580EX scratches on the red lens?

[Rudy M.]

Does it matter if the red lens on the front of the 580EX flash (or any flash of this type) has scratches on it? I was looking at my 580 today and it has some very fine scrathes on it that I thought would come out by huffing and cleaning, but they did not. I don't think they effect exposure, and the lens should be pretty cheap to replace I would hope!

[neil_r]

I doubt it will have any affect on the performance of the flash

[Jim G]

The red lenses covers the AF assist beam - it's not involved in metering/exposure at all so far as I know, though I'm sure someone more knowledgeable here will be able to give a definite on that.

So long as they work fine I wouldn't be concerned...

[John_B]

Rudy M.,
I believe Jim G explains it well (according to page 4 of the manual) ;)
I have a crack in my red area and it hasn't affected my flash at all, not even the AF beam.