skin sloughs off. It will not show up in your pictures. Live with it. It's not another reason to beat Leica, sorry... Regards, Bill I just wanted to know whether I should exchange it sounds like your vote is to keep best rgds Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted September 3, 2012 Share #5 Posted September 3, 2012 If it really bothers you exchange the lens for another, but you may well find dust specks in that too. It's inevitable and won't affect the lens or images at all. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralf Posted September 5, 2012 Share #6 Posted September 5, 2012 I have seen surprisingly few of these threadsSo assume either dust is not common, or its so common people don't complain Basically I have just bought a new Summilux 50mm f1.4 There is a single piece of dust between the aperture blades and the front element. Can't say exactly where, looks about half way (depth) It is also half way between the centre and the side (plain of the lens) It lights up when a light source is shined in the front of the lens and can be seen when the aperture blades are closed down or open. It is very small and can't be seen in normal light unless a bright light is aimed at the front of the lens and it is looked at at an angle. If this was a nikon 50mm f1.4 I wouldn't care, but seeing as this is an expensive lens I just wondered whether its something that people generally accept around here. I won't have a chance to test the lens fully for a week or so Thanks in advance for your advice As it won't show in the pictures, just ignore it, there will be more dust from regular use. Just have fun with it, it is a fantastic lens. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studio58 Posted September 5, 2012 Share #7 Posted September 5, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Lenses suck air in and push it out. Dust is ever present. Back when I worked for Canon we used to get people coming in, some irate, that there was dust in their lens. Well they are not hermetically sealed. I can't believe that anyone would even notice a speck of dust. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
businessasusual Posted September 5, 2012 Share #8 Posted September 5, 2012 (edited) I have just inspected mine and no dust, none. (had it since 2010) If you do not feel satisfied - I would tell you to ask for a replacement. (and do not feel bad about this). I once took my Noctilux back because the lens hood was not flush - they replaced it. The other point is - resale vale - look on eBay - usually advertise no dust/fungus etc. If dust collects after you have owned it over a long period of time - well - that is your dust. (I know is does not affect photographs - but it would drive me to distraction - I can expect that from any other camera brand - I draw a line with Leica with a Brand New Purchase.) Good Luck! Edited September 5, 2012 by businessasusual 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wizard Posted September 5, 2012 Share #9 Posted September 5, 2012 I won't have a chance to test the lens fully for a week or so You are running no risk here. Check the lens thoroughly, then keep it if you are fully satisfied with what it delivers. Keep in mind that lenses do differ from sample to sample, so if your's turns out to be a stellar performer, I would not run the risk of exchanging it for another one that may not perform as good, just because there is an almost invisible dust speck in the one you have. Ultimately, any lens you use will show some dust specks on the inner lens surfaces sooner or later. An additional thought: If your lens turns out to have problems, e.g. front or back focus or whatever, you will have to send it in anyway, and you can then ask them to remove the dust as well. The influence of dust is generally overrated by most users. I just had an older Summilux-R lens with Leica in Solms for adjustment, and they informed me on the presence of some dust particles within the lens, but at the same time said they would not affect optical performance. I could have the lens cleaned for some extra money, but decided against it as the lens surfaces show no haze. Andy Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonel Posted September 6, 2012 Author Share #10 Posted September 6, 2012 Thanks all for your advice I decided that the main.thing was possibly an.effect.on.resale (although I was worried about stray light flare at night) So I swapped it at the dealer for a new sealed one, which looks good so far Many thanks to the excellent service of R G Lewis in London. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted September 6, 2012 Share #11 Posted September 6, 2012 I genuinely think you are stressing too much over things like this. Regards, Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonel Posted September 6, 2012 Author Share #12 Posted September 6, 2012 I genuinely think you are stressing too much over things like this. Regards, Bill I think you are probably right! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Gunst Lund Posted September 6, 2012 Share #13 Posted September 6, 2012 Small specks of dust inside the lens has almost no impact on image quality since the light is not focused. Keeping the rear element clean is of much much greater importance. On super wide angle lenses the front element should also be kept very clean of any dust or dirt since the DOF is so deep that it approaches the actual front of the lens, for a 8mm for instance, not so relevant for RF... There are so many things invisible to the naked eye in a lens that have much larger impact on image quality, the shape and surface of the glass, correct coating, de-centering of elements, elements not corectly seated or not correctly tightened, shims and tolerances of all of the machined parts... When you disassemble lenses like these you will find alignment markings and numbers, measurements and shims from the person building the lens, these are made during assembly and adusting of the lens and must be used as a guide when doing repair work or cleaning. If this is not done correctly your lens will be much worse that it was with the dust. A big speck of dust like 0.5mm and larger for new lenses; return to seller. Old lenses can be cleaned, but if it is close to the rear element of fast lenses I would not recommend disassembly... Don't attempt cleaning a lens yourself if you whish it to be completely free of dust, keeping a lens free of dust while working on it is close to impossible, let alone keeping the glass clean, except if you have access a proper 'clean room'... Some lenses have groups of glass that are not meant to be taken apart after assembly... The rear element of the Noct-Nikkor is such an example, not removable and all repairwork should be done by Nikon Japan due to the tight tolerances... IMHO a small speck of dust is nothing to worry about Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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