8mm Forum: Scratched Lens on a Canon 1014 XL-S

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Posted by Pedro Munyoz (Member # 985) on February 06, 2008, 10:46 AM:

Hi,
I've got some tiny scratches on the outside of the front lens of this camera. I don't know yet if they will affect picture quality but just in case, does anyone know if this lens can be changed anyhow? I mean only the damaged lens. A technician has told me that he can unscrew it and try to replace it for a Skylight filter or something similar. What do you think?

Posted by Claus Harding (Member # 702) on February 06, 2008, 10:58 AM:

Pedro,

I am not clear from your description if you have a screw-on filter on the front of your camera or not.
Is it the physical front element of the actual camera lens that is scratched or is it a filter screwed in in front of it?

If it is a filter that is scratched, then just unscrew it and replace it yourself.

If it is the front element of the actual camera lens that is damaged, other means may be necessary.

Claus.

Posted by Pedro Munyoz (Member # 985) on February 06, 2008, 11:40 AM:

Thank you Claus for your answer.

It's not a filter, it is the frontal lens.

Posted by Claus Harding (Member # 702) on February 06, 2008, 12:21 PM:

Pedro,

Personally, I would shoot a roll of test film and see if the scratches have any effect before spending on having the camera opened up.

Short of replacement of the front element, the only technique I have ever heard of for removing small scratches in things like reading glasses is by buffing gently with toothpaste, but I have not tried this. Most likely this would remove the UV coating from the camera lens as well, so proceed with caution.

Best,
Claus.

Posted by Kevin Faulkner (Member # 6) on February 06, 2008, 05:47 PM:

Unless they are really bad I think that you will find that they will not have much effect on your images.

Yes it's a good idea to run a test roll to see what the quality is like.

Dont use any abrasive cleaner on the front element as it will remove the optical coating. This would then give worse results than the few fine scratches.

Kev.

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on February 06, 2008, 09:02 PM:

Pedro,

Since you said the scratches are tiny, chances are good the picture quality will be fine. When you shoot your test, try aiming the camera directly at the sun then pan away slightly so you get lens flare. Also test the macro function. Those are the situations where the scratches might show up or cause refraction. Good luck!

Doug

Posted by David Kilderry (Member # 549) on February 07, 2008, 04:56 AM:

Pedro in my experience with Canon's, you should be OK if the scratches are light.

Do the test Doug recommends, shoot the sun and slowly pan away to blue sky or clean white cloud, remove the lens hood so the sun can hit front element at a more acute angle. You will see during projection of your test film if these scratches pick up any light or shadow.

Also shoot a test card, test pattern or anything with a uniform grid. A chain mesh wire fence, picket fence, printed grid etc. The reason for this is to see if the front lens element or others were slightly dislodged in the knock that caused the scratches. If there is any alignment problems these grids will show it up.

Good luck, David

Posted by Pedro Munyoz (Member # 985) on February 07, 2008, 12:28 PM:

Thank you all for your kind answers,
I can see the scratches through the viewfinder when pointing to a lightbulb. I think I should do as you al told me and shoot a test roll to see what I get.

Any way, if the results are bad, do you think it's possible to mend the lens? It would be a pity not to in such a nice camera.

Posted by David Kilderry (Member # 549) on February 08, 2008, 04:33 PM:

The test footage will reveal the damage or othwerwise.

In my opinion Pedro, it would not be worth replacing the lens. The 1014 XLS can be bought at a price today that would make a major job like replacing the lens assembly uneconomic. There is also the high risk that a replacement lens would never be as good as a factory assembled camera.

David

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