Sounds like a "soft focus" lens to me.... ;^)
Chris O'Neill wrote:
> [Preface: This is not a happy story! The faint-of-heart are forewarned!]
>
> DAMN!!!
>
> I recently got a "deal" on a 24/2.8 on e-Bay. The auction title simply
> said "Olympus Lens" and the description started out with "This is a
> standard lens for an olympus, bayonnet mount." But, when I looked
> closely at the photos, I noticed that the lens was a 24/2.8 and not a
> 50/1.8 as one would expect for a "standard" lens.
>
> I put in my bid, and won the auction. US$122.50 isn't a "Doris Fang"
> deal, but it's certainly well below the "usual market value" for the lens.
>
> Well, it arrived today. Upon inspecting it, I quickly noticed what looks
> like a very small (~3mm) piece of crud on the front element. A quick
> cleaning reveals that it's not on the outside, but appears to be on the
> inside of the front element. So, with my anxiety levels rising rapidly, I
> decide to look REAL close.
>
> ACK!!! The sucker is coated with thread-like blotches! It almost looks
> like a spider web in there! This stuff is definately on either the front or
> second-from-the-front element, as I can see it stretching across in front
> of the grey ring on the inside front of the lens.
>
> I'm 99.999ure I've got a fungus farm, but can someone please
> confirm my worst fears? (Be gentle, please!) Also, can someone give
> me an idea (off-list if you prefer) on what cost I'm possibly looking at for
> cleaning of this sucker?
>
> One final note... In all fairness to the seller, I have NOT yet contacted
> him regarding this problem. Therefore, I'm NOT saying I'm stuck with
> this thing, as the seller may gladly agree to accept it back and refund
> my money. Also, I'm NOT saying the seller purposely misled me! His
> description was sparce and what was there was wonky, which is in fact
> why the selling price was so low. Also, I reviewed his feedback before I
> bid, and the guy deals with collectables and antiques of the non-camera
> genre, so I have a feeling he doesn't know what fungus IS, let alone
> what it looks like.
>
> In short, I'm just considering my options before I contact the seller.
> Should I just send it back? Or, is a repair not-too-expensive and I
> should negotiate possibly splitting the cost with him?
>
> All comments, suggestions, and information is welcome. Please bring
> kleenex with you, though... I'm VERY upset at the moment! :-(((
>
> Regards,
>
> Chris
>
> P.S. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot... If you wanna look at the actual
> auction, here's the URL:
>
> http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1221846096
>
> ---
> I'm *not* a Zuikoholic.... I'm a Zuikohobbiest!
> Chris O'Neill (coneill@xxxxxxxxxxx)
> http://www.nucleus.com/~coneill
>
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