Mooge

I am constantly looking at older great white lenses to buy ( big canon) and sometimes they say there is fungus present and sometimes not. Is there a way to tell if a lens has fungus in it or not with out being a technician or scientist ? Some way the average fellow can look at a lens and see if it has a fungus problem. I’m guessing it costs a fortune to take it apart to fix it if in fact it can be fixed at all??

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Get a flashlight and flash it through the lens with the caps removed. Any issues will be obvious. Dust is dust and can be seen as dust. Fungus and / or discoloration of the glass is equally obvious and should be a basis for refusing to purchase or for return and refund if not clearly identified in the for-sale posting. There's plenty of old lenses available and those with fungus aren't worth the effort, even if given to you for free.

Mooge

Is there some way you can explain this better to this ignorant layman what that obvious look of fungus is? A milky hazy or foggy look? Is it even across the element or sometimes just around the edges? I have tons of ancient lenses and I’m not sure if they have fungus or are just not so clear any more for some other reason? When I think of fungus I think of a green moldy look but I’m guessing it’s not that obvious? Does anyone have some comparative photos of the same type lens, one with fungus and one without it?
Thanks!!

Mooge

As dumb as this may sound I’ve been at this for 40 plus years but never really looked through the lens off the camera with the intent to see how clear it was. Is the fungus always obvious or is it border line visible in some cases?

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Spiritrider Loc: Yuba City California

Some times the fungus will look like a messed up spider web .
I repaired cameras and lens for many years (Pentax factory tech, Tech for Robert Waxmans ,and Wolf/Ritz camera .

Dave327 Loc: Duluth, GA. USA

I have seen 3 cases of fungus. It can be a overall cloudy or most usually, you can see irregular shaped spots like a specimen in a Petri dish. It usually happens with a improperly stored lens in a hot humid environment. It actually is very evident and with a flash light becomes very visible. Here in Georgia it happens quite often to people who like a hot environment in their homes (not enough AC for removal of humidity) and don’t take proper precautions to store lenses.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

https://www.google.com/search?q=what+does+fungus+look+like+on+a+lens&oq=what+does+fungus+look+like+on+a+lens&aqs=chrome..69i57j0.11511j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#kpvalbx=_bKNlXZfSDuyN_Qb_2ZrIDA27

If the lens has fungus, not only is it a problem, but spores can spread to other lenses, though it is rare. The other problem is that sometimes the fungus is not on the surface, but inside the lens - feeding off of lubricants, fingerprints, etc, and it may involve dismantling and deeper cleaning.

Here is another look at fungus and how one guy dealt with it:

https://richardhaw.com/2016/03/27/repair-fungus-cleaning/

Mooge

I live in Virginia and it goes from hot and humid in the summer to very cold in the winter. We usually have air conditioning on in the summer but there are times when it’s off and it gets hot . Any suggestions for protecting my lenses?

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

There are different kinds of mold that can attack lenses. Some of it will show up as white or black spots or blotches while others are multicolored and look like dichroic fog or Newton's rings especially when viewed at an oblique angle to the light. You'll know it when you see it because it does not look like the nice bright shiny reflections that you see in unaffected lenses and their coatings. It can be on the outer surface or on the internal elements in the lens. It is visible under reflected light aimed directly through the front or back elements or transillumination aimed through the lens. A strong little flashlight or high-intensity desk lamps are good examination sources.

There also can be discoloration on the diaphragm or shutter blades.
Lenses that are attacked very badly by mold will also have a musty odor. Oftentimes the mold starts in the lining of lens cases and migrates into the lens- so watch out for affected cases and lens caps. Sometimes it is caused by constant bouts of condensation that occur when you bring a lens from cold weather into a warm atmosphere.

Lenses stored, long term in unsatisfactory conditions can also suffer from contamination from foam-lined cases that begin to decompose an off-gas.

I have seen lenses where the mold has somehow etched righ into the glass or the coating and it simply won't wash off, even with special cleaners- it will leave pit marks and residue behind.

Sorry, I don't have any moldy lenses to photograh and post. I was unable to find a good example online- I may find one eventually and post it.

I have not as yet seen a big white telephoto lens with mold- folks tend to take good care of them. I have, however, seen lots of vintage old portrait lenses that were badly affected. A reputable dealer will NOT buy or sell them- they are just too problematic. Sometimes a moldy lens has been tampered with, in an a failed attempt to clean it, by someon who is not a camera technician and has othere malfunctions as well.

My dealer gave me a Nikor 105mm lens , free of charge, to use as a paperweight. It had been dropped into a lake, recovered but neglected beyond repair. Just for fun, I stuck it on my old F-3- it was discolored with a kinda grayish haze and produced great ethereal portraits- Used it for 20 years.

Do no buy a moldy lens unless you need an exotic paperweight!

Mooge

There’s a 500 f4 canon on eBay right now and the owner is honest enough to say it has a fungus problem . I’m not sure how many others are that honest ?? Almost all these big lenses on eBay will not accept them back regardless of what problem you find . I guess that’s a good reason to never buy a lens sight unseen??

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

I simply searched extensively on the internet, and looked at dozens of images and videos picturing lens fungus, and read numerous online articles about how to recognize when it is fungus and when it is something other than fungus.

Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

Once you have fungus, you have fungus.
The problems are that fungus will etch coatings and glass, and diluted window wax to clean slick and fill wull only do so much.
Some people swear by just using sunlight.
I've hear if people baking their lens at @ 150 or so.
I've done simple lenses, like my Xenit's Jupiter lens, with 90% alcohol.
If you don't get rid of all of it, it lurks and waits. You'll put it back, with the others, and by the time you get to see it it's been there a while.
Google and youtube your lens, looking for repair, fungus, cleaning, etc. Does any of those show you something you can do?
I know enough to know I don't know enough. If it don't look easy ....

Grahame Loc: Fiji

Yes, look at the very reasonably priced 'Ruggard Electronic Dry Cabinets', can be found at B&H. I live in Fiji, on the edge of rain forest next to the sea with humidity often in the high 90s and use one now for all my lenses and cameras.

Some of my lenses have suffered from mould, strangely only the Nikons not the Tamrons.

It not only gets to lenses, here's my old D300 which only gets used occasionally now.

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