Lens mould

[TW25]

I decided to get my Minolta Dynax 700 si out, and get back into film again, only to find to my horror, the front element of my 24-105mm lens has got mould all over the inside, any ideas how to get it cleaned, or is it scrap?.

 

[excalibur2]

I decided to get my Minolta Dynax 700 si out, and get back into film again, only to find to my horror, the front element of my 24-105mm lens has got mould all over the inside, any ideas how to get it cleaned, or is it scrap?.

First take some shots and if they are sharp, good contrast etc then ignore it, Keep your camera in a dry ventilated place and the fungus wont get worse and could eventually die. Usually undoing the front dust cover exposes the slots to unscrew the front element out (a zoom can be more difficult).....then it's easy to clean......if you are lucky the fungus will not have etched the glass.
BTW in case you are worried about the fungus spreading, well the spores are everywhere anyway even up your nose , all you have to do is prevent the conditions for them to thrive/live and of course that means any sort of water (that's why somewhere dry and ventilated is needed).

 

[TW25]

Thanks for your advice Brian, I'll try some pics first, and see where to go from there.

 

[Threeracers]

I bought a Minolta MD 200 2.8 from ebay a couple of months ago and when it arrived it was so full of fungus I wasnt sure if I should wipe the lens or just comb....

I sent it to Dave at Camera Repair Workshop and for about £40 he stripped and cleaned it for me. Not sure if I am allowed to post a link but as I have no connection (other than being a satisfied customer) I hope this doesnt offend the mods; http://www.camerarepairworkshop.co.uk/

Hope that helps

regards

Mark

 

[Andysnap]

when it arrived it was so full of fungus I wasnt sure if I should wipe the lens or just comb....

Welcome aboard Mark, we need more funny guys in here. I'm having to hold the fort on my own.....

Andy

 

[excalibur2]

I bought a Minolta MD 200 2.8 from ebay a couple of months ago and when it arrived it was so full of fungus I wasnt sure if I should wipe the lens or just comb....

I sent it to Dave at Camera Repair Workshop and for about £40 he stripped and cleaned it for me. Not sure if I am allowed to post a link but as I have no connection (other than being a satisfied customer) I hope this doesnt offend the mods; http://www.camerarepairworkshop.co.uk/

Hope that helps

regards

Mark

I suppose you didn't take any shots before and after cleaning ?

 

[Threeracers]

Thanks Andy!

I did Brian but only two on the end of a film from before and neither were great. I don't know if it was operator error as one had almost a back focusing issue and its difficult to blame that one the equipment when it's manual focus!

Luckily the cleaning was excellent, no etching on the coatings and I have a minty lens back.

Just need to sort the operator error out now .....

regards

Mark

 

[excalibur2]

Thanks Andy!

I did Brian but only two on the end of a film from before and neither were great. I don't know if it was operator error as one had almost a back focusing issue and its difficult to blame that one the equipment when it's manual focus!

Luckily the cleaning was excellent, no etching on the coatings and I have a minty lens back.

Just need to sort the operator error out now .....

regards

Mark

Ah! Usually the only difference between a lens with mild fungus and without is usually a slight loss in contrast. But if the fungus is around the edges of the lens and as most people stop their lenses down, I would doubt whether it made any difference in practice.