scratches on lens

[bobc163]

shock horror !!!!
camera bag (not my usual one) dropped to the ground from the rear tailgate lots of "tinkling" sounds coming from the bag Won't be using that one again
New lens fitted to body 24-70 2.8 ii
Inspection revealed that the filter had taken the brunt of the fall and subsequently destroyed itself
Big sigh of relief from me
Further inspection back home has revealed that there are some minor scratches to the front element
Have not been able to see anything on images taken so far and the lens functions perfectly
Question is , do i just ignore the slight scratches or should I try and polish them out?
They are approx 10mm long and are at the edge of the front element 3 in total
Thanks in advance
Bob

[ricktas]

generally you will not see them in images, cause the focus point is off in the distance somewhere. You may notice them if you take macro shots close to the end of the lens though. I would not try to polish them out with anything other than a lens cleaning cloth and some lens cleaning fluid. Anything else (steelo, ajax etc..HAHA) might add more scratches.

[feathers]

generally you will not see them in images, cause the focus point is off in the distance somewhere. You may notice them if you take macro shots close to the end of the lens though. I would not try to polish them out with anything other than a lens cleaning cloth and some lens cleaning fluid. Anything else (steelo, ajax etc..HAHA) might add more scratches.

Then you could call it your special effects lens

[piczzilla]

Yikes! I'm terribly sorry about your lens. Just reading your story made me cringe (and remember a time when I dropped my 24-70mm). I can actually notice moisture marks on my front glass from looking at the images. So, if I apply the same principles, I think the scratches might actually make the images somewhat softer in places, but it really depends on how bad they are. I can only suggest to try taking some photos with the smallest aperture (f22) of light coloured textures (or the blue sky - that's normally when I notice things on my front glass). And see if you're still happy with your images. All the best.

[Mark L]

I can only suggest to try taking some photos with the smallest aperture (f22) of light coloured textures (or the blue sky - that's normally when I notice things on my front glass).

but that may show up something that is irrelevant to how Bob usually takes photos.
I can only suggest taking photos how you normally do and see if there's anything shows up. Doubt it will.
And that filter may not only have taken the brunt, but also caused the scratches.

[Brendo09]

You're not suggesting that a filter actually does the opposite of protecting a lens? That's preposterous!

[piczzilla]

but that may show up something that is irrelevant to how Bob usually takes photos.
I can only suggest taking photos how you normally do and see if there's anything shows up. Doubt it will.
And that filter may not only have taken the brunt, but also caused the scratches.

Since it's a wide angle lens, I presume it would be used to shoot at smaller aperture where scratches will be more apparent. But I suppose you have a point there, there are a lot of factors that might prevent the scratches from showing up in images.

When I dropped my lens (on a solid rock ), the mount was in pieces but the rest of the lens was miraculously intact, it cost me $180 (if memory serves) to get the broken parts replaced (came out good as new). If the scratches present some problems or if OP is worried, a trip to the repair centre and a request for quote might be worth the trouble.

PS: should I add, I didn't have any filters on when this happened

[arthurking83]

Since it's a wide angle lens, I presume it would be used to shoot at smaller aperture where scratches will be more apparent. .....

Under normal conditions, irrespective of aperture used, you won't see the effects of the scratches on the front element.
If you see any effects due to a stopped down aperture, then 99.99% it's something on the sensor itself, not the front of the lens.

If you regularly use the lens with any extension tubes, then you 'may' see the scratches themselves .. but to achieve this situation, you'd have to be actually trying (really hard!) to take photos of those scratches

Get yourself some extension tubes and try it for yourself to see how hard it is to take a photo of any subject where the focus distance is on the front lens element .. just to experience how hard it is to take photos that close to the front of the lens!

What you may see tho, is some lens flare effects if you shoot under the conditions where any light source will strike the front of the lens element. You'd have to test this for yourself to see how bad it may be now.

But I think this post reiterates the point that using a 'protective' filter creates the exact opposite effect that the filter is supposed to do!

I'd bet my last $ that if the lens cap alone was the only thing 'protecting' the lens .. you wouldn't be seeing those small scratches now!