Cleaning week: die, fungus, die!

[Spotmatic]

This week I had the honor of cleaning two lenses from mild fungus: a SMC Takumar 55mm f/2 and an Olympus 85mm f/2 MC Zuiko Auto-T (the newest addition to my fast portrait prime collection and also my first Zuiko. )

No text, just pictures:














The Zuiko:

[kds315*]

Looks good Peter - but how to be sure these microscopic fungus spores would also be gone?

[luisalegria]

Nice spanner !

[DiegoV]

Nice topic
Luckily I never found any fungus on my lenses, but I always wondered how to clean a lens that had fungus. I never know when I'm gonna need to do that... I'll be following this topic, I'm sure I'll learn a lot

[fish4570]

good job. i'd like to see a photo of the spanner, whole ...

[james]

Klaus raises a big issue; invisible spores will re-inhabit the glass in no time. Wiping it off isn't enough.

[mo]

I think Peter would know to not just wipe the lens...judging by how many he has....plenty of practice
Fish I think it's the one sold by Attila.
http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/MFlenses__W0QQ_armrsZ1

[Kram]

What is the best method to clean fungus?

If it's been on too long it will permanently damage/ruin a lens. It's called etching, I think.

I await your wisdom with fungussy lens.

[Spotmatic]

[Excalibur]

***Well, the air we breathe in is always full of fungus spores so I could care less***

Indeed they are everywhere, and it would be amazing if a fungus, mould etc evolved in the last 200 years specifically for camera lenses.

[Rusty]

Don't ever worry about the spores
give your lenses lots of light and some dry air and you will be fine

[fatdeeman]

Usually the spores are inside all of our lenses already. It's the conditions they are kept in that allow the fungus to grow, he has cleared a visible patch of fungus and it doesn't matter how many dormant spores remain because whilst in his possession the lens will likely never be stored in conditions that will allow the fungus to grow.

The spores are everywhere already! They are just waiting for damp and dark conditions.

You just have to keep your lenses away from humidity, silica gel bags stored with your gear helps, along with a stable temperature and of course regular exposure to UV light!

[estudleon]

Old Leica literature (in the M39 times) recommended the use fo human saliva, like spotmatic did.

In the illustration the man directly supported his mouth on the lens -literally-

At that time there were no cotonetes?

[fish4570]

that is a great-looking little tool ...

[Attila]

Great job Peter! I did clean a few times lenses I did use strongest chemical what I could buy on market to destroy fungus. I kept these lenses none of them showed fungus anymore. I try to store my lenses right I bought many with fungus accidentally and for own usage 90% of them fungus didn't grow in right storage around 10% did grow a bit but not damage lenses.

[woodrim]

I bought a cheap $5 lens with fungus to see if I could fix it. Didn't know anything about taking lenses apart and it looked like more trouble than I had anticipated. Then I got a brilliant idea (I've had them before). I remembered my ant burning days when I was a kid (long ago), so got out my old magnifying glass (you see it coming?). I went out in the bright South Carolina sun and fried the fungus. I'm sure I killed it, but honestly I don't recommend the approach

[kds315*]

[Spotmatic]

[Excalibur]

[martinsmith99]

Prevention is better than cure, but as the price of fungus-filled lenses is pretty low on evilbay this is worthwhile to learn.

[peterm1]

If you are interested to know how to clean fungus from a lens, Google the words "Lens fungus and cold cream" Yes you read correctly cold cream. There are quite a few blogs advising the use of just this to remove fungus from lenses . Here is one

http://k10dpentax.blogspot.com/2009/02/cleaning-fungus-traces-1.html

Interestingly on a related note of weird cleaning tips my Leica M4P viewfinder is cloudy and getting worse not due to fungus but due to some glue or other chemical used in the M4P outgassing something that builds up on the window. Apparently the best means of cleaning it is by removing the top cover then using toothpaste to clean the window from the inside - I confirmed this with my camera guy!

[Spotmatic]

Yes, I have read this about Pond's cold cream. But this does not solve the problem that Klaus is describing, namely to get rid of the remaining fungus spores.

Personally I think it's a moot point. I think the spores can never be fully removed , but I also think the problem will never show itself again if I store my lenses the right way and use them every now and then. Then if the fungus ever grows back I know that I haven't used the lens enough.

[Kram]

Sadly, or not, I lost this auction in the last two seconds!

Anyone smell fungus?

http://is.gd/8d96M

[Excalibur]

[egidio]

http://www.macbrosplace.com/we-are-fungus/