Nikkor 180 with a "bad shave"

[james]

That looks terrible! Have you shot it into strong light? I hope the prior owner paid you to take it away....

http://forum.mflenses.com/very-scratched-front-element-nikon-180mm-f2-8-ed-t36178.html

[Attila]

James, I did shoot on strong day light these samples , they are fine. If you question was did I shoot against sun I don't I never shoot against sun with any lens. I have several lenses with scratches , fungus etc, they are works fine. Nobody can say from sample images they was those lenses. Interestingly pros not care much about lens and they works fine for news papers , exhibitions etc. Amateurs not take lens with a small scratch 'because they are believe it it is visible on pictures'

[james]

I am still surprised (in a good way) that the images you posted seem so unaffected by the degree & depth of the scratches on the front element. It probably has some effect on the images in odd lighting, if the light strikes the front element at certain angles. Congratulations on this excellent find! If used right, the Nikkor 180 ED AIS is a great lens. I've owned one for 15 years and despite its flaws with chromatic aberration (strong axial and lateral), it's a very sharp lens. A little heavy, though.

[cooltouch]

http://www.lensrentals.com/news/2008.10.30/front-element-scratches

[Attila]

[Spotmatic]

I think it would be in our own interests to buy only lenses with "problems". I have a Canon FD 85mm f/1.2 S.S.C. Aspherical which has numerous marks on the front element and is very used on the outside, but it works perfectly and that's what counts. A smart user can save hundreds/thousands of euros by just selecting BGN lenses...

Of course, if you are a collector then that parts needs to be satisfied too. But it's not a guarantee that you'll end up with a good copy. I have bought and used hundreds of lenses now, and I can safely say that it's not uncommon for BGN lenses to be perfectly working and Mint copies to be duds... And those lenses were mint because their owners never took them from the bag, bad as the lenses were.

[cooltouch]

Very true. I have often told people who were whingeing about scratched front elements this:

"Take a piece of string and lay it up against the front element. Select an aperture, look through the lens. Stop down the lens aperture, whatever. Can't see the string, can you? Now, just imagine how awful that lens's element would look if it had a scratch the same thickness as the string! Go take pictures and stop worrying about tiny scratches!"

I picked up a Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 AIs for peanuts years ago because it has a pretty bad scratch on the front element. The lens works perfectly and takes great pics. Even though it's a wide angle, the scratch has no effect on the images.

[Attila]

[Attila]