Need some advice...
 

I have a Nikon lens that has a (in camera terms) large spec of dust on one of the elements, it is affecting my pictures, I guess the easy way would be to 'Photoshop' the blemish out but it's annoying the hell out of me to the point that I avoid using it, which is a shame really as i love the lens in all other respects.

Is it worth getting it professionally cleaned? what sort of price would I be looking at for such a service?

Is it worth trying to clean it myself? I've read many warnings on Google saying don't try it but I have to ask.

The Lens is a Nikon 35mm AF-S Nikkor 1:1.8G DX

This picture was taken from the camera side of the lens, the black spot is the foreign body.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...psbf462abe.jpg

Any help would be gratefully appreciated

I tried cleaning one myself, never again. Luckily it was a £15 ebay special. Hardest part was getting it back together with no dust inside. I also needed to make up special gadgets to take the lens apart.

This one cost me the best part of £100 (cheap in camera terms but still expensive to me) dunno whether to risk it myself tbh, but I have a feeling the cost of professional cleaning is going to be at least that again.

Lets see if others can offer more advice on costs/success rate. My only useful input is I will not be trying it again. Who knows we may have a professional lens cleaner in our midst.:}

We can hope ;) :D

have you tried a can of compressed air, an air duster? you can sometimes find them in pc world or tesco

Not sure that would work, it's on one of the internal elements, thanks for the suggestion though

lens
 

Hi John.

Try googling for instructions on dismantling/cleaning etc.

Kev

apologies for not understanding correctly. in that case it is best to have the lens cleaned by a professional. i once had allowed sand into a minolta and it was successfully restored by a specialist at jessops in the old days

I wouldnt recommend dismantling it, unless you have very good tools, and possibly calibration equipment. Compressed air would be a no no for me too, as the propellant could leave marks inside the glass.

Unfortunately too, I wouldnt suggest sending it for repair either, as, whilst it may not cost as much as a new lens, it could come close to replacement cost.

I would try tapping it gently, and hopefully it will drop eventually.

An alternative would to sell it as spares or repair on ebay, I would imagine you should get up to 50 pounds, maybe even a little more for it! This plus the potential cost of repair, should get you another lens, that hasnt been opened up. (I was always wary of a lens that had been opened and repaired).

In the meantime I would have thought you could still use it at full aperture without affecting the images.