Recently, I have bought a small, second hand Nikon Mikron 6x15 from 1997. It arrived very well packed/protected and with all accessories (original box, paperwork, caps...) and, at least externally, in good shape. They look really nice and I was very curious to try them out.
However, when I looked through them, I immediately noticed the 'veiled', dull image it gave. They gave a strange view: it looks as if the optics are sharp in essence, but the view is dirty/veiled, a bit coloured or mushy. I have gently cleaned the exterior lenses of the eyecups and objectives, with care, but that didn't help. (I expected that however, as those external glass surfaces were quite clean.) Looking from the rear of the binoculars, via the objectives at arms length towards a well lit uniform white surface, I could clearly see some dust or something similar inside the optics. I have attached some pictures to show what is visible that way.
Could someone help me identify the problem and potential solution?
Is this dust, or mould?
Is this something that could have happened recently/suddenly? (It seems like accumulated dust or deposition for dried up condensation or something similar, but I am no expert at all and I have never seen any dust or condensation inside(!) any binocular in real life.)
Would it be possible to have the binoculars optically perfect again, cleaning the internal surfaces of the lenses or do you expect to have some remaining deterioration of those glass surfaces or coatings?
Considering the price I have paid for these binoculars, having them restored by a professional might be comparatively expensive, and I would first need to find someone able to do this. Is this internal cleaning something that I could do myself?
If these were waterproof and gas-filled roof binoculars, I would not even think about it to try it myself. However, considering these seemingly more simple porro constructions, I am wondering...
I hope of course that I wouldn't need to fully dismantle everything, all individual lenses and prisms, but maybe just detaching the two objective barrels, hoping for the dust to be located between the prisms and the moving objective group, at those two surfaces. At first sight, maybe it would be enough to unscrew the small cap between those two barrels (see last picture), but I don't know if that is correct, which tool to use (some splitted screwdriver? ), and if I would risk to ruine the binoculars' collimation. If it is easy to disassemble and reassemble, would it just require some cleaning with regular optics/binoculars cleaning fluid, as used for external eyepiece/objective surfaces?
Many questions.
Has anybody ever worked on such Mikron binoculars?
All help or experienced advice is welcome!
(I suppose many will say to just return the binoculars to the seller and ask for a refund, as I did ask before buying if the optics were still perfect, clean etc. We are actually in touch. He seems very honest about not having noticed the issue before shipping the binoculars, is annoyed about it himself, and we are looking for a solution together. Having the binoculars cleaned might be a solution: if we can have them easily cleaned, the better, as they would continue 'to live'.)
However, when I looked through them, I immediately noticed the 'veiled', dull image it gave. They gave a strange view: it looks as if the optics are sharp in essence, but the view is dirty/veiled, a bit coloured or mushy. I have gently cleaned the exterior lenses of the eyecups and objectives, with care, but that didn't help. (I expected that however, as those external glass surfaces were quite clean.) Looking from the rear of the binoculars, via the objectives at arms length towards a well lit uniform white surface, I could clearly see some dust or something similar inside the optics. I have attached some pictures to show what is visible that way.
Could someone help me identify the problem and potential solution?
Is this dust, or mould?
Is this something that could have happened recently/suddenly? (It seems like accumulated dust or deposition for dried up condensation or something similar, but I am no expert at all and I have never seen any dust or condensation inside(!) any binocular in real life.)
Would it be possible to have the binoculars optically perfect again, cleaning the internal surfaces of the lenses or do you expect to have some remaining deterioration of those glass surfaces or coatings?
Considering the price I have paid for these binoculars, having them restored by a professional might be comparatively expensive, and I would first need to find someone able to do this. Is this internal cleaning something that I could do myself?
If these were waterproof and gas-filled roof binoculars, I would not even think about it to try it myself. However, considering these seemingly more simple porro constructions, I am wondering...
I hope of course that I wouldn't need to fully dismantle everything, all individual lenses and prisms, but maybe just detaching the two objective barrels, hoping for the dust to be located between the prisms and the moving objective group, at those two surfaces. At first sight, maybe it would be enough to unscrew the small cap between those two barrels (see last picture), but I don't know if that is correct, which tool to use (some splitted screwdriver? ), and if I would risk to ruine the binoculars' collimation. If it is easy to disassemble and reassemble, would it just require some cleaning with regular optics/binoculars cleaning fluid, as used for external eyepiece/objective surfaces?
Many questions.
Has anybody ever worked on such Mikron binoculars?
All help or experienced advice is welcome!
(I suppose many will say to just return the binoculars to the seller and ask for a refund, as I did ask before buying if the optics were still perfect, clean etc. We are actually in touch. He seems very honest about not having noticed the issue before shipping the binoculars, is annoyed about it himself, and we are looking for a solution together. Having the binoculars cleaned might be a solution: if we can have them easily cleaned, the better, as they would continue 'to live'.)