Scratched Lens

[WelshNoob]

A friend (this is a genuine friend, not one of those "I'll deflect the embarrassment off myself" kind of friends!) has scratched the lens on his Canon G15. Apart from changing the lens is there somewhere that would be able to polish it out? Possibly a jewelers? Has anyone had any success with this problem before?

 

[gramps]

Does the scratch affect the images?

 

[simonblue]

Always depend on how deep the scratches are

 

[ancient_mariner]

Does the scratch affect the images?

This is the burning question really. If the scratch were deep enough to affect the images then I would expect polishing out would likely grind away so much of the lens as to change it's optical characteristics.

This article might also be of interest: http://kurtmunger.com/dirty_lens_articleid35.html

 

[sbowler579]

Shoot below F8 and the scratches may not show on the images.

 

[Lyope]

Also this:

http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2008/10/front-element-scratches

 

[MartynK]

I've seen the Kurt Munger article before, and it demonstrates just how much abuse a lens can take before it impacts the images. Going back to the OP's question, I'd just advise the friend to use the camera for a range of shots and have a look at the results. The scratch might not be worth worrying about.

 

[WelshNoob]

It doesn't show up in any of the shots when the light is at certain angles, when it catches the light there is an oval smudge on part of image.

 

[colda]

any polishing on the front element will remove it's coating - this would not be a good thing

 

[Thegreatroberto]

any polishing on the front element will remove it's coating - this would not be a good thing

Agree with this. This would be my main reason for not polishing it out.

 

[Winkyphoto]

For really nice glass, you can return it to the manufacturer and have the front element replaced. Only worth it for the best (most expensive lenses), but good as new, obviously.

 

[Llamaman]

The only repair worth contemplating would be a front element replacement. For a G15, this will probably be close to the cost of a new camera (let alone a 2nd hand one) so not worth it. But no harm in getting a quote.

 

[WelshNoob]

Thanks for the input. Scratch the idea of having it polished then.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

2 options. 1) manufacturer's repair will replace the top lens / lens assembly but may not be cost effective in this case. 2) Fill the scratch with black marker pen ink. This will stop stray light refracting, but hopefully will be too small and out of focus to be noticable in the images.

 

[WelshNoob]

2) Fill the scratch with black marker pen ink. This will stop stray light refracting, but hopefully will be too small and out of focus to be noticable in the images.

Good idea, I'll tell him to give that a go.