discoloration on the lense glass

[ubarw]

I have a lens that I use on my nikkormat el2, its actually a vivitar lens.

It appears that the second lens from the front has a discoloration on it. I inherited this lens, along with others, when my Dad died.

It appears that its a surface stain, and I was wondering about taking the front of the lens apart to clean it. I am aware of the need to keep dust, and I imagine moisture from being trapped in there.

Is this something that should only be done professionally?

Thanks!

 

[lnbolch]

Vivitar lens mounts were fragile, which is perhaps the main reason the lenses were so cheap. Optically, they were pretty good, specially those sold in their Series I premium line.

If you have not been trained in camera repair, the chances of reassembling it so it worked like new would be very slim. Alignment and spacing of the elements is critical. Since we don't know the source of the stain, cleaning it could well ruin the lens by taking off the softer internal coating.

Are you sure you are not just seeing reflections from the coating of internal elements? If it is an actual internal stain, I would guess you have fungus growing in it. It is very rare to have this happen, but I have seen it a few times with very old lenses. If so, the lens is likely ruined already.

Does the colour show up in your photographs? If so, I suspect that the lens is not worth repairing, but you might take it to a camera repair shop and ask.