How easy is it to get a scratch? i have a new camera it is a point and shoot but it is realy nice and i want to know how tough my lens is. it is a Sony DSC H50
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Lens Scratch? HELP!!!!!!!!
- Thread starter Macintosh¯Lover
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Scratches aren't something you can normally remove, trying to correct the scratch will probably be optically just as bad, if not worse than the scratch itself.
Becides, scratches on the front of your lens aren't the end of the world. See: http://www.lensrentals.com/news/2008.10.30/front-element-scratches
Becides, scratches on the front of your lens aren't the end of the world. See: http://www.lensrentals.com/news/2008.10.30/front-element-scratches
The front element of your lens is normally quite cheap to replace. If you have a bad scratch that shows up in your images then maybe consider replacing it.
Or maybe it's a good reason for an upgrade!
Or maybe it's a good reason for an upgrade!
Ah, you're suffering from 'new camera syndrome'. You're getting stressed out (all those exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) about something that hasn't happened yet. Just keep the lens-cap on when you're not using the camera, and a case will keep the camera body free from scuffs.
But it's a tool, not a precious jewel. If you worry too much about damaging your camera, you'll miss a lot of pictures...
Haha, you forgot to add, quality filters
Cheap filter will deteriorate the image quality and some will introduce a yellowish cast on your photos, some filters will make you wonder why your images aren't focus properly, lol
i use Tiffen and Quantaray i hope those are ok..
oh lol !
a) on a point and shoot, it's not that easy to get a scratch
*the lens is so small
b) stop worrying so much, stuff happens, and yes, you might even get a small scratch on your lens. Probably won't show in the photos.
c) in no way did this thread necessitate the word "help" or the exclamation points. Nothing has happened yet.
b) stop worrying so much, stuff happens, and yes, you might even get a small scratch on your lens. Probably won't show in the photos.
c) in no way did this thread necessitate the word "help" or the exclamation points. Nothing has happened yet.
Until a filter shatters/is broken and scratches the front element anyway.
I used to have filters, now don't bother. Lens hoods seem to do a good enough job for me.
As for the OP's scratched lens, if it's off centre it shouldn't be a big issue. You may notice it if light reflects off the scratch on some angles.
+1
The guy at the store told me:
"think of it this way - if you scratch your filter, it's only $50 - $80 whereas if you scratch your lens, it's alot more to fix (plus you'll be without your lens for x amount of time)"
cheers,
keebler
Scratches don't really effect the image as much as you think. What matters is the size of the scratch in square area compared to the surface of the lens measured in square area. Until the scratches start to cover more than about 1% of the lens surfaceyou can't really tell that they are there, even if they do look bad.
THe effect of the scratch is not a line on the photo but an overall lowering of contrast. The reason is that every part of the lens' first surface contributes evenly to every pixel. So a lot of mixing happens, the effect is evenly spread throughout the entire image and so does not show untill you get to aroud 1% level or so.
To those who say "use a filter". The filter may be worse than a scratch ubless you've spent $60 or so for the filter. It is very un-common to scratch a lens, very rare. The typical bad thing that happens is that the lens is dropped. Filters don't help in that case. Most lenses are designed so you can place them front end down and the front element will not touch a flat surface.
That's shocking! People who overlooked this link and didn't click it should! But it does reinforce the fact that scratches and other defects only show up in your photos if they are located near the image plane. So, in other words, scratches to the rear element are much worse than scratches to the front element. A speck of dust on the front element does not result in a visible speck in your photo; it just reduces the brightness and contrast by 0.0000001% (or however much area of the front element the speck of dust covers)
Doylem said:
+1
The worst thing that happens is you have a broken camera. It's not the end of the world; cameras aren't rare and irreplaceable. Just take reasonable steps to protect the camera and you'll be fine
Generally, the biggest problem with scratches is in the lens coating, not the glass itself, but in either case, your lens is not as tough as you rubbing the lens with a cloth while there's a grain of sand on it. Keep the protective cap on it whenever you can and you'll reduce the risk a lot if your camera doesn't automatically cover the lens. That said, a scratch on the front element of a lens usually only shows up when you're shooting into bright light, so it's almost never a big deal.
I'm not sure the economies of scale work like that for Point and Shoots.
Haha, you forgot to add, quality filters
Cheap filter will deteriorate the image quality and some will introduce a yellowish cast on your photos, some filters will make you wonder why your images aren't focus properly, lol
*All* filters degrade the image quality, even hyper-expensive multicoated B+W ones.
I've been shooting for a bunch of years now, and I've never scratched a lens enough to make a difference in the images it produced- so my rationale is that I'd rather buy a new lens every 20-30 years than degrade every picture ever taken through any lens. I'm not all that good about keeping lens caps on either.
I do, nearly 100% of the time. Off-axis light falling on the front element has a much more serious effect on the image than even a large scratch on the lens. If I'm working from a tripod I'm even more careful and will look at the front of the lens to check if it needs additional shading. When I used to shoot medium format I had a kind of adjustable bellows lens shade that had a square opening. It made a lot of difference. It looks like one of these
http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/LE5000K/