Cleaning fungus

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GordonM

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I’ve sent a Canon EF 100-400mm II to MPB to sell. Initially I rated it as ‘Excellent’ as apart from a couple of external marks and a small amount of dust inside it looked good to me. They quoted £1,280, however since it arrived they’ve announced since it has “a small amount of fungus present within the optics we would look to purchase this item within our ‘Heavily Used’ price range and have dropped it to £675!
I can’t believe it will cost £600 to have it cleaned, my question is does anyone have experience of cleaning fungus and if so what sort of figure am I likely to be paying? Needless to say it’s coming back to me!
 
GordonM said:
I can’t believe it will cost £600 to have it cleaned,
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It probably won't get cleaned, they sell lenses with fungus it seems!

www.talkphotography.co.uk

Another lens issue

It’s becoming increasingly frustrating ordering equipment from MPB. Yesterday, I received a lens that was in ‘well used’ condition - however it looks like it has fungus in the lens! It was an ok price - but we can all agree that fungus in a lens is a deal breaker:( Photos attached
www.talkphotography.co.uk www.talkphotography.co.uk

When you get it back really check if it is fungus.
 
I have not used the canon service center. However, I had a nikon pro series zoom lens that had fungus / moisture inside the glass. Nikon cleaned the optics and replaced the swm for about 150.

That’s a lovely lens you’ve got - I’d be inclined to send it to canon for a quote.

When I sent a lens to Wex that they said it had fungus, they offered to send it to fixation and deduct the cost from the trade in offer. Fair enough I thought .... but then I realized, hang on.... you’re quoting me for a well used lens, then deducting the cost of a service / repair !?
That cleaning service should not cost 600!
 
I had a similar problem with mpb earlier this year when they rejected a camera I had bought from them 9 months previously and literally only used twice . Rejected due to a unremoveable sensor mark . I have a gut feeling the mark was there when purchased .
But how many of us have the skill or knowledge to check every used item we buy .I think these days the company buyers are little more than tire kickers akin to used car dealers where your item is rubbish but the one there selling is always mint
 
Fungus isn't always easy to clean - as it can attack the lens element coatings - but will depend on where it is, and how bad it is as to whether it's something to worry about at this stage. If it was present in this lens - I'd go check all the others :)
 
woof woof said:
I had a couple of bad experiences with them and now wouldn't consider using them in any circumstance.
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Sorry to hear that, but Canon still trust them to carry out their warranty repairs and that was the main reason I suggested getting a quote from them.
 
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I had the same problem with MPB. A lens I’d bought from them in mint condition was, 6 months later, when I tried to sell it back, was refused as it had fungus. I keep my kit in a dry box when not in use and carefully monitor the humidity, so I’m fairly confident that it was present when I bought the lens. Lesson learned and I don’t use them any more.
 
Peter B said:
Sorry to hear that, but Canon still trust them to carry out their warranty repairs and that was the main reason I suggested getting a quote from them.
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If it's a warranty repair the owner may have no choice but if paying for a repair I'd use someone else. Anyone else.
 
cymruchris said:
Fungus isn't always easy to clean - as it can attack the lens element coatings - but will depend on where it is, and how bad it is as to whether it's something to worry about at this stage. If it was present in this lens - I'd go check all the others :)
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+1 couldn't agree more, if that's been sat in closed area/bag with other kit I would have a good look at everything!

Hope the fungus isn't too bad, It can be cleaned but hopefully it hasn't got to the stage where its in the coating, if so even when cleaned will leave root spots.
 
I'd probably list it on Ebay - pointing out the fungus - but stating it has no effect on image quality - you'll get more than they offered - but not as much as you were originally offered by MPB. I recently sold a lens on ebay with heavy fungus around the barrel - but the glass elements were clear - it achieved about 85 percent of the price a 'non-fungus' lens would have sold for.
 
Update. After procrastinating for an age I’ve decided to get an R6, so I’ve decided with its high iso performance I’ll keep the 100-400, I’ll get it cleaned. With a 2x extender it will be an 800mm f11, just slightly heavier than the RF 800mm!
As for checking all the other lenses, they’ve all gone to MPB, who agreed they were clean.
 
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