15-85 USM Dust inside

[Heymarkolsen]

Hey everyone,

Just purchased a 60D and 15-85 USM today and I have a quick question. When I took the lens out of the box and had look at it I noticed there was a tiny speck of dust inside the front glass sitting on the second set of glass off to one side slightly. This is really annoying but I'm not sure if it is something I should really be worrying about. I bought them online so I'm wondering if it is worth sending the lens back overseas or just ignoring it. What do you all think? Any info would be a great help.

Cheers,

Mark.

 

[steliosk]

nothing to worry about.
same thing in my sigma 18-200 OS which i sold recently to buy some L glass

 

[Ryan708]

use it for a month then check out the amount of dust! Take some test shots, I'm sure you wont notice it. My 28-135 IS USM that I used to have had SOOO much dust in it. Never saw any sign in a picture. that 15-85 is quite a sharp lens, I wouldnt mind one.

 

[Heymarkolsen]

Thanks for the replies. I have been taking a few shots inside tonight and the photos look great. It really is sharp. Can't wait to get it outside and see how it goes. I was so disappointed to see the dust when I opened the box hopefully I can forget its there. Is it a common thing to have dust in a brand new lens?

Thanks again,

Mark

 

[RC]

Although it may not effect IQ, if the lens is brand new I would return it while you can. Personally I expect canon to produce a dust free lens and provide adequate QC preventing contaminated and defective product from going out the door. My first copy of a 24-105 had an air bubble in the outer element. I'm not paying big bucks (especially for Ls) for flawed product.

 

[preppyak]

Is it a common thing to have dust in a brand new lens?

Depends how much dust you really have; all lenses are gonna contain some level of dust, and my guess is that because its new, you are expecting it a little closer than someone who has had the lens for a year or two, and thus doesn't really look that closely. There's a good Lensrental article on dust. Basically, unless you have a LOT of it on your rear element, on a wide angle lens, at f/16 or f/22, where you are focusing fairly closely, you won't notice it. The same is true with scratches actually, you can get a pretty deep scratch, and only have it show up if you point at the sun.

http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2011/08/the-apocalypse-of-lens-dust

 

[preppyak]

My first copy of a 24-105 had an air bubble in the outer element.

An air bubble in the front element is a big difference from a little dust, which is something every lens ever has.

More info: http://mansurovs.com/what-to-do-with-dust-inside-lens

 

[2n10]

I got a 17-55 new and did not look it over real well when I got it just mounted it and started firing away. Great sharp pics. Later I looked inside and saw 3 obvious dust specks the same as you see in your lens. Definitely no problem as mentioned.

I would obviously like to see no dust inside but since it was not obvious in the shots I have come to not worry or be PO'd about it.

 

[Ryan708]

Any lens that has extending barrels will get dust. Having a dust-free lens only lasts a few outings

 

[DanielG.]

Don't worry: http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2008/10/front-element-scratches

 

[Heymarkolsen]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. This has eased my mind somewhat. I took some shots of the moon and clouds last night with my tripod and I noticed a small bright dot on a few of the images but i dont know what caused it. I haven't had a chance to get any photos during the day yet so I'm still not sure if it was the particle or something else. I will get some photos this weekend and let you know how I go. Thanks again for all the great replies.

Cheers,

Mark.