Can anyone tell me what this is???

[TwoTwoLeft]

Does anyone know what that smear/smudge is on the glass? Is it fungus? It's past the front element and on the glass for the zoom. Will it affect image quality? The lens is a Vivitar 75-205mm OM mount.



Also I'm looking for a Zuiko 65-200 f/4 and I found one on craigslist that's described as having "no fungus or dirt, just a bit of internal haze" Pictures of lens body are VERY clean and the pictures of the glass look much better than mine above. What is the "internal haze" I read in a lot of used lens descriptions? Will it affect image quality? Can it be cleaned? I realize fungus can etch the glass...

 

[Derrel]

"internal haze" can really,really lower contrast, and may even cause a "glow" around bright areas in a photo--almost like a diffusion filter. It nay be pretty severe in its impact, or minor,or any level in between; like so many things, "it all depends".

 

[TwoTwoLeft]

Thanks, maybe for $60 ill just bite thw bullet and see how Zuiko turns out...

So you're saying that spooge looking thing on my Vivitar is probably "haze" too?

 

[dxqcanada]

Internal haze ... hmm, I wonder if the owner smoked a lot. Yeah I agree with Derrel.

Not sure about the Vivitar smear ... could be fungus.
Hard to say how much affect it will have on the image, though anything on the lens elements will have an affect (though to what degree??).

 

[diser]

Doesn't look like fungus. Seems more like elements separation. Some lens elements are usually cemented/glued to each other.
Good for the parts though

 

[unpopular]

One way to find out... Get a spanner wrench, a lint free cloth surface, several small dishes for parts and a clean work area and open her up. This is a great lens to practice repair on, even if it is separation and cannot be easily fixed, you'll get to know the insides of a lens so that when you find that bargain Distagon you'll have some idea of how to clean the mold inside