I saw a post on DPR the other day about heavy dust in a used Sigma 24-70 that the poster had bought. At first I dismissed it as another DPR-esque over-reaction. However, when I had a look at my copy of that lens I was rather surprised/disappointed to see quite a lot of internal dust. I've had the lens just since January, and this seems excessive to me. (I know it takes a lot more than this to affect the images. I'm thinking more of the long-term accumulation.)
Note that this dust is behind the front element/group, in the gap that changes size when the lens is zoomed.
Thoughts?
Any other owners care to peak inside theirs and report what you find?
In just took a look and I have some. If everything in your picture is internal then that's more than I've got. Don't know what's normal or not, though. I don't use zooms that much so this lens sees less use than my other lenses.
I have one spec of dust in mine, but it's really quite small and there's really only one spot. I don't use it every day so it sees a lot less use than you guy's versions.
I'll try to keep an eye on it.
MikeEvangelist wrote:
I saw a post on DPR the other day about heavy dust in a used Sigma 24-70 that the poster had bought. At first I dismissed it as another DPR-esque over-reaction. However, when I had a look at my copy of that lens I was rather surprised/disappointed to see quite a lot of internal dust. I've had the lens just since January, and this seems excessive to me. (I know it takes a lot more than this to affect the images. I'm thinking more of the long-term accumulation.)
Note that this dust is behind the front element/group, in the gap that changes size when the lens is zoomed.
Thoughts?
Any other owners care to peak inside theirs and report what you find?...Show more →
Seems like a lot to me. I'd be sending it back to have them clean it.
I have had this lens this summer, and I had some dust inside also, which I found a bit disapointing since it is normally weather sealed. I don't have dust in my other lenses, even in 30 years old FD Lens!
Yep, mine also has unusual amount of dust behind the front element, considering I have it only for a few months (I'll have to compare to my other lenses though). Still, I don't think it affects photos in any way...
I had one for a few months before selling it, used only for a handful of shots. There was some internal dust but just a few specks and not like the image you posted. I was surprised though because I used it so infrequently.
Damn that's a major turn off as i was interested too. Even in that dust cleaning video the person says this lens catches dust 5 times as much. Now i guess we know where they cut corners to keep cost down.. noway i am opening a lens to clean. I rather take it to a pro.
I started that thread on DPR, it was pretty shocking how much dust had accumulated in the lens. I've spent a lot of time in some incredibly dusty environments with the Zony 16-35 and 24-70, more than a year exploring SE Asia, India, Africa, South America and Central America and they were much cleaner when I sold them for the Tamron 28-75. I plowed through sensor swabs when using those lenses because my sensor had crud the rocket blower couldn't remove - the lack of a rear gasket on the Zony's was the reason I moved on from them as other travel friendly alternatives became available.
I bought the Tamron right when it was released in 2018 and used it heavily until last fall when I picked up the 24-70 GM, almost all of its use was outdoors and it was completely dust free inside when I sold it back in January. I know dust really doesn't do much to an image, but I shoot a lot of video in bright sun so any extra artifacts are really difficult to work around. I also work in the humidity of south Florida, and if its that easy for dust to get sucked into that lens, I'm concerned about it long term. I decided to take a pass on the Sigma for now and repurchased a great copy of the Tamron here.
The zoom is more of a convenience for me since I shoot a lot of video. I just picked up the 24 GM and I'm looking at getting a couple more fast-ish primes similar in size/weight for a lightweight travel kit.
lcfrs wrote:
Me, too. Can someone comment on how it compares with 24-70GM and Tamron 28-75 in terms of internal dust?
Just checked my GM that I've had since April 2018, 2 small specs of dust that I can see. I shoot a lot in the desert and dunes, so I'm surprised it's done so well.
teddoman wrote:
People love to read about a LensRental teardown but are probably terrified of actually doing one to an expensive lens they own.
I’m fine with home construction and auto repair or modifications, but I’m not too keen on the idea of cracking open a lens a couple times a year to clean it. It’s just one tiny slip from a B&S ad that says “I accidentally scraped the inside of the front element trying to clean it, the scratch only shows up in photos when there’s light present. $300 obo” 😂
joychris wrote:
It’s just one tiny slip from a B&S ad that says “I accidentally scraped the inside of the front element trying to clean it, the scratch only shows up in photos when there’s light present. $300 obo” 😂
noway i am opening a lens to clean. I rather take it to a pro.