[Leica] Re: Scratch on lens

[drodgers@nextlink.net]

Bob

You wrote:

>>I just noticed a 1/2 inch very light scratch on the surface of my 28mm PC
Super Angulon R Lense. ... What has been your experience with this type of
scratch?
Should I send it back to Leica to be polished out, send it somewhere else or
simply forget about it?<

Sorry to hear your misfortune. I've been there and I know how it feels.

I had lens cap of a Hasselblad 60 Distagon come off in my camera bag once. It
was some time before I noticed it. The front element was really a mess. At least
a dozen severe scratches. I was really upset when I discovered the problem.

I used the lens for some time, at all apertures and all focusing distances. At
one point I spent the better part of a day shooting 8 rolls of 120, again near
and far focus at all apertures; even directly into the sun. I didn't see a hint
of a problem. No loss of contrast. No flare. No image degredation. The only
impact seemed to involve my mental state.

I used the lens a few more months before I finally broke down and sent it to
Hasselblad for repair. They replaced the front element for $125. I expected to
pay at least triple that amount. It happened about 7 years ago.

I seriously doubt it the scratch will affect performance.  Probably the worst
thing is that it would affect resale if you ever decide to part with it.

You might want to check out what a repair would cost. I learned from my
experience that Zeiss matches glass, which may vary slightly from one lens run
to another. They keep spare elements from every production run, and they don't
mix them when repairing a lens from a given run. At least, I was told this by
Hasselblad. I don't if it's important, or if Schnieder does it as well. I was
fortunate in that the front element I needed was readily available. It was also
a single element and not part of a lens group. It may not be as bad as you
think.

Dave