Zeiss lens Schneideritis?

ysultan
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Zeiss lens Schneideritis?

I recently purchased a preowned Zeiss Milvus 135mm lens and upon inspection, I noticed white dots on the internal walls of the lens. Initially, I mistook them for reflections or fungus, but after conducting some research, I discovered that it is a condition referred to as Schneideritis.
I haven't come across much discussion about this issue specifically with Zeiss lenses. I'm curious to know if any other Zeiss lens owners have encountered this problem and whether it has had any impact on the lens's optical performance. Any insights would be appreciated.

Yasser

Jul 13, 2023 at 11:13 PM

rscheffler
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Zeiss lens Schneideritis?

According to this website:

"Schneideritis – This is simply the black paint separating from the walls of the lens element/s and is showing up as spots where the paint has peeled. This also happens to modern lenses."

If this is all it is, then it's more cosmetic than anything and should have minimal impact on image quality, if any. But there's a reason edges of lenses are painted black and I suppose if enough of the paint flakes off, it will cause a problem.

I actually do have one lens with this problem - a Voigtlander 15/4.5 III that accidentally got soaked and water got into the lens. According to the above website, the black paint on the edge of the lens he was repairing was water soluble. Perhaps also the case with my Voigtlander and the soaking caused the onset of Schneideritis. That said, after it dried out, it appears to be working correctly.

Makes me wonder if your Milvus perhaps also got too wet at one point?

Jul 14, 2023 at 02:35 AM

ysultan
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Zeiss lens Schneideritis?

Thank you so much! This is very helpful!

Actually seeing these dots made me wonder if the separation of the black paint was a result of the metal construction. The milvus line isn’t that old for this to happen. I have no idea if the lens was soaked, but it looks perfectly ok with no signs of water damage.
Funny thing is that this issue seem to happen mainly to premium lenses like Leica, Zeiss and voigtlander. Sigh

rscheffler wrote:
According to this website:

"Schneideritis – This is simply the black paint separating from the walls of the lens element/s and is showing up as spots where the paint has peeled. This also happens to modern lenses."

If this is all it is, then it's more cosmetic than anything and should have minimal impact on image quality, if any. But there's a reason edges of lenses are painted black and I suppose if enough of the paint flakes off, it will cause a problem.

I actually do have one lens with this problem - a Voigtlander 15/4.5 III that accidentally got soaked and...Show more →

Jul 14, 2023 at 09:58 AM

Robin Smith
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Zeiss lens Schneideritis?

Maybe it's because other manufacturers don't bother to black the edges of their elements?

Jul 14, 2023 at 11:54 AM

rscheffler
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Zeiss lens Schneideritis?

Robin Smith wrote:
Maybe it's because other manufacturers don't bother to black the edges of their elements?

Could be.

Just watched the RF 28/2.8 teardown video posted by Gordon Laing and the PMo elements don't have black edges. Can't tell if the other elements are the same because they're embedded in housings that obscure element edges. Went over to Lens Rentals and browsed some of their Canon lens disassembly posts. It appears the front element/group of the RF 600/11 does not have black edges. Their deep dive into the RF 100-500 shows that some of the deep internal elements don't appear to have black edges, but some at the front may (difficult to tell because those were embedded in a housing).

Then I started going through any of their more interesting (to me) lens teardown and noticed that a lot of elements/groups were encased in housings to allow simpler 'drop-in' during assembly and exchange during repairs. Of course this makes sense, but these housings made it difficult to determine what proportion of the elements have black painted edges.

Jul 16, 2023 at 04:15 PM


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