*Black flakes are usually paint flecks - often from edge paint on glass elements where it doesn't seem to stick as well as on the barrel.
*All cheaper zooms get dust in them - they suck it in with air as you zoom. Some expensive units are totally sealed for this reason.
*Neither dust nor paint flecks are nearly as serious a problem as fungus.
*Picture degradation is likely to be almost undetectable - especially if the fleck is small and near the edge. The nearer the lens mount and the nearer the centre of an element, the worse the effect. *I've seen a good lens with serious scratch on the front element deliver excellent results, while a mark in the middle of the rear element can be serious.
*Zooms are much more expensive to clean or repair than primes but any competent technician can clean it - for a price. A Makinon may not be worth it unless you have a particular love for this unit.
Soldier on!
AndrewF
well, i had one of my worst photographic dreams coming true...
My long zoom, a Makinon 28-200 f/3.5 has dust and something like a small black flake, on one of the inner elements group. the one group that moves back and forth in this inner focusing lens. and as far as i can tell the particles are on the closer to the mount inner element.
the flake seems like whta one would expect from paint finish peelin of...
i cannot think why now after all those years of exoitence in the hands of 2 photographers... and most importandly do not know what to do...
should i leave it as is? will that affect image quality that much?
should i blow air through the opening around the f/number ring? kinda scary since moisture may concetrate, and the air might bring more particles on the element surface
and should i get the lens to the only good repair shop here in northern greece? coming from your experience, can a good technician reliably disembowel a lens of that kind, clean it and put it back again leanving no trace of dust in it?
what do ya think? kostas
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so... no matter what, CHEER UP MY FRIENDS! Life is too precious to jump the other side of the fence...
kostas papakotas / clenched teeth photography
http://groups.msn.com/clenchedteethphotography/home.html
'COS SOMETIMES IT IS BETTER WITH CLENCHED TEETH!
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