New lens has some dust inside..

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Phil1076

Well-known member
My new Olympus 14-35 2.0 appears to have a particle of something inside the lens element. I've tried shaking and tapping the lens and it won't go away. It's visible when looking into the lens directly and also when holding it up to the light...however, nothing shows up on the video. I have it on my AF100 and I've tried pointing it both dark and bright surfaces and I do not see any abnormalities with the image.

Should I return it/get it serviced or just leave it? Also, is there any possible trick to removing it myself? Thanks
 
A lens can't focus on itself so I doubt the spec will ever show on footage.

You might consider returning it for eventual resale value, but I just noticed a couple of very tiny specs in my 14-35/2, & it may be just a matter of time before every example accumulates some.
 
A little dust is pretty normal actually, most often in zooms. Shouldn't effect your image. At some point in the future you may want to have a lense cleaned if it gets especially dusty.
 
I have never seen dust specs show up on in footage- so yes, image wise you're fine. But when it's time to re-sell, a buyer will want to ding you for it. Despite the fact it won't affect their footage either (anything to get the price lower- it's what I would do :)).
 
Yeah, everything you guys have said makes sense and this is what I figured. It doesn't look like dust -- it looks like a larger piece of something. Anyways, since the lens is new, and since I paid $2.5k for it, and since I may one day re-sell it, I've started the RMA process with B&H.

If it wasn't for the fact that I may one day sell it I wouldn't even worry about it.
 
I noticed a dust particle in the lens element of my xha1s, when I first bought it. I didn't bother sending it back, because as most others stated it will not show up in the footage. I never understand why people get so crazy about dust in a lens. I have an old Canon that has a small bug in it, and that doesn't even show up in the footage. Now mildew, or mold spores. Thats a different story. Mildew is especially bad in ext. low light scenes, such as street lights, or even moon light. Causes a weird ghosting, or haze like effect. Plus it kills the sharpness of the lens. ( depending how bad, and where it's at in the element) The odd thing is it happens when lens is wide open, but usually goes away when it's stopped down some.
 
maranfilms said:
I noticed a dust particle in the lens element of my xha1s, when I first bought it. I didn't bother sending it back, because as most others stated it will not show up in the footage. I never understand why people get so crazy about dust in a lens. I have an old Canon that has a small bug in it, and that doesn't even show up in the footage. Now mildew, or mold spores. Thats a different story. Mildew is especially bad in ext. low light scenes, such as street lights, or even moon light. Causes a weird ghosting, or haze like effect. Plus it kills the sharpness of the lens. ( depending how bad, and where it's at in the element) The odd thing is it happens when lens is wide open, but usually goes away when it's stopped down some.
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I completely agree, and that's why I posted. It's inevitable that some dust will eventually get in....sure....but I guess the point is this: the lens is brand new....and for $2500, it should be damn near perfect to be honest. It doesn't affect the video at all, but as mentioned above if I decide to sell it I'm probably going to get pinched for it.

Since it's new and I can exchange it for another (hopefully perfect) one, that's the logical thing to do. If that one gets crap in it 2 years down the road then I will worry about it at that time.

I guess it's kind of like buying a new 7-series BMW -- you're going to expect everything to be perfect...but if something really small is wrong with your Ford Escort, you're probably going to let it slide because hey, it's a Ford Escort.

No offense to the Escort Fan Club...but you seen what I'm saying.

And just for the record, it's not a tiny microscopic dust particle...it looks like a chuck of dirt or fluff or whatever the hell it is.....I'm actually surprised it doesn't show up in the video.
 
Phil1076 said:
Yeah, everything you guys have said makes sense and this is what I figured. It doesn't look like dust -- it looks like a larger piece of something. Anyways, since the lens is new, and since I paid $2.5k for it, and since I may one day re-sell it, I've started the RMA process with B&H.

If it wasn't for the fact that I may one day sell it I wouldn't even worry about it.
Click to expand...

good decision- BH will just send it back to olympus, they'll clean it and send it back out as a "refurb"
 
Your doing the right thing. 2,500 is a pricey piece of glass. Plus, like you said the resale will be better. Not to mention, it holds the manufacturer to higher standard. If they know people will accept dirty lenses, they will let more stuff fall through the cracks. I can't blame you. In my case, I knew I was going to run the cam into the ground, infact I still shoot it on occasion. So it seemed more hassle than it was worth to be without a cam at the time. :)
 
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