Internal crud in my Nikkor lens: This is a picture taken with the lens full open and held up to window light. The lens is a Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8 D, purchased used back in 2011. I used...

gmontjr2350 Loc: Southern NJ

This is a picture taken with the lens full open and held up to window light.
The lens is a Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8 D, purchased used back in 2011.
I used my D7200 with the 18-105mm kit lens for the photograph.
Is this an acceptable amount of dust/dirt or should it be serviced?
Thanks for any input!

George

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Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Have you noticed any degradation in image quality?
I would think that the light passing through the lens would "go around" the specks and not be evident in an image.
Someone here who is well versed in lenses and optics should be able to help.

gmontjr2350 Loc: Southern NJ

Longshadow wrote:

Have you noticed any degradation in image quality?
I would think that the light passing through the lens would "go around" the specks and not be evident in an image.
Someone here who is well versed in lenses and optics should be able to help.

I have not. At the same time, I don't know that I have the skill necessary to notice subtle degradations.
The manual for my Meade 4" SCT says not to worry about internal dirt, so...

George

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

gmontjr2350 wrote:

I have not. At the same time, I don't know that I have the skill necessary to notice subtle degradations.
The manual for my Meade 4" SCT says not to worry about internal dirt, so...

George

I personally, would not worry about it either.
Lenses breath. Eventually they will suck in microscopic pieces of dust.
Zooms that extend breath the most.

Bill_de Loc: US

gmontjr2350 wrote:

This is a picture taken with the lens full open and held up to window light.
The lens is a Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8 D, purchased used back in 2011.
I used my D7200 with the 18-105mm kit lens for the photograph.
Is this an acceptable amount of dust/dirt or should it be serviced?
Thanks for any input!

George

If you went to the trouble to find this dirt, you will probably feel better if you have the lens serviced. Can't really say if you will see an improvement in image quality.

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gmontjr2350 Loc: Southern NJ

Longshadow wrote:

I personally, would not worry about it either.
Lenses breath. Eventually they will suck in microscopic pieces of dust.
Zooms that extend breath the most.

This lens is an internal zoom since it stays the same length from 80 to 200. Dust'll do what it wants to do, I guess.
Thanks for your input!

George

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

gmontjr2350 wrote:

This is a picture taken with the lens full open and held up to window light.
The lens is a Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8 D, purchased used back in 2011.
I used my D7200 with the 18-105mm kit lens for the photograph.
Is this an acceptable amount of dust/dirt or should it be serviced?
Thanks for any input!

George

The way to answer this question is to mount the lens to a camera, mount the camera to a tripod, set-up the tripod in a well-lit room with a white ceiling and take a series of test images of that all-white ceiling.

Shoot aperture priority and walk the aperture from wide open (f/2.8) down to the smallest aperture and / or the smallest aperture you'd use with this lens. Assure you start with a 'good' exposure, with the meter at the 0-mark or preferably biased to the right of zero, probably +2/3.

Then, pull the images up on your large, desktop monitor. Use your analysis (example image) above to help you review the areas of the image where possibly these dust specs might / could appear in the images. Decide for yourself if the lens dust impacts the images.

Be sure to not confuse any sensor dust with lens dust.

gmontjr2350 Loc: Southern NJ

Thank you!!!

George

Rongnongno Loc: FL

What I like is the optical effect as the eyes adapt to the contrast...

The rest? Like everything else, use a pro to deal with it. First make sure it is the lens, not the sensor, by simply changing the lens.

User ID

Longshadow wrote:

Have you noticed any degradation in image quality?
I would think that the light passing through the lens would "go around" the specks and not be evident in an image.
Someone here who is well versed in lenses and optics should be able to help.

No problems whatsoever if the posted photo is accurate.

User ID

CHG_CANON wrote:

The way to answer this question is to mount the le... (show quote)

If the OP visually saw the dust before he photographed it, then acoarst it cant be sensor dust.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I'd ignore it.

http://photographylife.com/what-to-do-with-dust-inside-lens

Scruples Loc: Brooklyn, New York

gmontjr2350 wrote:

This is a picture taken with the lens full open and held up to window light.
The lens is a Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8 D, purchased used back in 2011.
I used my D7200 with the 18-105mm kit lens for the photograph.
Is this an acceptable amount of dust/dirt or should it be serviced?
Thanks for any input!

George

Dust and dirt, even a minuscule amount, is unacceptable. It will hamper the image and your ultimate desire NOT to use a lens. Worse if it is a fungus. These unlovely creatures MUST be removed at all costs.

For dust, dirt metal filings and fungus inside a lens will destroy an image in no time. “How it got there?” will eventually confirm that the lens is not air tight and a retaining ring or a barrel ring may be loose.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

gmontjr2350 wrote:

This is a picture taken with the lens full open and held up to window light.
The lens is a Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8 D, purchased used back in 2011.
I used my D7200 with the 18-105mm kit lens for the photograph.
Is this an acceptable amount of dust/dirt or should it be serviced?
Thanks for any input!

George

Looks perfectly fine to me.
Even brand new lenses can have dust in them.

Bayou

Dust is inevitable and will not degrade IQ unless there's a tremendous amount.