Black Crystal

In my pentax camera I see black crystal-looking stuff when I look through the lens. What is it?

Hi Jane,

It could be:

1) Fungus. See:

1a) http://www.mypentax.com/Fungus.html

1b) http://reviews.ebay.com/How-To-Detect-Flaws-in-Used-Camera-Lenses-on-Ebay_W0QQugidZ10000000001005542

1c) http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&rlz=1R2ADBF_en&q=camera+lens+fungus+pictures&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=X5oPS6u2LtKpnQfPz7TYAw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBMQsAQwAA

2) Flakes of interior paint.

3) Oil that evaporated in a hot environment, then condensed on interior lens element surfaces.

Also — if you see it when looking through the viewfinder, but not if you dismount the lens and look directly just through the lens, it could be dirt on the mirror or focusing screen.

Whatever it is, if it’s inside the lens, it’s almost certainly cheaper to replace the lens then have it cleaned, and if it’s fungus, it’s probably irreparable anyway.

HOWEVER, depending on how much of it there is, you may prefer to just keep using the lens. Depending on the lens, you probably won’t see an image of the obstructions themselves in your pictures. Instead, you’ll more likely just get a softer image, and if there are not many obstructions, the difference may be very slight. Only you can decide whether it’s too soft. I have an early 1970′s Polaris 135mm f/1.8 with a lot of dust inside — more than all my many other old lenses combined — but the pictures look great.

Good luck!

Greg

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