p.2 #1 · Dust inside my new 135mm GM. Should I even worry about it?
I read the teardown you linked and he said this:
"This is good weather sealing, but before you get all excited, Sony fans, I’ll go on record as saying early returns on multiple copies indicate this lens gets dusty inside pretty quick. We’ve already had to dust several, and they haven’t been in stock that long."
What makes you believe that a new copy or this lens would be immune to dust?
Sinasina wrote:
It's not easy to keep these lenses dust free. I long long time ago I bought a Fujifilm lens that was absolutely flawless brand new, it took only one week to get a pretty visible piece of lint inside
I don't know whether it's normal to get dust into the GM135, if it has internal focusing & sealing it should indeed be a concern.
p.2 #2 · Dust inside my new 135mm GM. Should I even worry about it?
Oh, this is super embarrassing. I have not read the article, only looked at the pictures and thought that the sealing is pretty good & there should not be any dust in a new lens based on that. What a blunder, both by me and Sony. Don't use this lens in the rain I guess I don't even dare to think where the dust is getting in from at this point..
p.2 #3 · Dust inside my new 135mm GM. Should I even worry about it?
It just depends. At some point during use there is a high probability that dust specs will make it into just about any lens. Zooms can be more prone than primes. My previous generation Tamron zoom lenses ( non emount) were just plain dust pumps collecting dust like vacuum cleaners, far, far worse than any other zoom I've used ( Thankfully Tamron will clean for free up to six years)
If its a brand new lens and I can see dust or debris with the naked eye, I don't hesitate to return for a cleaner copy. *This approach has pissed off at least one of the smaller shops I use, but never Adorama or B&H.
p.2 #4 · Dust inside my new 135mm GM. Should I even worry about it?
Try the “bokeh” test too. Contrary to the theory perpetrated here by some Nikon fanboys, the rear element of the lens is not there just for decorative purposes, and can actually be the most sensitive to surface imperfections:
p.2 #5 · Dust inside my new 135mm GM. Should I even worry about it?
vdo1 wrote:
Try the “bokeh” test too. Contrary to the theory perpetrated here by some Nikon fanboys, the rear element of the lens is not there just for decorative purposes, and can actually be the most sensitive to surface imperfections:
Absolutely! Good point. Nothing like sometimes invisible to the eye dust specs to ruin the exceptionally smooth GM bokeh balls. I've seen those telltale bokeh ball specs in far too many new lens reviews. And once you see it...you can never unsee it
*The sample below is not a Sony GM lens/bokeh
p.2 #6 · Dust inside my new 135mm GM. Should I even worry about it?
The optical qualities of the lens (field flatness, optical centering, flare, edge distortion and/or edge sharpness, etc.) are what affect your photographs. That’s what I would check for. If I had lens that was good optically I would be reluctant to return it for a few specs of dust.
p.2 #7 · Dust inside my new 135mm GM. Should I even worry about it?
Sinasina wrote:
Oh, this is super embarrassing. I have not read the article, only looked at the pictures and thought that the sealing is pretty good & there should not be any dust in a new lens based on that. What a blunder, both by me and Sony. Don't use this lens in the rain I guess I don't even dare to think where the dust is getting in from at this point..
Weather sealing does not create an air tight seal and the ability of a lens to prevent water ingress has little to do with dust getting in the lens.
Lenses suck in air when the focus elements move and when zooming. This is an essential feature of every consumer camera lens, if air did not flow through the lens it could not move and thus could not focus or zoom. Sucking in air can suck in small particles of dust. Generally speaking, zoom lenses tend to be the most susceptible to internal dust, as they have to suck in a lot of air. Fast prime lenses that need to move large focus elements tend to be a problem too.
Additionally, any time the lens spends off the camera, it is not sealed (attaching a sealed lens to a sealed camera completes the seal), it's fairly easy for dust to get in through the rear of the lens with most lens designs. The rear seal is generally at the lens mount, so it won't stop dust from getting in that floats in when changing lenses or if dust happens to be on the rear lens cap or inside the camera body.
Small particles of dust are common even with new lenses across all brands. This is unlikely to be a matter of Sony being cheap, having poor quality control, or a poorly designed lens. Assuming we're talking about a small particle of dust, not a chunk of debris of course.
Contrary to popular belief, a small amount of dust inside a lens will not hurt its resale value - in fact every lens should be assumed to have at least a small amount of dust. If you can't spot dust in your lenses, you're not looking hard enough. So the only way the resale price would drop is if you freak out about the dust and make a big fuss over it in the listing.
p.2 #9 · Dust inside my new 135mm GM. Should I even worry about it?
Alex W wrote:
Received my new 135mm GM. What an awesome lens! However I can see a speck or two of some dust inside the lens. I doubt it would show up in images but being its a new 2,000.00 lens should I worry about it and swap it out? My only concern is the replacement might have the same or worse. Thanks
Unless you plan on using putting the lens in a safe or only use it in a dust free room, dust is going to get inside the lens eventually. If you feel like it's going to bug you and the retailer is willing to accept it for an exchange at no cost, then prob doesn't hurt but as you say there's no guarantee another copy won't have the same or more dust inside. If the store is charging you for swapping it out though, I think it's probably not worth it as they'll probably just point you towards Sony directly.
In addition, there is almost always a certain amount of dust inside your camera itself, that gets agitated with the shutter/IBIS movement as well as suction from the focusing elements of the lenses, so there's almost no way to keep dust from entering lenses.
p.2 #10 · Dust inside my new 135mm GM. Should I even worry about it?
From my experience with telephoto lenses, dust can only be seen in specular highlights if located towards the rear elements. Eventually all lenses will get some visible dust.
p.2 #11 · Dust inside my new 135mm GM. Should I even worry about it?
Should we also accept a new lens with a small scratch on the body? After all, the scratch surely does not affect image quality and if used, new lenses will develop scratches over time.
p.2 #12 · Dust inside my new 135mm GM. Should I even worry about it?
How about telling Sony to make use of a dust free facility to assemble their lenses? If we accept these dusty new lenses they will continue their current practice.
The GM label is supposed to be for their premium lenses?
EstherSP wrote:
Unless you plan on using putting the lens in a safe or only use it in a dust free room, dust is going to get inside the lens eventually.
p.2 #13 · Dust inside my new 135mm GM. Should I even worry about it?
realVivek wrote:
How about telling Sony to make use of a dust free facility to assemble their lenses? If we accept these dusty new lenses they will continue their current practice.
Or you could try to understand the fact that dust will eventually enter the lens unless you plan on leaving it inside a vacuum sealed chamber unused, and that these lenses though weather resistant are not sealed completely, rather than argue irrelevant points.
p.2 #15 · Dust inside my new 135mm GM. Should I even worry about it?
They’re considered premium lenses based on their performance. If you can show the dust is impacting the lenses performance, I’ll eat crow.
realVivek wrote:
How about telling Sony to make use of a dust free facility to assemble their lenses? If we accept these dusty new lenses they will continue their current practice.
The GM label is supposed to be for their premium lenses?
p.2 #16 · Dust inside my new 135mm GM. Should I even worry about it?
ShootPDX wrote:
They’re considered premium lenses based on their performance. If you can show the dust is impacting the lenses performance, I’ll eat crow.
That's not the point. Would you be OK with a scratch down the side of your brand new car off the lot? Does that scratch affect the performance of the car?
p.2 #17 · Dust inside my new 135mm GM. Should I even worry about it?
chez wrote:
That's not the point. Would you be OK with a scratch down the side of your brand new car off the lot? Does that scratch affect the performance of the car?
Now this is getting a bit dramatic.
It's more like: if you bought a new car, and it had some dust on the interior. And every other car on the lot had some dust on the interior. Even premium cars from different brands.
But hey, it's your money at the end of the day. If you feel compelled to return a lens because it has a single spec of dust, or because the salesman looked at the box in a menacing way, or whatever else triggers your OCD, by all means return it.
p.2 #18 · Dust inside my new 135mm GM. Should I even worry about it?
EarthQuake wrote:
Now this is getting a bit dramatic.
It's more like: if you bought a new car, and it had some dust on the interior. And every other car on the lot had some dust on the interior. Even premium cars from different brands.
But hey, it's your money at the end of the day. If you feel compelled to return a lens because it has a single spec of dust, or because the salesman looked at the box in a menacing way, or whatever else triggers your OCD, by all means return it.
Well then I have a lens for you. It has a nasty scratch on the body...but glass is clean. I'm guessing you'd give me full value for this lens as if the scratch was not there....since you obviously have no OCD and know that deep scratch has no affect on image quality. I also have a camera that has a bunch of brassing...again no affect on the usage of that camera...priced as mint right?
Like it or not...the visual impact of gear has a huge impact on its perceived value.
p.2 #19 · Dust inside my new 135mm GM. Should I even worry about it?
This thread makes me recall all the drama following the release of the FE Planar 50mm 1.4 (and the GM 85mm 1.4 if I recall correctly) both of which I still own. There was uproar on forums because in certain cases on both lenses, one could see white marks inside the lens. Sony’s response was it was glue or lubrication residue or something and would not affect the performance of the lens, and indeed it did not.
The fact of the matter is that dust can be created in even completely sealed environments, simply by wear and tear of the components inside of them.
Of course, totally depends on the severity. I wouldn’t excuse a few tiny dust motes but if there was a big easily visible piece of dust sticking on the front or rear most element, I would think you’d have a pretty strong case for replacement
EarthQuake wrote:
Now this is getting a bit dramatic.
It's more like: if you bought a new car, and it had some dust on the interior. And every other car on the lot had some dust on the interior. Even premium cars from different brands.
But hey, it's your money at the end of the day. If you feel compelled to return a lens because it has a single spec of dust, or because the salesman looked at the box in a menacing way, or whatever else triggers your OCD, by all means return it.
p.2 #20 · Dust inside my new 135mm GM. Should I even worry about it?
You’re being very dramatic. A speck of dust in a lens isn’t the same as a scratch down the entire side of a car.
I think this is part of the problem with your argument. You’re really exaggerating the situation. 😂 chez wrote:
That's not the point. Would you be OK with a scratch down the side of your brand new car off the lot? Does that scratch affect the performance of the car?
I don't even dare to think where the dust is getting in from at this point..
( Thankfully Tamron will clean for free up to six years) 