Summicron 50mm... Haze? Fungus?

[darkrami]

Hello all,

I recently pulled the trigger on a Summicron 50mm off of the big auction site. It was delivered today and upon inspection/flashlight test I found the rear element to be pretty cloudy. Since this is my first Leica lens and also my first "vintage" lens I need advice as to what this is and how is it going to affect the images.

Please note that this is only visible in the flashlight test. If I hold the lens against the sky and look through it I can't see the cloudiness at all.

Please scroll through the pics and let me know what do you think. The seller accepts returns and has 100% feedback over approx 500 transactions.

Thanks in advance.

https://flic.kr/p/LxzJU6

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Bright spots might be fungus. Too much haze for 1979, not vintage lens.

 

[rfaspen]

Agreed 1979 not vintage. looks like pretty bad haze to me. bound to impact contrast. can be cleaned by any of the competent techs. Their names mentioned often on this forum. Do a search for lens cleaning and you'll find them.

 

[Steve Bellayr]

IMHO Have V Fungus. Haze can be cleaned Fungus not all the time can be removed. I would gamble on haze not on fungus.

 

[michaelwj]

1979! That's modern!

It should look perfect. Send it back and get another.

 

[splitimageview]

Whether 1979 is vintage or not is open to debate but that is too much haze. It will definitely affect contrast. Negotiate a much better price and send it out to a competent tech or return it.

 

[darkrami]

Wow. So disappointed. Cosmetically it looks like it's never been used...
https://flic.kr/p/Ms1id7

 

[splitimageview]

A friend of mine bought 35, 50, and 90mm lenses in the early 80s after he visited Wetzlar. In the ensuing years he hardly ever used them; they all looked new. He decided to sell them and enlisted me to do so; they all had haze. Just depends on the humidity and storage circumstances.

On the other hand some of the best purchases I've ever had were 'hazy renegotiations.' 🙂

 

[darkrami]

A friend of mine bought 35, 50, and 90mm lenses in the early 80s after he visited Wetzlar. In the ensuing years he hardly ever used them; they all looked new. He decided to sell them and enlisted me to do so; they all had haze. Just depends on the humidity and storage circumstances.

On the other hand some of the best purchases I've ever had were 'hazy renegotiations.' 🙂

Do you think I should negotiate a better price? If so, what would be an acceptable price given the circumstances?

 

[splitimageview]

There are many factors involved with Ebay purchases but I would try. There is no risk doing so. They might agree to your offer, but they might not. Send them links to the pics along with a note that you'd be interested in keeping the lens if you can agree on an adjustment.

 

[Huss]

return it. there are so so many good ones out there, not even worth wasting ur time on a lens with haze and fungus.

 

[splitimageview]

All depends on the price. Don't see any fungus.

 

[maddoc]

Looks like haze to me but not fungus or separation. For my taste to much and I would return it. Don from DAG can clean if not to bad but there is always a chance that some small amount of haze remains.

There are often enough low priced lenses that look rough from the outside but have almost perfect optical elements because the lens was used a lot.

 

[Vincent.G]

Yes, I agree with Gabor.

Return it and look for another one in better optical condition.

 

[darkrami]

Ok ladies and gentlemen I burned through a roll of Acros100 so I could test image quality coming out of the lens. Wow. I'm impressed. If there is a haze problem I can't see it. Maybe if I shot in color?

Please look at the images. I posted the settings I used in the description.

https://flic.kr/p/MnDoQS
https://flic.kr/p/M6HkNA
https://flic.kr/p/LAgwcG
https://flic.kr/p/MqjQvD
https://flic.kr/p/MuBSqh
https://flic.kr/p/M6Hghm
https://flic.kr/p/LAm1ri
https://flic.kr/p/MxG2Ec

Also keep in mind that the images have been resized down from full res to optimize for web.

Please let me know what you think. Thanks.

 

[Vincent.G]

I think they look fine to me but it is hard to say if there will be improvements if it was haze free. I have a Carl Zeiss Planar CF 80mm lens for my Hasselblad with a slightly foggy rear element. A Hasselblad technician told me it cannot be removed but it will not affect my photos. That said, it was fine when I first bought it a couple of years ago but I didn't notice anything different from my photos back then and now. I think it all depends on your comfort level and how much you paid for it.

 

[benmacphoto]

Depending on the price I'd keep it and send it to Youxin or DAG for a cleaning.
Or see if the seller would chip in for the cleaning.

 

[Huss]

Results look fine. Try and get a bright light source in the frame, but frankly Leica glass tends to flare easily anyway.

 

[splitimageview]

Haze will reduce contrast, which can be offset to some extent via software. It will also reduce the value of the lens...have you sent the haze pics to the seller yet?

 

[peterm1]

Return or keep? Depends how much you paid. I have bought a few lenses (e.g. Summarit, Summaron) that had haze but the cleaning cost of about $150 Australian currency saw then right. Same with some old Nikkors although there the problem tended to be dried grease in the hellicals. The lenses were not overly expensive to begin with so I did not mind too much if they were otherwise in excellent condition. Also, often if you contact reputable sellers they will rebate you some or all of the cost of cleaning if you paid top dollar. Worth asking.

Bear in mind the coating on the internal elements of some old Leitz glass tends to be very soft and so it's not always possible to clean them fully of haze without damaging the coating. My Summaron had this issue.