Ah man, my first really gutting moment in photography

Depends on the dimensions, if they are hairline scratches on a fixed 40mm you probably will struggle to even see it on your raw and if you do its fairly easy to edit, if however they are thick and deep and very noticeable you can take to camera repair shop and get glass replaced and new seals 

Definitely don't try buffing them out unless you're a professional telescope maker or something. Most minor scratches don't affect image quality unless you're shooting large format, and even then they can be barely noticeable. Take the lens out on a sunny day and shoot a neutral surface against,  into and across the sun and see if you catch any of the scratches in your RAW file. If they are causing problems, you'll want a specialist lens repair shop. 

Sadly the very old article seems to have vanished, but here’s an article from Petapixel which summarises it. Very little, seems to be the summary.

https://petapixel.com/2011/06/16/how-dust-and-damage-on-lenses-affect-image-quality/

(Im sure the link won’t work cos Pp doesn’t like links posted on a mobile device, but it’s there)

I dropped a Nikon 24-120 zoom the first day of a holiday years back. A scallop shaped chip broke from the front element, together with some scratches. Made essentially no difference. Giving the back element a battering is more significant I hear.

Out of curiosity are you using a proper lens cloth like microfiber to wipe lens ? using anything else can cause scratching even if you think its super soft it isn't always so kind to lens glass.

I'd leave it be and carry on. Pointless trying insurance route by the time you have excess and premium increase just not worth it. Reconsider if it becomes an issue, you've not lost a penny until you come to sell it or get it fixed, it might get dropped or other damage in the future if used regularly....wait and see. Whatever you do, don't attempt any refurb yourself.

If the marks are not affecting the image then option 1 is to do nothing. if you really can't live with the marks then it would be possible for a specialist to repolish and recoat the lens element, but I would imagine that would be very expensive indeed. It would be possible for a repairer to replace the front element, cheaper but still quite expensive.  Don't attempt to try any home repair or polishing you are only going to remove the coating and make matters worse. It may be possible to claim on insurance, but since the function of the lens is not materially affected, they may be reluctant to settle a claim.

It is possible for a scratch to be specifically noticeable in an image, but it has to be a very particular kind of scratch -- a deep, pyramidal/triangle cross section like a chip.

Otherwise, don't worry about it. At the very worst it is causing the tiniest loss of contrast that you'd never be able to detect, as ADWsPhotos link says (still, in the Archive.org web archive :-) )

https://web.archive.org/web/20240318205431/https://petapixel.com/2011/06/16/how-dust-and-damage-on-lenses-affect-image-quality/

I have a f/1.4 35mm Sigma Art with quite a big scratch mark on the front of the lens. Almost a chip. It was a second hand purchase at a decent discount as a result.

I have never noticed it have the slightest impact on any photos I’ve taken with it.

But it does still bother me when I look at it.

My ‘tactic’ is simply not to look at it, as when it’s attached to the body I have no need to look at it, so I attach the lens and then take off the cap never looking at it directly.

If you are really bothered by it, speak to Sigma Service about it.

https://sigmauk.com/support/service-and-support

I scratched my 2000+ Euros Nikon Z 24-70 2.8 within s week after purchase. The lens cap was released in my peak design camera bag and the zipper inside scratched it. I was gutted and understand your pain. It does not affect my images but I hate to clean it.

Take a series of test shots using all the f-stop range, if you can't detect a defect in the images then leave it alone.

Don't even think of "polishing it out" - lens cleaning is a hurr of breath followed by an ultra-soft (and clean) cloth, nothing more aggressive. You will only do more damage.

I once went to an airport loo on the way to Asia (on a photography trip) and momentarily hung my camera bag on the peg on the back of the door. It fell off and crashed 5 feet to the tiled floor. My camera was in the bottom of the bag, lens down. The UV filter was smashed to pieces, the lens and camera survived. There's a moral to this story.

I did the same to my canonRF 24 to 70 f2 which cost me over £2k took it to a specialist for an opinion he cleaned and said put a glass good quality filter on top, you will never notice it unless you sell it, he is right still bothers my pride, I did call canon and they estimated a cost of £500 - 600 to replace. It's been a year now it's my most used lens, never noticed it since.

Edited by Spartacusimages

Nothing worse Margo and hopefully it'll be all right. Just out of curiosity does anyone use UV or Skylight filters anymore? Back when I started (OhOh! Old fogey alert! ;-)) it was pretty much a standard fitting as it was easier, in most cases, to replace a scratched filter than a scratched lens. (Except in extreme cases where you smashed the filter and IT damaged the lens)

ADFoto said

Nothing worse Margo and hopefully it'll be all right. Just out of curiosity does anyone use UV or Skylight filters anymore? Back when I started (OhOh! Old fogey alert! ;-)) it was pretty much a standard fitting as it was easier, in most cases, to replace a scratched filter than a scratched lens. (Except in extreme cases where you smashed the filter and IT damaged the lens)

Sorry Margo didn't read the last bit. Haven't had my coffee yet

Your. Lens will have multi coatings so definitely don’t try buffing them out.

If you’re shooting at a fairly wide aperture under most lighting conditions you’ll not notice but they may become apparent as your depth of field increases.

I've had scratches and able to operate at f7.1 without undue damage to the image and most blemish removal tools in editing software are pretty efficient.

UV filters protect the lens both from scratches but can sometimes save a lens when dropped so I’d be tempted to get a decent quality one to prevent further damage