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Anyone know what this circle on my lens is?

DirtySocks85

DirtySocks85

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 12, 2009
1,441
82
Wichita, KS
So I'm very new to the world of DSLRs. I was wiping down one of my lenses with a microfiber cloth to clear some dust off today when I noticed something unusual on the front element. A tiny little circle. At first I thought it was some sort of stuck on bit of filth, but upon closer inspection I realized that it was uniformly oval/circular, and looked to be metallic/reflective. Anyone know what it is or why it's there?

(click to enlarge)
1vD6w.jpg
 
DirtySocks85

DirtySocks85

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 12, 2009
1,441
82
Wichita, KS
That's what I thought at first, but it almost appears to be a small metallic ring embedded in the lens or something. It's very shiny at the edges, but not different from the rest of the lens on the interior. Obviously with it's size and placement it's not going to affect IQ, so this is mainly out of curiosity that I ask.
 
S

snberk103

macrumors 603
Oct 22, 2007
5,503
91
An Island in the Salish Sea
Before you actually do anything with the lense, check with the camera store you bought it from. And if you bought it online, check with Canon... maybe post this on there support forums if they exist. It may be a normal part of the manufacturing.

I say this because.... just yesterday my wife took off her glasses to clean them... and noticed very small, practically invisible, circles on the edge of her lenses (one on each lense). In her case there is also etched a very small number. It is obviously something that is part of the lense making process, though we are going to check with the optometrist to see if it is normal for a pair in use to have them.

The photo you took looks a lot like those circles. So check with Canon. It may be normal, though it may not be normal for it to actually be apparent.

I'd love to know what Canon says... so please update us!
 
DirtySocks85

DirtySocks85

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 12, 2009
1,441
82
Wichita, KS
snberk103 said:
Before you actually do anything with the lense, check with the camera store you bought it from. And if you bought it online, check with Canon... maybe post this on there support forums if they exist. It may be a normal part of the manufacturing.

I say this because.... just yesterday my wife took off her glasses to clean them... and noticed very small, practically invisible, circles on the edge of her lenses (one on each lense). In her case there is also etched a very small number. It is obviously something that is part of the lense making process, though we are going to check with the optometrist to see if it is normal for a pair in use to have them.

The photo you took looks a lot like those circles. So check with Canon. It may be normal, though it may not be normal for it to actually be apparent.

I'd love to know what Canon says... so please update us!
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure that all of the other spots are just regular dirt and dust (I stopped in the middle of cleaning it to take this pic). As far as purchase, I bought it online from B&H, so I'll try checking with them and/or Canon and see if I can get an answer. I suspect that this is normal and supposed to be there, and as pointed out above, seems unlikely to affect image quality due to the location at the edge of the lens, but it probably won't hurt to ask, and if something is off with it I can get it replaced.
 
L

Larry-K

macrumors 68000
Jun 28, 2011
1,888
2,340
Looks like a bubble in the glass. This stuff was molten at one time, you know.
 
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