[Leica] could it be a defective lens?

[qiao_li at mentor.com (Qiao Li)]

Hi folks,

I have a problem with a suspected answer. However, I am still
in a bit of denial, and hope perhaps it is normal for some Leica
lenses.

I bought a 1969 Leicaflex SL with 50mm Summicron a couple of
weeks back. The eBay listing said they were not sold before,
perhaps only used as display items. From the exterior conditions
of the camera and lens, I believe that could be case.

I had not owned a Leica before, and had always been
fascinated by the consistent praises for Leica. Needless to
say, I am very happy with the build quality of the camera and
lens. Shot a roll of Fuji Superia 400 from Costco, and was very
happy with the result also.

Last night, I decided to take out the lens, and clean the
rear element a little. When the lens came, there was a finger
print smudge on the rear element, so I used a lens paper to
clean it up a little before I ran the roll of film through.

Perhaps due to the oily nature of the finger print smudge,
a couple of lens paper afterwards, there were still this
discernible oily smear traces following the strokes of the
lens paper.

Can I use the lens cleansing solution to clean the rear element
without damaging it?

After the aforementioned efforts, I came to inspect the lens
a little closely. As I can barely claim myself a little more
serious than the average point-and-shoot Joe, my inspection
efforts can only be amateur in nature. So I held the lens against
my desk lamp (40W), and I found a sparkle on one of the inner
elements of the lens.

The way I found it is to tilt the lens such that the black
barrel interior would come into the line of sight. The sparkle
is like that from a chipped glass. And seems to be comging from
one of the inner elements of the lens due to its movement
relative to the tilt variation, barrel rotation, focus ring
rotation. And the sparkle is relatively around the same (inner)
spot when viewed from the front or the back.

After the discover to this sparkle, I was disturbed too much to
continue. Given the stringent quality control of Leica, I wasn't
expecting anything like this.

Was it just bad luck, or glasses couldn't be made perfect then
(or and now), and Leica allow slightly defective glasses to be
used?

I wanted a mint condition Leica. Mint M's are too expensive for
me. So I opted for Leicaflex. Got a mint one, and now, I am very
disappointed. Not that I can justify another Leica purchase soon.
But in case I have funds for another Leica purchase, I would
probably go for user condition ones. Scratches on lens elements
can't be too much worse than dust and sparkles. And paying
premiums for mint looking ones is a bit too much a gamble for the
mint condition.

Qiao