Im an idiot! Lens fungus

L33wgn

L33wgn

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Lee
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So I bought a lens off eBay before reading up about what fungus on the lens actually means!
In the advert it says it very small and doesn't effect picture quality. So my question is how much is it likely to cost to have it cleaned/ treated with ultra violet light?!? And where should I get it done.
 
If they say it's not effecting IQ then just leave it. I would imagine repairing will go into the hundreds. Sounds like an old lens you know it won't autofocus on your camera right?
 
Yeah it's a 55-300 with af which is auto focus right?
 
Oh right, not very old then, it doesn't sound very looked after if its got fungus in it already.
 
UV treatment of the most basic kind is free! just leave the lens in full sunlight (making sure that it doesn't focus the sun into a burning dot, as used by evil schoolboys to sizzle ants). If that doesn't cure it, it'll probably have to go to a specialist repairer which ain't going to be cheap.
 
Not cheap at all, it depends on the types/amount of elements inside, if two glass elements are sandwiched together and the fungus gets in between then theres no chance as it'l cost more than the lens is worth.
If the fungus is on the outside surfaces of the glass then it can be treated with cold cream/anti fungal cream, but that involves stripping down the entire lens, treating and cleaning and reassembly, worth it for a lens costing afew thousand but not afew hundred, been there done that.

Also thats hoping the fungus hasnt etched the glass, if it has then polishing will alter the optican characteristics and may remove any special coatings.
 
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Also, and dont quote me on this, but I did once read that you should store a lens with fungus separately from other lenses to ensure it doesn't get into unaffected lenses... now whilst I can see a logic in this, if thinking about fungal spores,etc... i have no idea whether this is good practice or not, or only applied when kit it stored for lengths of time, or whatever. Thought it worth mentioning though as someone might be able to shed more technical light on it.
 
Thanks everyone I felt like a tool when I read up on it as it was one of those eBay auctions I caught with 5 minutes left and just bid!! Hopefully the sunlight will do the trick if not I'm not that far out of pocket luckily :s
 
L33wgn said:
Thanks everyone I felt like a tool when I read up on it as it was one of those eBay auctions I caught with 5 minutes left and just bid!! Hopefully the sunlight will do the trick if not I'm not that far out of pocket luckily :s
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Let's hope that we get plenty more sunshine in the immediate future. I'm only thinking about your lens here.
 
well the lens arrived today and the fungus so to speak is just a tiny bit in the corner! what is troubling me is that it doesnt auto focus but i suppose thats just me not knowing enough about lenses yet as i thought af stood for auto focus :bang:
the real issue is that the pictues appear foggy only done a few test shoots but they all appear this way ( picture one ) compared to my stock lens ( picture 2 )

does anyone know what might be causing this, thank you in advance lee.

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AF lenses will not autofocus on the D3100, it will be manual focus only and there may be metering issues - for autofocus you need AF-S lenses.
 
Lee, have a look at the mount end of your lens, if it has what looks like a flat head screw in it, I'm guesing that you have an older screw driven AF lens which is indeed auto-focus but Nikon in their infinite wisdom decided to drop the in body focus motor on lower end bodies and put motors in the lenses of their newer AF-S lenses - surely nothing to do with extra profits? The picture below shows you what the screw looks like and where it will be in relation to the index mark (red dot) at the top of the lens.

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I did once read that you should store a lens with fungus separately from other lenses to ensure it doesn't get into unaffected lenses
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Can't give you the technical reasons why, but that statement is true so best kstore away from any other lenses
 
assuming you are not having a bit of a pea-souper in bristol, and it isnt absolutely hissing down with rain, that image is VERY foggy & odd.

Do some more test shots in good light, lets have a look at them, and yes you will have to manually focus, at least until such a time as you decide to upgrade the body to one with an AF motor built in - although I have a horrible feeling that lens might be going straight back to who you bought if off unless the fogging issue can be resolved.
 
Was the sun shining directly on the front element of the lens you were using? The bit of wall/window is showing no strong shadows but seems reasonably lit, so it's a fair assumption that the sun was the far side of the house and could possibly have been falling onto the shooting position. IF it was hitting the lens, the fogginess could be a pretty horrendous case of flare, probablt exacerbated by either a dirty front element or filter or the fungus. Were you using a lens hood? Unless the lens was described as having fungus by the seller, I would return it to the seller as not as described.

As others have said, store it away from other lenses you may have, ideally in full sunlight, in a sealed plastic bag, with a few Silica Gel sachets in the bag.
 
That first picture is very foggy, more than a tiny patch of fungus would cause. The best way to see fungus is to hold the lens up to a strong light source (a table lamp with a plain shade is good - an unshaded light bulb is too bright I find) and look through with the aperture wide open. I use a magnifying glass. Also change the focus and zoom so the different lens elements move and come into focus. There is possibly more fungus or hazing going on here and you need to check the surface of each element.
 
Surely the haze (or saturation from over-exposure) is far to complete and uniform to be caused by a small area of fungus?
 
i knew of the fungus but he did say that the picture taking was not affected in anyway ive tried a few different pictures and all come out hazed with a lens hood and also a hoya filter attached / unattached, also im having trouble getting it to focus at all when its on 70mm ??

again thanks for all the help

edit a few more examples

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im just having a guess here but could they have had a go at cleaning it ? hence the haze? or could it be oil, i would return it as not as described i have seen photos taken with a fungus lens thats not fungus thats oil or some sort of cleaning fluid thats been used on it
 
Nod said:
Lee, have a look at the mount end of your lens, if it has what looks like a flat head screw in it, I'm guesing that you have an older screw driven AF lens which is indeed auto-focus but Nikon in their infinite wisdom decided to drop the in body focus motor on lower end bodies and put motors in the lenses of their newer AF-S lenses - surely nothing to do with extra profits? The picture below shows you what the screw looks like and where it will be in relation to the index mark (red dot) at the top of the lens.

3638457247_9ebb703d36.jpg
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yep thats the one, could this be why im getting the hazey images?
 
hoochy1 said:
im just having a guess here but could they have had a go at cleaning it ? hence the haze? or could it be oil, i would return it as not as described i have seen photos taken with a fungus lens thats not fungus thats oil or some sort of cleaning fluid thats been used on it
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it did say in his add he had tried to clean the fungus thanks for the help ive messaged the seller on ebay now so i will see what he comes back with:)
 
It will account for images being out of focus, but not hazy.

What happens when you take the lens off, open the aperture and look down the lens - does it look hazy?

edit: is the fungus on the outside or somewhere inside the lens? if they've taken it apart to try and clean, well that could be the end of it.
 
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the fungus is on the inside when i look down the lens on full zoom it looks like theres a film or spiders web if you like going all over the lens
 
If it doesn't work just open a dispute on ebay and get your money back
My son just got stitched on ebay with a run flat tyre from a tyre company, that had been as labeled, run flat lol and repaired which imo is seriously dangerous
They have sent a courier to collect it and I await my money back from ebay and paypal
 
L33wgn said:
yep thats the one, could this be why im getting the hazey images?
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No, it's why the lens doesn't autofocus on your body! You need AF-S (from Nikon) or HSM (from Sigma) lenses. Not sure how other companies designate in lens motored lenses - if buying new, make sure you tell the retailer what body you're using and they should be able to tell you if the lens is suitable.
 
I can't believe someone would have the cheek to flog this lens in that state.
 
Yeah I shouldn't see there being a problem he's got 100 % positive feedback on over 4000 items sold so should be able to sort it out if not PayPal should, I've bought a new one from digital rev now so that should save on hassle
 
L33wgn said:
the fungus is on the inside when i look down the lens on full zoom it looks like theres a film or spiders web if you like going all over the lens
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That spider web is fungus as well, not just the little patch in one corner he mentioned. The most common appearance of fungus on lens is the frost-like structure you mentioned (at least in my experience). It is a reason enough to ask for refund - the item does not fit the description.
Cleaning it would be very difficult - zoom lenses are a pain to take apart.
 
nikontos said:
That spider web is fungus as well, not just the little patch in one corner he mentioned. The most common appearance of fungus on lens is the frost-like structure you mentioned (at least in my experience). It is a reason enough to ask for refund - the item does not fit the description.
Cleaning it would be very difficult - zoom lenses are a pain to take apart.
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from what I read on the net fungus often eats into the lens coating
 
In light cases I believe! Fungus is also able to eat into the glass itself.
 
If fungus can get in isn't there a possibility that condensation has as well causing the foggy images? You never know he may have attempted to clean it by trying to take the lens to pieces. Hopefully you'll get your money back and you can put it down to experience. Good luck!
 
Well I sent it back Friday and was refunded on Saturday! Not only that I was sent a further £8 to cover the postage today and an apology! The guy was a gent as it turns out.
I also had my brand new lens show up from digital rev today after only ordering on Friday so it's a good day :)
 
L33wgn said:
Well I sent it back Friday and was refunded on Saturday! Not only that I was sent a further £8 to cover the postage today and an apology! The guy was a gent as it turns out.
I also had my brand new lens show up from digital rev today after only ordering on Friday so it's a good day :)
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Nice one :)
 
How long should you expose the lens to daylight for?

I've been taking the UV filter off every 2 weeks or so and exposing the lenses, indirectly, to sunlight for about a minute.
 
I'm really new at this but I would be straight on to the seller after taking two shots one with this lens and an identical shot with stock lens.
 
Maybe it was one of those lenses used to take pictures of film stars in the 60's, instead of putting lace or Vaseline over the lens you get one of them auto-fogging lenses :LOL:

In all seriousness though, it could have been condensation or a combination of things, either way, glad you got sorted, it's annoying when these kind of things happen :)
 
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