It's my understanding that the rear element is far more critical than the front,
as far as scratches are concerned, and often the front element is relatively
inexpensive to replace. I would be concerned about the scratches setting off
flare in the lens, so for your test, some shots into the light would be
appropriate. I don't think the imperfections would show up as "scratches" in a
print anyway. The front element of the lens is nowhere near being in focus.
Geoff Doane
Ken Lin wrote:
> > Hi. I recently purchased a 80-200L with fairly badly scratched front
> glass.
> > The scratches are all tiny, but there are lots of them. With the amount of
> careful design, expensive glass and manufacturing
> process, let alone any coatings, there is ABSOLUTELY no way you should even
> considering polishing the front element.
>
> Some lenses have a flat optical element in the front, if so you may be able
> to get Canon to replace it for you rather inexpensively, but before you do
> anything, you should just take some photos (prints would do), and get a shot
> with good details enlarged to say 8 x 10 or 16x20 size and see if you can
> notice the scratches.
>
> If you can't see any effect on the enlargement from the scratches, then keep
> the lens provided there are no other defects with it, $500 is pretty cheap
> for this lens.
>
> Regards,
>
> Ken
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