Spots on the front element,really matter?

[kk262777]

There are many tiny spots on the front element of my 35RC.
Not quite satisfied with the photo i took by 35rc, because of the spots or just all in my mind?

flare?😕

 

[Ranchu]

That's veiling flare, also looks overexposed to me. Not sure if your spots caused this, but seems to me shooting into the sunlit clouds and overexposing a bit could account for it. Many lenses do this.

 

[Spyro]

Spots on the front element: you cant see them on the photos because no lens can focus on itself* 🙂

Can the spots degrade image quality overall? Yep, in very bad cases. A small scratch could mean that lens coatings in a larger area around the scratch might have chipped, therefore reducing the overall efficiency of coatings. Especially applicable in extreme lighting conditions ie when light is falling on the lens from a wide angle.

*some macro lenses can focus very close to the front element. Stop down such a lens and part of the front element can actually end up being within dof. The 35RC cant do this so N/A in this case.

 

[kk262777]

Thanks!
I'll try to get a hood for the lens.

 

[Joao]

Small spots may not be that important - except for the commercial value of the lens
A classical link concerning front element scratches
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2008/10/front-element-scratches

Regards
Joao