Mold,Fungus, mildew in lens and Bodies

Own Canon 500 IS Ver1 and 600ISver1 and 300F4LIS and 100-400ver 1 lenses with fungus inside, or something... 
MPB unwilling to buy
Canon will NOT work on 500 or 600, but will work on 300 and 100-400 lenses.
Have 2 7D's, and Two 1 D mark two's that need fungus  removal..

Do not want to discard lenses, What DO I DO? WHERE DO I GO? 

What is the proper way to store Lenses for Months? 

THXS

Robert

KEH in Atlanta will likely be able to clean that up for you.
https://www.keh.com/shop/repair/

Here’s an article on storing equip:

https://www.beyondphototips.com/humidit ... tions/amp/

And Nikon’s advice:

https://www.nikonimgsupport.com/ni/NI_article?articleNo=000003377&configured=1&lang=en_US

Keep in mind that some funguses etch coatings and glass, rendering them unrepairable.

Joe

Hi,

I had two lenses develop fungus. I now use them as props. It wasn't worth the expense to get them fixed.

Have Fun,
Jeff

Its a well known myth that silica gel desiccants "dry up the oil" lubricating camera lenses. Silica gel ONLY absorbs water vapour.
Oily lubricants DO lose some of their lighter fractions as they age, depending on the quality off the oil, and some oxidise getting thicker in the process, but this is unavoidable and happens whether you use silica gel or not. Occasional servicing is the answer to thickening oil.

Humidity damage occurs most when there is CHANGE in the temperature. As the temperature drops water vapour condenses. This is most likely to happen at night as the temperature falls in the home. The best protection is to place your lenses in a "clip-seal" rubber gasketed plastic box with a couple of silica gel cartridges. The best types are the ones in plastic perforated box cartridges which can be periodically microwaved to renew them. (The metal canisters obviously can't be microwaved). An inexpensive electronic hygrometer ($5 on E-Bay) can be used to check conditions inside the box to tell you when renewal is needed.

The spidery "fungus" tracks etched on the magnesium fluoride AR coatings inside lenses I suspect may de due to localised hydration of the MgF2 rather than actual fungal hyphae, which should wipe off. As far as I know as a biologist, no fungus known has the ability to etch glass. The etched lenses I have microscopically examined show no traces of fungal hyphae, just localised "spalling" of the MgF2 layer possibly due to hydration damage. Hydrated salts occupy a "bigger molecular space" than anhydrous versions of the same salt, resulting in an efflorescence which might cause the spalling damage.

All lens manufacturers keep their coating trade secrets pretty well guarded, and it would not surprise me if there was some sort of protective waterproof barrier on top of the MgF2 AR coating of most lenses to stop hydration damage. A tiny break in this barrier could cause the hydration tracks to start and spread. Its fascinating stuff, and I might be wrong about the hydration theory, it really needs a mycologist in a university lab with culture facilities and access to an electron microscope to investigate what is really going on! Anybody out there with contacts?

John

kiwijohn wrote:Its a well known myth that silica gel desiccants "dry up the oil" lubricating camera lenses. Silica gel ONLY absorbs water vapour.
Oily lubricants DO lose some of their lighter fractions as they age, depending on the quality off the oil, and some oxidise getting thicker in the process, but this is unavoidable and happens whether you use silica gel or not. Occasional servicing is the answer to thickening oil.

Humidity damage occurs most when there is CHANGE in the temperature. As the temperature drops water vapour condenses. This is most likely to happen at night as the temperature falls in the home. The best protection is to place your lenses in a "clip-seal" rubber gasketed plastic box with a couple of silica gel cartridges. The best types are the ones in plastic perforated box cartridges which can be periodically microwaved to renew them. (The metal canisters obviously can't be microwaved). An inexpensive electronic hygrometer ($5 on E-Bay) can be used to check conditions inside the box to tell you when renewal is needed.

The spidery "fungus" tracks etched on the magnesium fluoride AR coatings inside lenses I suspect may de due to localised hydration of the MgF2 rather than actual fungal hyphae, which should wipe off. As far as I know as a biologist, no fungus known has the ability to etch glass. The etched lenses I have microscopically examined show no traces of fungal hyphae, just localised "spalling" of the MgF2 layer possibly due to hydration damage. Hydrated salts occupy a "bigger molecular space" than anhydrous versions of the same salt, resulting in an efflorescence which might cause the spalling damage.

All lens manufacturers keep their coating trade secrets pretty well guarded, and it would not surprise me if there was some sort of protective waterproof barrier on top of the MgF2 AR coating of most lenses to stop hydration damage. A tiny break in this barrier could cause the hydration tracks to start and spread. Its fascinating stuff, and I might be wrong about the hydration theory, it really needs a mycologist in a university lab with culture facilities and access to an electron microscope to investigate what is really going on! Anybody out there with contacts?

John

I don't know much about fungus properties and etching of glass,  only what I read like this:

http://www.truetex.com/lens_fungus.htm

Joe

Thanks Joe! The photomicrographs in your article are interesting in that they show linear branching crystalline etched tracks where the surface has been destroyed.
If you've ever tried to preserve big copper sulfate crystals they develop exactly similar hydration damage patterns due to interaction with water vapour in the air. The cure here is to varnish them to provide a waterproof barrier.
On the photos:
No sign of filamentous fungal hyphae
No sign of fungal spores either

As I say, I might be wrong...

What would be the clincher would be an attempt to subculture the alleged fungi in order to identify them, or look the lens surface more closely using an electron microscope.

John

Here’s some info from Zeiss:

https://www.zeiss.com/camera-lenses/us/service/content/fungus-on-lenses.html

And from Nikon:

https://www.nikonimgsupport.com/eu/BV_article?articleNo=000005459&configured=1&lang=en_GB

And this:

http://www.pickmycamera.net/fungal-infections-on-camera-lenses/

“Secretions” from certain funguses can etch glass. It’s not the fungus itself.

Joe

Robert Sabin wrote:
What is the proper way to store Lenses for Months? 

THXS

Robert

Hi Robert.  been there and suffered from it.  From experience, I lost a 300 2.8 and 500 F4 to the mould/fungus.   Killer is low temp/ high humidity.  (+60%).  learnt that lesson 6 years back so knowing from first hand experience. 


All you have read has some value.  Joe is on the money in my view. 

As to the comments about varnishing to provide waterproof barriers and looking more closely with microscopes.  not practical imv 

to answer your question, the basic rules are:

Use your kit every now and then.
if in a cold area use a dehumidifier in your room.  Cheap option and will suck out the extra moisture in the room.
Buy a dehumidifier cabinet.  

Thank You David...I decided to Keep my Canon Glass/200-400mm,600mm, in their cases closed with a BIG Silica Gel in each case..
I hope it is right????
It is interesting that Nikon says, according to the link, NOT to keep lens in case....Zeiss says"next to driers (e.g. silicagel orange packs) in the containers"

Canon CPs will Clean mold on the 300F4L, and the 100-400, Won't work on the 600 or 500...

Wonder if Lenscoat neoprene soft surface provides ideal envirornment for Fungus, especially if it gets damp?

Regards, Robert

Hi Robert. (I've been keen on the silica gel bags too and seems to be ok)..

Personally, I feel the Lenscoats don't really influence mould other than if they get wet and don't get dried, the moisture will have a longer period to assist with mould development. (Kiwijohn's knowledge may be more relevant and helpful there, but I think if you address the cause, rather than the effect it should be more useful).

To help, I bought a cheap thermometer that had a humidity gauge too.. The house I currently live in is more than pleasantly dry but in the colder and wetter months, I do sometimes use a de-humidifyer which can take 0.5L out of the room over a day. (some days not a drop)... Maybe our friends in ASIA can provide some insight as there are significant land masses there with high humidity levels.