Fungus inside lenses

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DanielleNeedham

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Danielle
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Recently discovered fungus inside my lenses. I don’t even know where to begin. Can anyone recommend how to treat it? Where to take it to get fixed? Prices? Thank you in advance
 
What sort of lens is it Danielle?
 
Primes can possibly be cleaned. Not so sure about zooms though. That's not to say they can't be, just that it may be a little more complicated. I know some people won't look at them. But you have to bear in mind that once they have fungus it may mark the lens permanently, even if they have been cleaned. Sorry to sound like a party pooper, but maybe you should look at the way you store them as well.
 
DanielleNeedham said:
It’s in all of my lenses but my main concern is in the Tamron 150-600mm g2
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Sounds like bad storage if they all have them fungus or you have bought something that has contamined the lot, I would seperate everything find out whats what. You want to get intouch with someone like 1st Aid Repairs etc to get them cleaned, hopefully its not too late to fully clean them.
 
Joeturner11 said:
Sounds like bad storage if they all have them fungus or you have bought something that has contamined the lot, I would seperate everything find out whats what. You want to get intouch with someone like 1st Aid Repairs etc to get them cleaned, hopefully its not too late to fully clean them.
Joeturner11 said:
Sounds like bad storage if they all have them fungus or you have bought something that has contamined the lot, I would seperate everything find out whats what. You want to get intouch with someone like 1st Aid Repairs etc to get them cleaned, hopefully its not too late to fully clean them.
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I keep them in my room and my room gets quite damp. So that’s all I can think of for them all to have it. Thank you for the recommendation
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@DanielleNeedham wrote:
I keep them in my room and my room gets quite damp. So that’s all I can think of for them all to have it.

This is shutting the stable door. However, a room potentially can be made drier by ventilation or heating and there are very effective dehumidifiers available nowadays. I realise this may not be possible or too costly.

Fungal spores get everywhere and they will be in the camera body too so maybe store body and lenses separately as @eoSimon wrote.

You could store the lenses with silica gel sachets (available on Amazon or ebay) in airtight boxes. That won’t cure the fungus but may stop it getting worse or spreading.

Hopefully someone with more experience of this will chime in.
 
Dael_Pix said:
Silica gel is worth having with the gear(y)
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Only for so long. They need replacing regularly otherwise they add to the damp once they're 'full'

I had a similar thing happen to my 70-200mm F/4 IS that ended up full of it because it was closest to the silica gel packet. Was absolutely gutted but it was my own fault leaving it in a room that's known to get damp, under a bed and against an outside wall. I was fortunate that I caught it in time that it didn't effect the other equipment that was in the same bag.
 
2Thumbs said:
Only for so long. They need replacing regularly otherwise they add to the damp once they're 'full'

I had a similar thing happen to my 70-200mm F/4 IS that ended up full of it because it was closest to the silica gel packet. Was absolutely gutted but it was my own fault leaving it in a room that's known to get damp, under a bed and against an outside wall. I was fortunate that I caught it in time that it didn't effect the other equipment that was in the same bag.
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Thank you, I’ll make sure to change them regularly!
 
DanielleNeedham said:
Thank you, I’ll make sure to change them regularly!
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You don’t need to discard them though, you heat them up until the water is driven off and then re-use them. So the convenient way is to have two ‘sets’.
 
sphexx said:
@DanielleNeedham wrote:
I keep them in my room and my room gets quite damp. So that’s all I can think of for them all to have it.

This is shutting the stable door. However, a room potentially can be made drier by ventilation or heating and there are very effective dehumidifiers available nowadays. I realise this may not be possible or too costly.

Fungal spores get everywhere and they will be in the camera body too so maybe store body and lenses separately as @eoSimon wrote.

You could store the lenses with silica gel sachets (available on Amazon or ebay) in airtight boxes. That won’t cure the fungus but may stop it getting worse or spreading.

Hopefully someone with more experience of this will chime in.
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Thank you for your help!
 
Firstly you should look into killing the fungus that is in your lenses so they do not continue to grow.
A good dose of sunlight for a few days should take care of it. If not I think you can buy UV lights that also kill fungus.

As for getting them cleaned it should be possible as long as long the fungus hasn't etched its way into the glass or coating.
I have cleaned a couple lenses myself in the past.
I was going to suggest contacting Fixation but recently they don't seem to have good reviews. you can also try contacting Sendean Cameras.
There is also "the classic camera" and there's few folks up north who also service lens. If you use the search function on the forum you can probably find a few more.

I am pretty sure fungus doesn't spread from one lens to another, its not the plague.
As for spores, there are fungus spores all around us all the time. nothing you can do about that. you just need to stop making your room and especially your lenses, nice and cozy environment to settle down and grow.
 
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nandbytes said:
Firstly you should look into killing the fungus that is in your lenses so they do not continue to grow.
A good dose of sunlight for a few days should take care of it. If not I think you can buy UV lights that also kill fungus.

As for getting them cleaned it should be possible as long as long the fungus hasn't etched its way into the glass or coating.
I have cleaned a couple lenses myself in the past.
I was going to suggest contacting Fixation but recently they don't seem to have good reviews. you can also try contacting Sendean Cameras.
There is also "the classic camera" and there's few folks up north who also service lens. If you use the search function on the forum you can probably find a few more.

I am pretty sure fungus doesn't spread from one lens to another, its not the plague.
As for spores, there are fungus spores all around us all the time. nothing you can do about that. you just need to stop making your room and especially your lenses, nice and cozy environment to settle down and grow.
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Thank you!
 
2Thumbs said:
Only for so long. They need replacing regularly otherwise they add to the damp once they're 'full'
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You can recycle their effectiveness in a low oven. Some crystals are even colour coded.
nandbytes said:
As for spores, there are fungus spores all around us all the time.
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Absolutely - and they germinate on many surfaces, though we don't usually notice unless those surfaces are shiny or transparent - like glass!

In short, they just need a substrate. In a lens, we see mould on the glass elements but there is no reason why it should be confined to those and I'd assume that if present it's on other surfaces too. Along with the mirror box / sensor chamber of the camera.

I can't comment on treatment though I've heard of exposure to uv, however this is unlikely to reach all internal surfaces, & won't remove the growth to date. I'd get advice from a lens service professional ...

And you have my sympathy!
 
droj said:
You can recycle their effectiveness in a low oven. Some crystals are even colour coded.

Absolutely - and they germinate on many surfaces, though we don't usually notice unless those surfaces are shiny or transparent - like glass!

In short, they just need a substrate. In a lens, we see mould on the glass elements but there is no reason why it should be confined to those and I'd assume that if present it's on other surfaces too. Along with the mirror box / sensor chamber of the camera.

I can't comment on treatment though I've heard of exposure to uv, however this is unlikely to reach all internal surfaces, & won't remove the growth to date. I'd get advice from a lens service professional ...

And you have my sympathy!
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Thank you!
 
DanielleNeedham said:
Recently discovered fungus inside my lenses. I don’t even know where to begin. Can anyone recommend how to treat it? Where to take it to get fixed? Prices? Thank you in advance
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Anyone know of any lens cleaning services in and around Doncaster? How much they charge? And would I need my camera looking at too?
 
Think you're going to have to post them somewhere, so in a way it won't matter where the firm is. But there's a Fixation in Leeds. Lehmann in Stoke on Trent. Newton Ellis in L'pool (but they can be expensive). I'd talk to them about the problem & get estimates before sending anything off - the best advice will be from the horses mouth!
 
2Thumbs said:
Only for so long. They need replacing regularly otherwise they add to the damp once they're 'full'

I had a similar thing happen to my 70-200mm F/4 IS that ended up full of it because it was closest to the silica gel packet. Was absolutely gutted but it was my own fault leaving it in a room that's known to get damp, under a bed and against an outside wall. I was fortunate that I caught it in time that it didn't effect the other equipment that was in the same bag.
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You can re-energise them if you put them in the oven. Can't remember how long though (my father knows).
 
Dael_Pix said:
You can re-energise them if you put them in the oven. Can't remember how long though (my father knows).
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They often come with instructions.
 
Dael_Pix said:
You can re-energise them if you put them in the oven. Can't remember how long though (my father knows).
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I have a couple you plug in overnight to recharge then they will last at least a month but that's in a sealed box with the camera gear.
In a room or unsealed cupboard the dehumidifying effect will be very limited I have done some checking with temp/humidity sensor.
 
4wd said:
I have a couple you plug in overnight to recharge then they will last at least a month but that's in a sealed box with the camera gear.
In a room or unsealed cupboard the dehumidifying effect will be very limited I have done some checking with temp/humidity sensor.
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Largely a waste of time if they are not in a sealed box of some kind.

A dehumidifyer of the chemical sort will dry out a room but again fairly ineffective if there is a lot of ventilation — I have 2 of them by chance but not necessity and use them to dry laundry when the weather is inclement for which they work very well.
 
I've been a bit paranoid about fungus when my first dSLR a 300D actually got it on the sensor.
This is in an old farmhouse which can be rather damp. It is worst in summer with no heat on for weeks.
I now have a proper dry cabinet it is about full though.
Keeps them at about 35%
 
4wd said:
I've been a bit paranoid about fungus when my first dSLR a 300D actually got it on the sensor.
This is in an old farmhouse which can be rather damp. It is worst in summer with no heat on for weeks.
I now have a proper dry cabinet it is about full though.
Keeps them at about 35
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How did you fix it?
 
I've taken apart a few old lenses to clean fungus and it's really simple to do if it's on the front elements, which it probably is.

I usually start by killing the fungus with UVC in an enclosed box then open up the front, spray 70-80% isopropyl alcohol and remove all the crap. Every time I wipe it over I use a fresh piece of cloth as spores can get everywhere. Sometimes I'll treat it with UVC again once I'm finished. You can also spray it over with isopropyl alcohol again just to make sure you kill off any spores.

If you can't remove the staining on the glass you can pop a little hydrogen peroxide solution on there and it should eat away any organic matter. Just note that fungus leaves a byproduct called hydrofluoric acid which can etch into the glass and cause permanent damage.

Grab some silica gel off Amazon and scatter them in your bag and/or lenses cases and it should help to stop it in future.
 
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