Fungus inside Lens -repair or replace ?

Hertsman

Hertsman

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i have an aging Nikkor 70-300 that I still like and use regularly .

At some point it's got damp and now has fungus on the inside of the
Front lens and probably elsewhere too.

Given that it's not the dearest glass in the world,
Would you repair or replace?


If repair who would you recommend ?
 
Probably un-economic to repair or so I believe.
Matt
 
I've cleaned a fair few old manual lenses of fungus using alcohol and strong UV light, but they were reasonably straightforward to take apart and reassemble plus they had a sell on premium to consider/ make it worthwhile. A modern lens which is easily replaced I wouldn't bother with personally.

Jack
 
In my experience (with manual focus lenses) it can be easy to remove (and re-seat) a front or a rear element - it's only when you start delving deeper into a lens that it gets complicated. Then if that makes the mould accessible you can clean it with alcohol (even meths). From the way that you described the lens in question, what have you got to lose? If this works, bear in mind that in time the mould may well reappear, but you'll have bought yourself a breathing space maybe of a few years.

It's not always neccesary to have specialised lens tools for the above operations - they can often be improvised.
 
Try the film forum as well, I am sure I saw a report there a while back about someone getting a really economical fungus clean from a small independent repairer.
 
I would try to sell it disclosing the condition and replace it. This is likely to be the most economical route.

If you do want to try getting it cleaned you can try contacting Miles Whitehead for a quote: http://www.mwcamerarepairs.co.uk/

I have bought a number of OM lenses on eBay some of which had fungus in them and I have always returned them as getting them cleaned is not worth the hassle or the risk IMO. Plus the fungus might have "etched" some of the elements, which you will only find out when you are cleaning them: http://www.truetex.com/lens_fungus.htm
 
I know ebay dealers who sell fungus lenses and advertise them as having perfect image quality still.

If image quality is unaffected then keep it to use or sell it as is before it gets worse.

Repair of fungus might not even work for long because the stuff is a swine for coming back from the dead.
 
The fungus might also be between bonded groups/elements, in which case, it can't be cleaned, and you'll have probably paid postage to the repairer to find this out. Have a good think and perhaps weigh up how much it would cost to replace the lens with a new/mint used equivalent from a reputable dealer with a good warranty?
 
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