Is this Fungus, Separation or something else?

[carlosgavina]

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Well, today as I was inspecting and doing some spring cleaning, I noticed that my 24mm Summilux has this "pattern" around one of the internal lenses. As far as I know this could be like this for years, as I don't usually hold lenses against a strong light source. At first I thought It could be fungus, but at close inspection the marks have such a pattern that don't seem... organic?

None of my other lenses present these marks thankfully.

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[gaheris]

From the third picture it looks like the early stage of separation. If it's a much older lens I would imagine it to be coating deteriation, but a contemporary lens such as the 24 Summilux should not have this problem, I guess. 

[Ecar]

13 hours ago, gaheris said:

From the third picture it looks like the early stage of separation. 

+1

[carlosgavina]

Thanks for both replies. Seems that separation is the most likely scenario then. A shame... Looks to me quite an expensive thing to fix. I wonder if Leica would even be able to fix it?

I don't see any degradation of quality, at least for now, so I guess I'll keep shooting with it.

[Ecar]

Leica should be able to fix it, esp. as it's a modern lens for which they should still have parts and tools readily available - I suspect it's probably cheaper/easier for them to replace the offending element.

[gaheris]

+1 Leica would be able to fix it and given it's an ASPH lens no one else can. However I am a bit surprised by how 'early' it is for a 24mm summilux to develop this problem. @carlosgavina Have you been shooting it a lot in hot weather or does the lens get direct sunlight a lot? 

[fotografr]

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2 hours ago, carlosgavina said:

Thanks for both replies. Seems that separation is the most likely scenario then. A shame... Looks to me quite an expensive thing to fix. I wonder if Leica would even be able to fix it?

I don't see any degradation of quality, at least for now, so I guess I'll keep shooting with it.

I would check with Don Goldberg (DAG) before sending it to Leica. Don would probably give you a faster, better, more permanent repair.

[Danner]

It looks like separation between the 4th and 5th elements, both spherical and cemented together.  They are not part of the floating element group.  Given that it's a current production lens, surely Leica could repair or replace those elements.

Curious if the lens was subjected to extremes in temperature, humidity, vibration or impact?

Good luck, hopefully not too costly a repair.

[carlosgavina]

 

15 hours ago, fotografr said:

I would check with Don Goldberg (DAG) before sending it to Leica. Don would probably give you a faster, better, more permanent repair.

Thanks for your suggestion @fotografr, I'm based in Europe so unfortunately sending it to DAG is unpractical.

 

16 hours ago, gaheris said:

Have you been shooting it a lot in hot weather or does the lens get direct sunlight a lot? 

 

15 hours ago, Danner said:

Curious if the lens was subjected to extremes in temperature, humidity, vibration or impact?

@gaheris @Danner no long exposures to sun, just the occasional taking out the camera from the bag to shoot some pictures before putting it back. I did use it on a trip to Scotland in 2017. It didn't catch any rain, but it was during the humid season. No impacts, or vibrations that I can recall. However, I bought the lens second-hand years ago, and for all I know, it could have been like this for a long time.

Thanks everyone for your insights. It seems like lens separation is the unanimous verdict. Next time I'm by the Leica store, I'll drop off the lens for them to send out for repair 🤞

 

Edited April 29, 2024 by carlosgavina

[fotografr]

2 hours ago, Al Brown said:

Fun fact, USA only covers 1.867% of world surface yet "send to DAG" is still the most common answer on this (EU based) forum 😊.

Fun fact #2, Don services cameras and lenses from all over the world--he even has customers in Deutschland. 🙂

[fotografr]

5 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

I know, I am a customer myself. But for 99% of us in EU it is not viable sending anywhere stateside. The aggressive European customs procedures and checks are just too much, especially for US repairmen who have to fill special forms on return... an unnecessary and time consuming hassle.

True. I've experienced it myself. It took five weeks for French customs to clear a lens I sent to someone in Paris. Still, that's probably a lot faster than current Leica Repair turnaround time.