Summicron Rigid coating cleaned off?

[Fjäll]

I just picked up another 50mm Summicron Rigid DR at an auction from a local Leica dealer who described the lens to be in pristine condition optically.

After picking it up today I did the flashlight test and saw something that looks like someone might have tried to chemically clean the rear element but left the soft coating etched. It's not as smooth as my previous non DR Rigid and it rattles a little too, is that normal?

I know a lot of these lenses develop haze and collect dust but I have several vintage legacy lenses that are in optically pristine condition for which I don't mind paying extra for. This too however had a premium price tag.

I want to make sure I explain to the guy what's wrong with it but I might be lacking the terminology. Is it a case of a bad cleaning job?

 

[f16sunshine]

It looks simply like bad cleaning job.
If this was described as pristine, it would be a false description.

 

[giganova]

The proof is in the pudding. How do the pictures look like? My Rigid has cleaning marks on the front element where part of the coating is gone, but the images look fabulous! Much of the "magic Leica look" is simply due to the lenses being old and worn 😀

 

[Fjäll]

It looks simply like bad cleaning job.
If this was described as pristine, it would be a false description.

Indeed.

The proof is in the pudding. How do the pictures look like? My Rigid has cleaning marks on the front element where part of the coating is gone, but the images look fabulous! Much of the "magic Leica look" is simply due to the lenses being old and worn 😀

I'm with you on that one. So far the images look fine actually. I could totally get on with this lens or any other lens for that matter. I just wanted to get a clean sample where the lens element issues wouldn't remind itself when it least needed to. I might just go and buy myself a later version and be a happy camper.

For half the price I paid for this lens however. 🙄

 

[Erik van Straten]

The problem is that you can never compare the lens with how it was before it was cleaned, because the old films are no longer there.

But the rigid is sure a fine lens, one of the best lenses ever made.

Erik.

 

[Steve M.]

I had a Leica R 90 2.8 Elmarit lens that had a rear element that not only had no coatings, the inside surface looked like it had been sandblasted w/ very fine sand! Obviously it was the result of a cleaning gone bad. But, here's the crazy part, it made very sharp photographs even wide open, just like my pristine lenses. When I later sold the lens, I gave an accurate description and posted samples from it, and it sold right away, so go figure.

 

[BLKRCAT]

looks similar to how my rigid looked when I got it. Except my coating damage was on the front element. Nothing would take it off.

I ended up sending the lens to Focal Point lens in Colorado and they did magical work to the front element. Polished out some cleaning marks, removed the coating and recoated it with modern coatings. The lens had a unique blue look to the coating and really set itself apart from other rigids both physically and in images.

As I posted in the rigid thread I miss it from time to time but I sold it to move to something else and I'm just as happy with my voigtlander 50 F1.5 as I am with the cron!