Fungal Growth on the Lens

[Big Boy]

As one has been trawling ebay. One has seen comments on some descriptions pointing to "slight fungal growth on the lens" or "fungal growth present" etc or something to that extent. How does one go about clearing the problem from the lens? Is there a solution? Or is it best to move on and lement on the fact that the camera served us well in the past and move onto a camera that doesn't have any fungal growth present? Any feedback would be superb.

[Matt Pacini]

I'm not really sure, so I probably shouldn't be posting, but I think it's a very serious problem.
It MAY be fixable, I don't know, but it would at least certainly require completely disassembling all the glass elements, so if you're really a serious tinkerer, and it's way, way, cheap, give it a shot.
Otherwise, call some of the repair shops & ask them about it.
I'm sure it's very expensive.

Matt Pacini

[BolexPlusx]

I've disassembled lenses to clear off this stuff and learned in the process that there is a whole lot of stuff inside there and it's diffcult to get it back together the way it started. (obviously I'm not a camera technician.)

I have one camera that has a minor case of this and I decided to leave it alone (it isn't effecting the image). I try to use the camera frequently, since sunlight kills the fungus. Also with this and any of my cameras, when I get them cold I bring them inside sealed in plastic bags so there will be no condensation inside the camera. (moisture+darkness=fungus)

Since I've been doing this, the growth seems to have gotten no worse.

It also pays to cycle a zoom in and out after you have been operating a camera in a damp environment to pump out damp air inside the lense.

I'd never knowingly buy a camera with this problem. Even if you catch it early it's difficult to fix (and it's not truly fixed until ALL the fungus is gone from the entire lens assembly). If it progresses too far the lenses will be etched by the fungus and then they are worthless.

With the camera that I have with this problem I have to accept that even if everything else on it continues to chug, it has a problem that will likely kill it someday.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ June 27, 2003 06:30 PM: Message edited by: BolexPlusx ]</font>

[Carlos8]

Try with Cerium Oxide.

This product is ideal to clean and to polish lenses uses a wet piece of paper to clean lenses, put a bit of little cerium oxide and polish the lens smoothly. The fungi and spots tend to disappear.

Carlos.