Paint lens element edges to reduce flare?

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besk

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Years ago, in the 1960's, some opticians painted the edges of thick, strong correctioin eyeglass lenses in an attempt to reduce the reflection of light from these edges.

Question: Would this help reduce flare in uncoated or single coated lenses?
 
Brian sweeney has at least one thread on this issue. He painted aperture blades black to reduce flare. His results support such a paint job.
 
besk said:
Years ago, in the 1960's, some opticians painted the edges of thick, strong correctioin eyeglass lenses in an attempt to reduce the reflection of light from these edges.

Question: Would this help reduce flare in uncoated or single coated lenses?
Click to expand...

According to "Modern Optical Engineering," yes.

http://tinyurl.com/yg2mjbr

I would say that if done carefully, at the very least it would not hurt anything. I'd be careful when replacing lens elements after painting - the thickness of the paint could conceivably alter the alignment of the elements. Just an opinion.
 
Yes, blackening the edges of lens elements will significantly reduce (read: nearly eliminate) the internal reflections from the side of the lens element.

This is a technique that has been used for a very long time. I've seen in on pre-war lenses that were uncoated. Back in the days when Nikon made quality filters ('60's through mid-80's) they edge blackened the glass.
 
I guess, I talked about blackening the blades above, while the question was about blackening the edges of lens elements.

Is the blackening done by the factory in most lenses or not?
If not, then it is questionable whether blackening lens element edges is something we should do or not.
 
It is done on all lenses at least since the mid nineteenth century. Edge paint separation even has its own name, "Schneideritis" after a manufacturer whose popular double gauss design was particularly prone to this issue some forty years ago...
 
I've seen black flakes of paint mistaken for loose aperture blades, had a Prominent Nokton do this. I replaced the black paint with a Black Sharpie ink marker. The location of the paint was not affect its placement in the fixture.
 
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