Spots on my wide angle lens

I have these spots on my wide angle lens and nothing will take them off.

They seem to be under a coating on the lens surface, if there is one.

The lens is an olympus wide angle lens, PWC-01. It has been rinsed in freshwater after every use.

They dont seem to show up in my photos.

Can’t really see from your picture if the spots are inside or on the outside?

If it’s on the outside it would appear the Lens coating might have been damaged.

Marc

My guess is that the spots are either moisture (humidity) or fungus (mold, mildew). I've had problems with Nikon SLR lenses that have developed very similar spots over the years. Lenses can be cleaned and even re-coated by the manufacturers, but the expense is usually not worth it compared to the cost of a new lense. If you feel it is starting to show up in your images, send in the camera for service and get a service quote. Perhaps it's time to upgrade your camera?

Doug

Look across the surface of the lens on the right side, there are white spots the size of say a pencil eraser.

The lens is new, less than a year old. Its only seen 4 dive trips.

Dustin

Send the lense back to Olympus and ask them to replace it.

Doug

Perhaps it's time to upgrade your camera

The UN PWC-01 is a 'wet' WAL that goes on the outside of the housing.

Dustin, it looks like the coating is getting affected. I have the same lens and a similar problem - at an angle it looks like purple 'stains' on the surface of the glass. It seems to be a common problem with the UN lens. I believe it happens with the Inons too.

I too soak and give it good rinse after the dive but in hindsight I think I didn't do it soon enough. I now give it a good rinse with fresh water as soon as I get out of the water (shore or boat dives), even in-between dives, followed by a wipe down with a lens cloth. I think the salt water drying during the surface interval (shore or boat) and the boat trip back to land might have inflicted some damage to the coating. :angryfire:

I haven't noticed any degradation to picture quality but I suspect the lens itself will be even more prone to flaring.

I have the same lens with the same problem but much worse. From a few months after purchase I couldn't use the lens any more, as it noticeably degraded the image. I bought it in HK from a reputable shop (authorised dealer for almost everybody) and they said it wasn't their problem, take it to Olympus. Olympus said they didn't know anything about it, it's a UN brand product. UN don't seem to have any representation in HK ... This is a typical sort of story in HK, alhtough to be fair things have imrpoved somewhat in the last 8 years since I moved here. It may not be anything much to do with Olympus or UN as brands.

At first I thought teh mark was on the outside of the lens. But someone (I can't remember who, now) told me that it's a problem with the coatings between the lens elements, and the only way to fix it would be to disassemble the lens and clean and recoat the elements, then reassemble and reseal it. Not a job for the home handyman, anyway, and not worth paying to have it done.

That lens is now a paperweight.

-David

From a few months after purchase I couldn't use the lens any more, as it noticeably degraded the image.

Can you elaborate on what degradation you noticed? Thanks.

In my case the grey spots were quite a lot larger, covering perhaps 40% of the area of the lens.

I felt (but couldn't find definitive evidence) that it made it harder to focus compared to when the lens was new, and I had the impresssion that the best images were a bit soft.

Sorry I can't be more specific. I gave up on it fairly quickly (sometime early this year) and I haven't thought about it again since then.

-David

I ordered this lens from a company in Japan, it wasnt available in the US yet when I bought it. Is there a US olympus service place I can send it to?

Dustin

Dustin,

Check out the Olympus website for info on how to send your lense back but here are the addresses of their USA service centers.

Doug

Olympus America Inc.

Consumer Products Group

400 Rabro Drive

Hauppauge, NY 11788-4258

Attn: Repair Department

1-800-622-6372

Fax: (631) 881-6580

9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET

Olympus America Inc.

Consumer Products Group

10805 Holder Street Suite 170

Cypress, CA 90630-5145

Attn: Repair Department

1-714-503-5700

Fax: (714) 229-1652

8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. PT

It is happening also in my Epoque WAL, not so big but some.

Funny you should mention this. I have the exact same lens and the exact same problem. But there is no affect whatsoever that I can see with the quality of shots I am getting. The lens flare sounds interesting. I do get lens flares in my shots with the WAL, but didn't think it was related. I even have a scratch across the lens and have been lucky in that in water it is unnoticeable.

--John