Noob question about dust in Lens

IRoman

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Hey All. As the title states, Im a noob to the photography world. I have been getting camera parts for me and my fiance, So far I have gotten 2 Canon AE-1's (one is actually a program) 2 of each lens (50, 135, 70-210, and even 1x 500mm lens)

I was cleaning the lens's today and I noticed that I have dust inside them. I decided I better go look this up before I make a thread about it, but I cant find anything helpful about it.

So far I have found out that it is anywhere from 100-200 dollars to have a lens serviced, and it may happen again, and the lens may not come back as accurately as it left.

So whats a noob to do? Im assuming (with all my vast wealth of camera knowledge--and by "vast", I mean "none") that dust in the lens will show up on my pictures.

I mean, if I wanted to take dusty shots, this seems perfect....except I don't want to take dusty shots :mrgreen:
 
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Dust specks inside lenses, especially older lenses is not unusual and nothing
to worry about.
 
Will I be able to notice them on my pictures? Eventually I want to get a good scanner for the negatives, will they show up then?
 
Will I be able to notice them on my pictures?

No.

Eventually I want to get a good scanner for the negatives, will they show up then?
No.

You may see dust specks on negatives or prints or scans at times (we all do). But they won't
be caused by dust specks inside your lens. Camera lenses don't work that way. They are
very forgiving of blemishes. The only lens blemishes to avoid are hazy or cloudy internal
glass or rampant fungus or similar problems that affect much or all of the light path. This
will show up as reduced contrast in the final image. Little specks and such are not a problem.

I know there are people who freak out at the thought of the smallest speck inside their
lens but they are worried about nothing. (Some may even post indignant replies to my
opinion about this :) )

I have a Schneider telephoto lens with a large crack on the front glass about the size
of a quarter. Many people would look at it and think it's probably junk but it produces
incredibly sharp images. I've also seen images from lenses that were literally shattered
across their entire front glass and you would never know it to look at the beautiful images
produced.
 
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i wouldnt trust an older lens that DIDN'T have some dust in it, as it would mean the lens sat for decades unused, or was recently taken apart and seviced.
 
Awesome to hear, Thanks for the help guys. I feel better about my lens's.

Now onto to learning how to get the most out of them
 

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