I DESTROYED this lens. Will it still work?! | Scratched Lens Test

[@saecsee]

This made me feel so much better about my VERY slightly scratched lens. Thank you for making this video!

[@edvinnyrenstromandersson9700]

Same dude, i got a tiny scrath on my brand new sigma 18-35.

[@joshualepik]

I think we live in a day of age where we throw away so much tech or gear because of blemishes or cosmetic faults. If something does not look perfect it must not be useful anymore to us. Having gear that is used, appreciated that still functions is rare. I might have immediately chalked up the lens crack to bring worthless and not even kept shooting. I’m glad you are wiser than I am and kept going.

[@mattdayphoto]

My man! You’re killing it!

[@benjhaisch]

Yooooo thanks, dude! Now that I actually have a small filming setup, I can make decent videos a zillion times faster and better. The hardest part now is just sitting on all of that extra content and not just uploading 10 videos at once 😂

[@santoshsundar1186]

I have a camera lens that is scratched as well. It doesnt generally show in the normal pictures because your sensor is not really focussing on the glass of the lens. However it definitely shows when doing night photography and your camera is focused at infinity. thats when the sensor tries to take all the light and the minimal scratch is enough to show up on the Photo. I have some samples I can share.

[@hanvalen23]

Yes, I would also say that you can´t really see the pattern from the scratch itself, as it is way out of focus point. Would be nice to see the samples you describe.

[@mr.wolfwood138]

You shoot a wedding whit a scratch lens ,this mad man ,respect

[@benjhaisch]

Haha! I mean, not as my primary camera, but I could!

[@pggrootde6726]

Hello Benj, I like the way you present your story. Just relaxed and very informative.... Thanks!

[@benjhaisch]

Thank you!

[@alma175w]

Setting my lens back in the bag last night, absentmindedly without a then cap - the metal on glass sensation is so obvious. Nicked a 100-400 lens and have been sick ever since. Hope to get some light after work to go shoot. Thank you sharing your experience - but really not happy with myself. First scratch in 5 years of shooting.

[@doriangasseling]

Awesome clip man. I've always been impressed by how battered a front element can get with no drama, or minimal drama. I remember reading a blog where a guy pretty much hammered a hole in his front element before it started showing badly. Rear elements are a different story. I'm glad you didn't smash the lens for this video, I thought you were going to haha.

[@HarajuCuu]

Great video, and confirms what I have seen before. You'll mainly only see evidence of a scratch, crack, fungus etc... in the bokeh and now I guess flaring. Ultimately its great news especially for us film shooter where the gear is not easily replaceable.

[@PhilliesSmoka]

You made my Day, i noticed a scratch on my 600mm f4 and i totally freaked out ..now i am totally relaxed because my scratch is only a fraction of what is on your lens. Thanks for making such a video

[@LukasKorynta]

i love this!! The flare is actually pretty nice, gonna go scratch some of my lenses now brb

[@benjhaisch]

haha! thanks dude. I was surprised at how well it still works.

[@EricFloberg]

Yeah, the weird flaring looks amazing hahaha

[@benjhaisch]

Right?!

[@briceguiho]

Idk for other people, but this video is actually relaxing!

[@benjhaisch]

Solid music helps that mood for sure. Thanks? 😂🤙🏼

[@steven1811]

Man I ruined a vintage Nikon 24mm this weekend. My wife dropped it and put a Wolverine like scratch across the whole glass. I was so shocked that it works. I was hoping this video would show me how to buff it out, but it works

[@richardsimms251]

Great teaching video.

[@freeman10000]

Thanks for the video. I will now stop stressing about a few micro scratches on the lens of my 60 year old Minolta Autocord ☺️

[@GuidedInvestor]

That's pretty amazing how little difference the scratch made

[@Barrrt]

Thanks for the video. It's a comfort for me just having my first lens scratched - on a fixed lens camera -.- Great images! Curious what the technique is: shoot on medium format -> Scan -> Edit?

[@unvade]

I got a little scratch on my sigma today and I was so sad and worried that it was going to affect image quality and it turns out it had no affect at all and this video made me feel so much better haha

[@KOKOBC]

I got a random scratch on my relatively new Sony 24-70mm gm ii and I was so sad, and I don’t even know I got it it was like a gouge randomly. couldn’t actually tell at all and this just further helped me cope with the fact that my lens just lost 500 dollars of resale value and there is a scratch

[@HOTRhuntinontherock]

I have a 1-year-old Panasonic video camcorder with a scratch on the lens, the scratch sure doesn't look near as bad as the scratch on your camera lens, and for some reason all of my footage (video) the scratch is very easy to see. I wish I knew a way to fix this other than replacing the lens which is very very expensive.

[@dzllz]

Stunning images! Wow!

[@robertolsson3357]

Thanks for figuring this all out, just in case I do the same. Wondering if the same would apply for digital cameras, not film cameras? BTW, where is that nice shot of the house you photographed? I'm interested in the architecture and would like to see more images of that. PLMK, thx, Robert

[@connorbaker5783]

Makes me feel REAL good about my purchase of the Sony 24-104mm F4 G that had a very minor couple scratches on the glass. $520 baby! Boom!

[@farmerjim-fat-man-do]

Was out shooting some landscape with my Canon DSLR, lot of water, sky and rock outcroppings at a state park. I normally use a filter of some type depending on what I’m shooting but this was a new wide angle lens and i was messing around with exposures and different filters. I just removed a filter and was crawling around on some boulders to reposition for a shot. I had the camera strap over my shoulder with camera resting on my back. The camera slid around and bashed lens first into the a boulder. Ended up with a deep scratch on a brand new, not cheap lens. Close to the same location as yours except my scratch shows up in every shot as a bean shaped shadow. If there is a lot of contrast it’s harder to make out but I know right where to look and can see it every time unless it’s a deep shadow. I was hoping to see you were able to polish out the scratch... oh well, time to start learning photoshop. Have you heard of anybody having any luck with polishing a lens to remove a larger scratch? My takeaway from this, always keep a filter on your lens or replace the lens cap after every shot.

[@MHolt9999]

Thanks for making this video to share your experience! I would really expect that the mark on that girls arm is a coincidence as the scratch will never ever, ever, be in focus (you could never expect to drop an eyelash on your lens and expect to photograph it). The scratch will scatter some light and will have a minuscule effect on brightness and slightly increase internal lens flair - but not to any significant effect - just like you say. A professional photographer I knew had two identical Hasselblad kits, one with a scratch like yours and the other without, he said that most of the times he thought he saw a defect, he realised it wasn't the scratched lens he was using.

[@gigazelensky]

Noyiced 2 microscratches on my phone camera's lens, around the edges, that can only really be noticed at a specofic angle against a loght source. Got super worried and came here to check. Now i can sleep well tonight, great vid!

[@Raychristofer]

Great job on this. Very interesting. Also you've got balls of steel to shoot a wedding on film. Respect

[@shakebmirzaii9913]

I was a bit worried with my lens it had tiny kind of scratch I took pictures and just could find anything on my pictures. So I am keeping my lens and thanks for the video.

[@mattlim9169]

That's pretty incredible! And I'm with you on the flare. I dig the character it gives to it... Do mostly shoot that lens wide open?

[@benjhaisch]

Almost always 😂

[@itshendo6475]

Dang that's awesome... for such a deep looking scratch, you cant even notice it in the shots.

[@hills7164]

I'm watching this because there's a lens i want on eBay for less than half price with 2 tiny scratches on it

[@rancosteel]

How about a small paint fleck inside the front element?

[@benjhaisch]

Have you ever dropped a camera? I’d love to hear the story and result!

[@influencedsabotage6965]

I have a Insta360 X2 and one of my skaters slammed his tail on the lens and scratched it😆 the videos aren’t too bad but you can see a spot on the screen

[@MIXTAPEPRODUTORA]

awesome photos man, wow

[@xxclickingxxone-man-army632]

i shoot video and have a similar few marks on a lens that hit the deck during a beach wedding. Annoyingly it was actually just after the ceremony when i was packing everything away, i picked up the tripod and moved it closer to my bags etc and it wasnt weighted down... wind picks up and the tripod was 1m out of reach so i couldnt save it, ... just had to watch the camera take a lens dive straight into the sharp sand. my heart sank. lucky enough it was a relatively cheap lens in sigmas 56mm 1.4 connected to my a6600 so it wasnt a bother replacing, however now i have this back up lens which i can only use during static shots such as speeches or ceremony because the marks are slightly noticeable when i move the lens

[@flowermaze___]

Great video and conclusion. It's super annoying how people refuse to pay for gear that's scratched or not perfect. Heck, even fungus or haze doesn't show up on photos unless its quite extreme, and even then it adds a dreamy glow that's still beautiful. I kind of love using gear that's otherwise considered unworthy because it's not mint, sort of that underdog charm with beautiful results :)

[@thibaultdubaret9863]

i'm trying to find the scratch on your pictures on my Phone with a scratch screen; and each time i thing i had found one, its wasn't on you pictures but on my phone

[@benjhaisch]

😂😂😂

[@GavinRemme]

I'm enjoying the experimental style videos

[@barrycohen311]

Yo lens has character Bro!

[@syedayzaz8344]

I dropped my 50mm and the same flare appears. I was crying inside but now i can dry tears and go for shooting in sunlight

[@Keith80027]

I almost didn't watch because that bad of scratch has to be bad. At least now I know if I scratch a lens, I know to keep shooting. All of my lens have very highend filters for this reason. Can you have the front lens replaced?

[@UncompressedWAVmusic]

Thanks a lot Benj. II was looking to replace a UV filter for my expensive Sony G zoom as I have a lot of flare on light source in photos. However another KZbin photo expert said don't buy UV filters as degrades photos and also that lens are hard to scratch and the scratches don't show up in photos and he actually hit his lens with two things and left many small chips and scratches in the lens yet they weren't noticeable in the photos and I wasn't sure if he was completely serious as it was a wild and shocking video. Benj your scratch is much bigger and it barely if ever shows up in a photo. So you may have save me $200 Canadian for the ultimate UV filter that a different KZbin photographer expert recommended to buy to protect this camera.

[@benjhaisch]

my $4000 Leica Summilux has defects on the front as well and I've never noticed it in the photos.

[@KingNidus]

So scratch on lens means bigger discount, perfect lol thanks. Great video

[@roselynn6459]

I’m new to photography & FIRST thing that happens while trying out the camera . . . My lens had to get a scratch. It’s very tiny & more so to the side of the lens. . . I was freaking out, but this video helped calm me, lol! I tried out some shots with it & it seems like nothing ? So I’m sure I can still use the lens, but again, I’m new to all of this so I was freaking out haha . . I didn’t drop it or anything , but my little sister was excited to see the camera & accidentally touched the lens with her nail. . Smh 🤦🏽‍♀️ But thank you for this video! It helped a lot.

[@souljah9e]

Amazing images! More videos 💯

[@raalaa121]

Just picked up a Leica Panasonic lens that retails for nearly 2k for £800 why? it has a tiny scratch on the front element. This video made me feel better about the bargain I got !

[@FitriShukri]

I dropped my Canon 35mm f1.4 L while changing lens and scratched the back lens. So far I will still use the lens. Your video kinda cool me down.

[@jaymayugaphoto]

any update on this? same happened to my lens haha

[@FitriShukri]

@@jaymayugaphoto for my lens, as long as I keep it below aperture f11 its ok. At aperture f13 and above the scratch can be visible in the photo.

[@jaymayugaphoto]

Ok. I always shoot from 1.4 to 4 so no worries then hehe thank you!

[@richardtom6987]

"The proof is in the pudding" Nice video! Perfection is the enemy of good. Haze and fungus (in large quantities) are the real enemy. A busted focusing ring is a deal breaker. In a pinch, we can get away with stuck apertures. Let the PROs and perfectionists buy the new gear. I'll gladly buy last decade's pro gear for my hobby :)

[@CameronBrooks]

Kind of amazing how these lenses can take that much of a licking and keep on ticking

[@JJ-vs3ei]

Late to the party. Is the mark on her arm at 3:05 not just a scar on her skin?

[@benjhaisch]

Ah it’s not, that’s a good call though. It doesn’t show up in my digitals on the same spot.

[@Barrrt]

Used my X100V for the 3rd shoot today and noticed a scratch :O I'm like: HOW?!

[@Barrrt]

Hopefully I'm just mistaking and it will wash away, but I think at the very least the coating is scratched. At the bottom.

[@pritush]

Wow 😮 that content . 💕

[@pritush]

KZbin is saturated with ppl tryin to sell any thing 😆 and here we have a content on a scratched lens . What a shy of relief 👏

[@mikenofi281]

If you paint the scratch with flat black paint you will eliminate the lens flare.

[@pihi42]

The defect is spread out most of the time, meaning you simply have lower contrast/clarity of images. The best thing to do would actually be to mask out the scratch, for example by painting it black or putting some kind of sticker on it. Yeah, seriously.

[@mrenovatio3739]

Oof... And on the Mamiya 80mm f1.9 of all lenses

[@chicago_beats]

This is nice

[@nickhaisch4277]

Watches video. Immediately goes to ebay to search for cheap scratched lens.

[@rickyslapstick]

On a smaller diameter lens, the scratch would be much more noticeable

[@bubblerings]

Have you ever taken a toothpick or something with a Loupe or magnifier to see if you can get the dirt out? -Looked like the gritty pattern on the arm of the lady may be partly removable...? -And, does anyone Dare to use the scratch filling fluid you can buy for glasses??? :)))

[@uniworkhorse]

Who else just scratched their lens LOL

[@WhatisReal11]

My OCD still says otherwise,,,

[@sbennettyt]

This may be true for still shots but if you shoot video with a scratched lens it will show. Look through your view finder and pan and you will see what I mean.

[@benjhaisch]

This entire video was done with a lens with a massive scratch on it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/q367d3mFo9Zrbqc

[@predatorishi]

20 years old lenses, no scratch. People in comment section need to be nice with their gear.

[@paulashley2894]

If the scratch is on the

[@paulashley2894]

front this will cause flare or reduce contrast by spreading the light rays so they no longer focus. Sorry about the poor typing.

[@paulashley2894]

If the scratch is on the rear of the lens you may see the effect localized. A bad scratch can be covered by black to reduce the scattered rays.

[@sclogse1]

Your images are so light you'd never see anything.

[@raphperret9348]

Thanks, i will sleep well tonight

[@EDWARDTHEEAUTHOR]

My lens has like 70 micro scratches 😂

[@ClipCrew]

That’s more of a crack than a scratch

[@benjhaisch]

Yeah, probably best said as a chip.

[@f2mel2]

WEDDING AND ELOPEMENT photographer. You guys catch that?

[@benjhaisch]

I’ve had this comment a couple of times and am a bit perplexed by it to be honest... would you care explaining what you mean? I promise this isn’t sarcasm, I just want to know what is or isn’t coming through.

[@f2mel2]

@@benjhaisch Oh,just an observation. Maybe there are customers intrigued with the idea of having ceramonial weddings that are not being reached? Elopements tend to be very informal or are trending and the market is not tapped? I feel this is a hidden gem you "accidentaly" let slip out for viewers to get up on.

[@GreyGhost-r4z]

Now I can start buying shit lenses 🙌

[@benjhaisch]

haha!

[@jaym5938]

"Destroyed this lens" Hate your misleading title.

[@benjhaisch]

Hahaha this is one of the very first videos I’d ever made