Hey All. Lurked around for a bit, but first time posting.
I have inherited a goody bag of equipment and wanted to run this by some people here to see what they thought. I have a Carl Zeiss 16mm 2.8 F-Distagon lens that appears to have some sort of lens bubbles in/on it. This is out of my area of expertise but I was hoping someone here would know what is going on. It doesnt seem to effect the picture quality at all.
If you mean the light areas around the edges and the light spots in the center areas -- looks like lens element separation between the front elements. If you keep it out of direct light on the lens surface, it should be okay, with very minor general flare. I don't know how much it would cost or where to get it done if that is the case. Give it a try and see how it does. It would be nice to see some pictures with it.
Possibly "schneideritis" (mine had some), maybe some separation developing too. Either way only the resale value is affected. No matter if you just want to use it.
I don't think it's separation: the FD16 has only one cemented surface (to the rear). All five groups before the diaphragm are single elements. My copy has a bit of schmutz visible from the front that I attribute to loss or oxidation of the anti-reflective paint on the element edges. Just pray it's not fungus!
If rico is right, it may just be surface schmutz, from a poor cleaning attempt. Give it a try with proper cloth and either solution or gentle breath vapor. You may as well try to clean it! Some of those spots look like droplets that have dried. Let us know what you find out!
It's normal. Mine has same problem, and so does my friend's. I believe the first element has very large cemented area which cause this. It will not affect the image quality.
My distagon had the same bubbles. It seemed to be where the large front element meets the internal black body of the lens where it narrow inside. Never bothered me as it did not appear to be in the optical path of the lens itself.
