Front element separation?

[pulatom]

I've noticed a strange "traces" on the front element of my Cyclop 85/1.5, it looks like this:



It appeared after cleaning the front element with IPA cleaner, is it possible that it damaged the element gluing? If so, will it grow worse over time? It certainly doesn't affect the lens performance now, but I'm afraid it might get bad .

[Andrew G.]

Looks more like fungus.

[Sevo]

If it appeared after a isopropyl treatment of the front lens, it will at the very least be alcohol-induced dirt creep behind the front element. If you are unlucky, it is cement fogging (cyanoacrylates are are rather vulnerable to solvents), in the worst case even separation.

It probably will not grow and the surface seems to be small enough that it will not make a visible difference, but it will have damaged the resale value. Don't take alcohol to lenses, unless they are disassembled and you are in control of where it flows. There are very good reasons why the classic Kodak lens cleaner is water based.

[pulatom]

Thx, if I only knew about alcohol cleaning risks before... It's good that I haven't tried it with the rest of my glasses .

[aoleg]

+1 to what Sevo said. If you manage to take out the front glass element and clean both sides, the stains will most probably go away. And no, it is NOT separation, as this lens has a single lens element on the front:

[Mal1905]

Looks like fungus to me - I've had lenses which displayed that pattern. Easy to treat though; cold cream works well.

[Pancolart]

Nothing removes fungus better then glass cleaners with under 5% ammonia. If your Cyclop is genuine you don't have to worry about any damage. Tested. BTW your fungus is a baby, you can even leave it to grow for few years without worries .

[pulatom]

[Pancolart]

Nothing so special. I think most needs this: Click here to see on Ebay.de
to unscrew.

[pulatom]

Nice one, I'll see if I can get my hands on something like this .

[kds315*]

I would NOT touch it as you won't see the difference in your photos; it is just cosmetic
but the risk to make a permanent damage is much higher IMHO.

[pulatom]

Maybe you're right, tinkering might be risky because I never done it before. If it won't grow I'll just leave it to be .

[Pancolart]

It will grow unless you put it under UV light for a while.

[pulatom]

How long should it be exposed to the UV to kill it if it's a little fungus? Something like 15 minutes or longer?

[Joosep]

Leave it for a few days.

[pulatom]

I was thinking about putting it under an UV lamp (the weather ain't too sunny in PL now ), but it can be only turned on for 15 min. Could this do the trick, or should I expose it several times?

[Sert85]

It's looks like fungus to me. If it's the new fungus you can get rid of it by lens cleaning solution. But if it's the old fungus, Pond cold cream can do this job.

[pulatom]

Just sold my fungused Cyclop with an IR device and bought a new one, that's probably the best solution .