Suggestions on cracked summicron 35 f/2

[adan]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Whether it will affect the imaging can be tested with the extreme case - the lens focused to its close limit, and stopped down to f/16.

If nothing shows in that "acid test," it will be fine at any aperture or distance.  At worst, possibly a slight flare-patch in that area if the sun or other very bright light is in the scene - and the aperture is wide open.

As Kl@usW mentions, the rear element is far more critical, since at that point the image has already been formed.

But for front elements - I had a 180mm f/2.8 Nikkor with a major gouge on the front element (1.5cm long, 2mm deep in places - a real canyon!)

No effect on pictures except that the gouge occasionally showed up in bright bokeh-balls as a faint gray line.

[egrossman]

4 hours ago, KFo said:

Wait.  Your lens is insured against.....what?

Insured against loss, theft and accidental damage.

Erik

[mikemgb]

This article is an interesting insight into how badly damaged a front element can be before the lens is rendered useless. 
 

https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2008/10/front-element-scratches/

[pgk]

On 11/20/2021 at 11:39 PM, Forefuego said:

I regret to say i have discovered a crack on my lens.

Crack or scratch? A crack would be very unusual indeed. In fact I ca't remember seeing a crack in a small lens element like this - cracks usually spread right across the element. Looks to me like something sharp struck the front element leaving a deepish scratch, and then went on to damage the adjacent metalwork. In rare cases such a scratch may cause increased flare but, as has been stated, this can be reduced by filling the scratch with black ink and then you will most likely never notice any impact whatsoever in the images it produces.

[wizard]

vor 19 Stunden schrieb Forefuego:

Once I discovered the crack ...

If it were a crack, it would extend through the entire thickness of the lens element. However, from what I can see from the photo you posted, this is not a crack, but merely a scratch. As others have explained before, it will damage your heart much more than your photos, on which you will almost certainly see no detrimental effect at all. The scratch is rather small and is located on the front element (rather than the back one, where it would be far worse) and, further, is located only at the edge of the front element (and not in the center). So don't worry, be happy, as your lens will perform just like before (may be you just never noticed that scratch and it was always there, at least since you bought that lens).