I recently purchased this used Nikon 85mm 1.4D from a reliable Ebay seller who description says, "No scratches, haze or fungus". Whenever I purchase a used lens I first use a standard mag lite to look for the obvious. Obviously, some dust is to be expected, (even on new lenses), but when using an LED flashlight, the haze, scratches, and cleaning marks were more obvious...like, really obvious! I primarily shoot portraits and sometimes love the rendering of older, less contrasty glass, but this would actually effect the detail of the portrait. Another thing I noted was the lens hood (metal) was slightly out of symmetry with indications of a ding on the edge. The robust hood on a Nikon 85mm 1.4 D is screwed on, so any dings to that area should be considered too as it torques on the barrel as opposed to just popping off. I encourage anyone who buys used lenses to ask the seller to use an LED flashlight to look for haze, cleaning marks, scratches, etc. I think photographers would be surprised at what's in the lenses they shoot with after using an LED flashlight... Perhaps that should be a new thread "Fun with Fungus, Dust and Haze"
Last edited: