Expert: David Silver - 4/6/2006

Question
Do you happen to know how many models or brands my my Albinar 50mm ADG 80-200 Zoom lens is compatable with? I plan to sell it soon.

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Followup To
Question -
I see particles of dust inside my Albinar ADG Zoom lens. Is this a common problem? Can I take the lens apart and clean it myself?
Answer -
Hello,

It is VERY common for secondary market zoom lenses to accumulate dust.  The cheaper the make, the more likely the internal seals and baffles are poor.  While Albinar makes a reasonably decent lens, the truth is that they have very loose quality control, and that's how they keep costs down.  There's a reason that professional photographers spend so much money for OEM lenses and cameras (original equipment manufacturer).  It's not just the optics, but the way the lenses are put together.  An Albinar lens will stand up quite nicely to a Nikon, Canon, etc., when it's brand new, but not over time.  The Canon and Nikon lenses will still be going strong, virtually like new, years after the Albinar lens has been tossed in the trash bin.  As for taking it apart, no, don't go there!  Zoom lenses are assembled in a factory environment with special shims, jigs, and guides to make sure everything goes together properly.  Otherwise you'd need about three extra arms to do it!  Unless you have the complete facilities available to most full service camera repair people, all you'll do is ruin the lens.  However, the good news is that it actually takes a LOT of dust before you will even begin to see any bad effects on your photographs.  You'd be surprised how much gunk can float around inside a lens before it degrades image quality!  You may be worrying for no reason.  Don't fret over what you see inside the lens, just look at the pictures.  There is no better way to judge the quality of a lens (or its state of dustiness!) than looking at the quality of the pictures.  I use a number of lenses that are over fifty years old, and they've accumulated a sizable amount of obvious dust inside them, but they all take razor sharp pictures.  There is so much refraction taking place inside a lens as the light passes through that dust is rendered "invisible".  As long as your pictures are good, don't worry about it.

Best wishes,

David Silver

Answer
Hello again,

I'm afraid that's impossible for me to know.  The different primary camera manufacturers use different mounting systems for their lenses.  So Nikon lenses will only fit on Nikon cameras, Canon lenses will only fit on Canon cameras, etc.  Secondary market (also called aftermarket) manufacturers like Albinar make generic lenses in a variety of different mounts to fit many different cameras.  For example, your Albinar lens may have been assembled with a Nikon mount, so therefore it will fit only Nikon cameras.  But an Albinar could just as easily have been assembled with a Pentax mount for Pentax cameras, or a Canon mount for Canon cameras, etc.  Without actually having the camera in my hand, it's impossible for me to know what mount your lens has!  Some clues for you...there may be a simple letter code at the back end of the lens, somewhere around the mount, that can tell you what brand of camera it fits.  These are the most common letter codes: N for Nikon, PK for Pentax, C (or CA of CD) for Canon, OM for Olympus, and M (or MK) for Minolta.

Best wishes,

David Silver