What is this blemish on my lens? Anything to worry about?

[rob.nyc1]

Hey guys,

I just picked up a never-used Nikonos V on eBay. The viewfinder is spotless, and the camera seems to function as expected (tested shutter speeds, aperture adjustment, light meter). I'm going to run a roll of film through it tomorrow.

The lens, however, has me a little concerned. What is this blemish? I hope it's not fungus. I can't polish it off. Will it show up in photos? Lens is a 35mm

Best,
Rob

 

[rob.nyc1]

Larger image here

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SKw6h2Vzg1Tq4PY0anE7QS4Ss8BSAfU9/view?usp=sharing

 

[xayraa33]

The two brownish tan spots look like internal rust residue.

 

[Rob-F]

The purple spot? I assume it's not a reflection; my guess is possible coating damage that may not be serious. I think I would take some test photos, especially testing for flare or ghost reflections when shooting into bright light. I've seen coating damage that made no difference in the resulting images. But I can't really tell more than that from the photo.

 

[rob.nyc1]

In the image attached to the original post, the blemish I'm talking about is the circled white mark at 3-4 o'clock on the lens (circled in red)

 

[xayraa33]

In the image attached to the original post, the blemish I'm talking about is the circled white mark at 3-4 o'clock on the lens (circled in red)

If it is not a mark on the glass or a hole piercing thru on the lens body to let water in then I would not worry about it.

It just looks like a white dot of paint that someone tried to rub off with something abrasive and left a mark on the spot.

 

[rob.nyc1]

as long as it's not fungus...I think I'll need to inspect with a magnifying glass tomorrow

 

[enasniearth]

looks to be out of the field of view of the lens and should to be an issue

 

[peterm1]

Years ago my first Nikon was a Nikonos 5 - just like yours with a 35mm f2.5 standard lens - just like yours. (It is what got me ultimately into photography - at the time I was a diver with a mild interest in capturing my underwater experiences).
Anyway, at some point not too long after buying the kit I noticed a "blob" of what I now believe to have been missing coating on a front lens element - perhaps not just like yours but maybe similar. I did not know enough back then but I never the less followed it up with the local distributor for Nikon but he played dumb (or maybe was really dumb) and I did not really press the matter after that (which makes me kinda dumb too). Long story short the bloody thing always produced flare or a noticeable low contrast spot in images - especially those made above water where I guess there was more ambient light. It always p#ssed me off" as I quickly found I enjoyed making normal non submerged photos much more than making submerged ones.
As I remember it mine was in a similar position to yours - about half way between the centre and the edge of the element. Looking back on it I could only attribute it to some "pollution" or contamination that was not properly cleaned off the element before it underwent coating during manufacturing. And which became apparent later.
I am not sure if yours is the same (it actually looks a little like fungus but it is hard to tell - mine definitely was not)- but it's not dissimilar to the problem I had and the lens and camera were the same so be prepared - you may experience this issue.

 

[Rob-F]

Oh I was looking at the wrong thing, thinking it was something on the glass. But a mark on the ring, and not on the glass--I would not be concerned.

 

[Andy Kibber]

I would be surprised if that mark makes any difference. The much bigger question is whether the seals are intact. If not, your camera's life will be over tout suite.

I'm not a fan of CLA unless there's something wrong with a camera or lens, but faulty seals in a Nikonos can drown the camera. If you don't know whether the seals are up to snuff, I strongly recommend sending the camera out for checkup. Bob Warkentin at Southern Nikonos Service Center was the guy for Nikonoses, but he died last year.

After some searching, I sent my Nikonos V to Elie Masbanji in California. He replaced the seals quickly for a reasonable price. Good communication throughout. He's Narcosis101 on Instagram and has an Ebay store as well. I expect he could clean the lens too if necessary.