haze

[paperino]

Hi,

I'd to buy a Canon 50mm f.1.4 LTM, unfortunately most of them are affected by slight haze, could I remove it? Has anyone a guide to disassemble and to clean this lens.

Tks

 

[newst]

It is a fantastic lens, unfortunately subject to the haze issue common to Canon's 50mm LTM lenses.

The good news is that the 1.8/50, 1.4/50, and 1.2/50 are reasonably easy to disassemble and clean, provided you have the tools and skills.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMRnqIysGAk&t=14s

The bad news is that the haze is capable of etching the coating, or glass, leaving permanent damage that will impact images. It doesn't happen all that frequently, but it does happen.

If you are patient you can find clean copies of the 1.4/50 and the 1.2/50 on the auction site. In the last six months I have purchased one of each in the US, both clean, for a buy it now price of about $300 each. I did this by doing a daily search for new listings of LTM lenses, and just buying what looks good. You just need to be prepared to return it if the seller wasn't honest.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Good advice given above. I have never seen other lenses haze over as quickly as the Canon lenses made after 1956 or so. I've seen lenses where the haze cleans off completely, haze that damaged the coating, and haze that has etched the glass.

Do not buy one unless it has return privilege or is so cheap you can use it for parts.

 

[charjohncarter]

I have a Serenar 35mm f3.5 that I think was made in 1953. It suffers from haze, and it repeats. I've got the cleaning procedure down to less than 8 minutes. My only tools are loupes, micro fiber cloth, and a toothpick. I usually clean it before every use. The haze comes back in 12 months, but I still clean it more often.

 

[paperino]

Thanks for the suggestions, yes in fact I am following ebay daily with some placed among the observed so that I only check the latest ads