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There seems like purple spots in my camera lens. I am using Nikon 18-105 mm lens. I just bought it last term and there seems to be such a problem so soon.

Here is a screenshot of my camera's lens. :

camera lens

I am afraid it will cause more problems to my camera or lens or even the image quality.

If you need more infos, please comment below.

EDIT

I saw these spots first, and I tried cleaning it with my cleaning kit, microfiber wipe, blower, Cleaning Pen. These are given in the Nikon cleaning kit. None of my procedures take significant effect.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Is it inside the lens or on the outside surface? \$\endgroup\$
    – dpollitt
    Dec 3, 2012 at 15:25
  • \$\begingroup\$ Do the spots look like fine spiderweb threads when you look closely? Hard to tell in the photo.... \$\endgroup\$
    – mattdm
    Dec 3, 2012 at 18:01
  • \$\begingroup\$ Inside, and there are spiderweb threads. \$\endgroup\$
    – tech
    Dec 4, 2012 at 13:38
  • \$\begingroup\$ LOL, I like that...a "screenshot of a lens"! We are so digital these days, even photographs are "screenshots". ;P \$\endgroup\$
    – jrista
    Dec 4, 2012 at 18:04

2 Answers 2

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If the flaws aren't located on the front surface of the lens (touch the spot with a toothpick or something non-abrasive and look at the lens surface from an angle- do the flaws seem deeper in the lens than the tip of the toothpick?) then they are most likely caused by one of two things:

Lens delamination, where adhesive holding lens elements together is failing. This usually occurs around the edges of a lens element and progresses inwards, so this is probably not very likely.

Fungus growing in the interior of the lens. This is probably the most likely cause. Fungus can grow in any lens but is most likely in lenses kept or stored in humid conditions. Fungus will affect internal coatings and can permanently affect the optical surfaces of the lenses it grows on.

In each of these cases disassembly and repair (or ignoring the flaws) are the only options.

See this for more information: Why does fungus form in lenses, and how to get rid of it?

If the flaws -are- on the front surface then it's a coating problem. You could have the front element replaced- I don't know if a lens can be recoated or not- or, again, you could ignore it. The only time you're likely to have an issue is in challenging lighting situations where you have light sources or specular reflections in or just out of the frame- you might see more (or unusual) flare. Use a lens shade.

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It looks like uneven/bad application of the coatings on one or more of the lens elements. You say that "it may affect image quality" - it should be easy to see on the images - how do they look?

As per this:

http://kurtmunger.com/dirty_lens_articleid35.html

You might not see an effect if its not the nearest glass to your sensor. Except maybe in flare situation. I suggest you take pictures of blue sky, with tight angles against to sun to provoke flaring, and normal pictures and see if you find any problems, unless you still have warranty. In that case, get a new one no matter what.

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