How do you repair a scratched camera lens for cheap??
My digital camera lens is scratched and it causes the images produced to be blurry. Is there any way to fix it at a relatively low cost (or even for free)? Thanks!
Answer: The scratch on your lens will not be cheap to fix. Essentially what has to happen when repair is attempted is the following.
1) the lens needs to be completely dismantled & each lens element (piece of glass or plastic) examined to determine where the scratch is. If the scratch is in the front element ( the one closest to the outside of the lens, there will be what is called a multi-coating on it. this will have to be removed to attempt any repair.
2) once the scratched element is located the scratch will require that the element be either repolished, reground or replaced.
3) once repaired the whole lens has to be re-assembled and the individual lens elements relaminated into their respective groupings. This is what makes it so expensive & unless the elements align perfectly with the way they were before (which is nigh on impossible) you will not get the same results as before.
You should also note that normal warranty will NOT cover scratches on the lens as this is classified by the manufacturer as customer abuse of the item. if it is an expensive camera I would actually consider putting a claim in on your insurance. if it is a "budget' camera just replace it
Unless the lens is interchangeable, you can't repair the lens at a cheap price. You might try taking the camera back to the place you purchased it. They might let you exchange it or see if the warranty covers the lens. If so, exchange the camera.
Make sure that you don't have a warranty still active. I know that I bought my camera at Best Buy and they give free lense replacements and cleanings for one year.
Scratches on the lens are bad news. They can be repaired but it can be prohibitively expensive and often doesn't return the lens to what it once was. In a cheaper digital camera, this basically means your camera is ruined (cheaper to buy a new one than to replace the lens). In a more expensive digital camera, this is a hefty repair bill. If it is a dSLR lens, it's a catastrophe as very good (and expensive) lenses are very sensitive depending on their focal range. Even repairing the lens will likely mean it's worthless. Which is why you often should use a cheap UV filter on very expensive lenses....who cares if that gets scratched. But you will cry big time if your two thousand dollar EF 28-300mm USM bites it.
Prevention is always your best bet for camera lens care. I'm sorry yours got scratched. It would have to be re-ground to get rid of the scratch, and that would change the focus. The only thing to do is get the lens replaced, or buy a new camera.
In the future, if your camera lens can have a filter on it, get a plain skylight filter (1A), just to protect your valuable lens. It's much easier and cheaper to replace a scratched filter. And when you're not using your camera, always make sure you have your lens covered. A soft case is another good investment for a small camera. Never just toss it in your purse unprotected.
hope it's not those carl zeiss lens. :-(