Lens Haze & Fungus
Oct 3, 2014 21:31:15 #
How and why do Lens Haze & Fungus start and how do you prevent them??? Also how would you remove it
Craig
Craig
Oct 3, 2014 21:35:11 #
Short version, it starts with moisture. You prevent it by keeping your equipment dry.
Oct 3, 2014 21:39:20 #
CraigFair wrote:
How and why do Lens Haze & Fungus start and how do you prevent them???
Craig
Craig
Moisture in the air.
Most lenses are not air-tight... especially zooms. Moving the lens sucks in air that contains fungus spores. Those spores hatch inside the lens and the fungi feed off whatever they can find, creating haze.
Prevention?
Store your lenses in a container that has some type of moisture removal... ie a plastic container with packets of desiccant included. You can buy those desiccants from Amazon. I use the ones designed for hearing aids. (My youngest granddaughter is deaf. I buy her Dry Briks in bulk.) This system is a must in a humid place like Florida.
Oct 3, 2014 22:12:10 #
CHOLLY wrote:
Moisture in the air. br br Most lenses are not ai... (show quote)
Thank you ODDJOBER & CHOLLY
I am fortunate I live in SOCAL with 40 to 50% humidity but I don't want to take any chances either. I'll check out Amazon.
Craig
Oct 3, 2014 22:38:34 #
CraigFair wrote:
How and why do Lens Haze & Fungus start and how do you prevent them??? Also how would you remove it
Craig
Craig
Fungus does not like light, if you have the room to store your lenses in an open area that receives light that is a big plus, consider keeping them in sterilite containers when not in use that allows light in.
Dark damp places grow fungus, a camera bag can be the worst place.... as for getting rid of fungus and haze.... if it has gotten into the lens the lens will have to be disassembled, I have seen vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and ammonia all recommended for killing and cleaning the fungus.
Oct 3, 2014 23:02:08 #
Santa Maria!
You are on the coastal side, so damp is the cramp.
Dehumidifying is probably a requirement.
If you take gear (lenses) from warm to cold, or especially from cold to warm, it can fog your lenses up.
Desiccant can help. Or (my favorite) a vacuum chamber to evacuate the moisture molecules. Which is pretty industrial.
Once my cell phone went swimming with me. Putting it in a bag of rice dried it out the first time. But the second time not so.
You are on the coastal side, so damp is the cramp.
Dehumidifying is probably a requirement.
If you take gear (lenses) from warm to cold, or especially from cold to warm, it can fog your lenses up.
Desiccant can help. Or (my favorite) a vacuum chamber to evacuate the moisture molecules. Which is pretty industrial.
Once my cell phone went swimming with me. Putting it in a bag of rice dried it out the first time. But the second time not so.
Oct 4, 2014 03:08:13 #
One way to keep fungus at bay is to use the lens regularly, especially outdoors on sunny days. Lenses afflicted with fungus are usually the ones that have been sitting unused for years at a time. Lens fungus loves extended periods of uninterrupted darkness! Dark, dank basements are its especially favorite environment.
Oct 4, 2014 04:31:00 #
CraigFair wrote:
How and why do Lens Haze & Fungus start and how do you prevent them??? Also how would you remove it
Craig
Craig
Condensation. If you live in a warm humid climate, moving your camera gear from a cool air conditioned room to the hot humid outside will cause condensation. In winter climates, particularly those where rain and snow are common, bringing a cold camera inside will cause condensation.
In these situations, keeping your camera and lenses in a plastic ziplock when going between temperature extremes, at least until the temperature of the gear adjusts to the ambient, more humid environment will help a lot.
Oct 4, 2014 04:57:58 #
RWR
Loc: La Mesa, CA
CraigFair wrote:
How and why do Lens Haze & Fungus start and how do you prevent them??? Also how would you remove it
Craig
Craig
Hmmm. And all this time I thought some of my old lenses had built-in haze filters. I learn so much reading this stuff! :lol:
Oct 4, 2014 12:29:24 #
CraigFair wrote:
How and why do Lens Haze & Fungus start and how do you prevent them??? Also how would you remove it
Craig
Craig
You will probably have to take the lens to your local camera repair shop, or send it back to the mfg for cleaning and calibration. Get a estimate before they do the work, it may cost more to clean out the fungus than the lens is worth. Good luck.
B
Oct 4, 2014 17:21:25 #
CraigFair wrote:
How and why do Lens Haze & Fungus start and how do you prevent them??? Also how would you remove it
Craig
Craig
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-249643-1.html
Oct 4, 2014 17:37:14 #
While we are on this subject, did you know you can dry out desiccant and reuse it?
We use to do that all the time in the electrical trades.
We use to do that all the time in the electrical trades.
Oct 4, 2014 19:43:50 #
Just received two old vintage lenses today that had fungus and was able to tear them down, clean and restore them. Both are Takumars that otherwise were in like new condition, a 50/1.4 and a 150/4. Very smooth focus throw and aperture settings, the only issue they had was fungus growth...
Not an issue anymore, however I would never attempt this on a modern zoom lens.
Not an issue anymore, however I would never attempt this on a modern zoom lens.
Oct 4, 2014 19:52:39 #
Not an issue anymore, however I would never attempt this on a modern zoom lens.[/quote]
I know now I have a Nikon 55-300 in pieces now trying to clean it up.
Craig
I know now I have a Nikon 55-300 in pieces now trying to clean it up.
Craig
Oct 4, 2014 20:05:18 #
CraigFair wrote:
Not an issue anymore, however I would never attempt this on a modern zoom lens.
I know now I have a Nikon 55-300 in pieces now trying to clean it up.
Craig[/quote]
You may be able to find a tech guide online, but even so, there are about a billion screws springs and tiny pieces in a modern lens, even the old zooms are quite daunting to attempt. Good luck, I will only tear down primes as I just don't care to mess with a zoom. As they say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and in this case I think it more like a 100 pounds of cure. After coming back to this thread last night I removed all my lens caps and made sure that the lenses had UV filters on an store them with the front element facing up in a drawer that does get some light into it. The face of the drawer is only 3/4 height and the chest has doors on the front that I leave opened.
Good Luck with your project.
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