Why do older lenses often get dents only on the filter ring?
Asked 10/25/2013
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2 answers
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I often see older lenses, especially vintage Nikkors, with a single dent at the front filter ring while the rest of the barrel, focus ring, and glass look fine. Why is damage so often concentrated there? Does it usually come from a drop, tripod mishap, or something attached to the filter thread? And if the filter ring is dented, does that necessarily mean the lens has serious internal damage, or mainly that filters may no longer fit properly?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
12y ago
2 Answers
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It's a bad combination of materials and positioning.
Damage of this sort usually is located on the 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and 9 o'clock positions on the lens filter thread due to knocks when suspended by the camera neck strap and by setting the camera down a bit too hard on a flat hard surface.
The reason that the damage is so severe from such light knocks is due to the material used for the lens barrel which is usually brass with surface treatment to reduce the reflecting surface. Brass is extremely soft. As an experiment, take a piece of tin foil and see how much effort is necessary to dent it. Brass isn't much stronger than tin. The threads inside the flange further weaken the thin metal there.
Add a heavy lens and camera and the filter threaded flange will dent easily with almost no inertia.
Originally by user21789. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user21789
12y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
A dent isolated to the filter ring is common because that part of the lens is thin, threaded, and relatively easy to deform. On many older lenses the front ring is soft metal, so even a modest knock can bend it without leaving major marks elsewhere.
Common causes mentioned were:
- the camera/lens bumping into a hard surface while hanging from a neck strap
- setting the camera down a bit too hard
- a tripod head slipping so the front of the lens strikes the tripod stem
- short drops or knocks while mounted on the camera
Because the impact is concentrated at the front rim, you can end up with one localized dent while the glass, focus ring, and rest of the barrel remain fine. So yes, a lens can get this kind of damage without looking generally “dropped.”
The main practical issue is often that filters or lens caps may no longer screw on correctly. It doesn’t automatically mean the optics are misaligned or the lens is otherwise unusable, though any impact strong enough to dent metal should still make a buyer inspect focusing, mounting, and image quality carefully.
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