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#1
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How To Avoid Lens Fungus?
I am about to bin a 45mm Mamiya 645 lens because of fungal growth on the
lens elements. If I use it at any aperture smaller than 5.6 the effect of the ugly fungus becomes obvious. It seems to me that it has gone beyond repair. How best to avoid such a nasty occurrence with my other lenses? I live in a damp climate (Ireland). Silica Gel is one option I suppose. Another is exposing the lenses to bright sunshine for hours on end. Are there other options? Is it worthwhile constructing an ultra-violet light cabinet in which to keep the lenses? Any advice would be much appreciated. John |
#2
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How To Avoid Lens Fungus?
see http://medfmt.8k.com/mf/fungus.html hth bobm -- ************************************************** ********************* * Robert Monaghan POB 752182 Southern Methodist Univ. Dallas Tx 75275 * ********************Standard Disclaimers Apply************************* |
#3
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How To Avoid Lens Fungus?
Carrigman wrote:
I am about to bin a 45mm Mamiya 645 lens because of fungal growth on the lens elements. If I use it at any aperture smaller than 5.6 the effect of the ugly fungus becomes obvious. It seems to me that it has gone beyond repair. How best to avoid such a nasty occurrence with my other lenses? I live in a damp climate (Ireland). Silica Gel is one option I suppose. Another is exposing the lenses to bright sunshine for hours on end. Are there other options? Is it worthwhile constructing an ultra-violet light cabinet in which to keep the lenses? Any advice would be much appreciated. John How about a cabinet with a household dehumidifier inside? You can then control the storage conditions of your equipment. Down side? Cost of the electricity. But in a small enclosed space..... Jon |
#4
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How To Avoid Lens Fungus?
"Carrigman" carrigman@DEATHTO SPAMMERShotmail.com wrote in message ...
I am about to bin a 45mm Mamiya 645 lens because of fungal growth on the lens elements. If I use it at any aperture smaller than 5.6 the effect of the ugly fungus becomes obvious. It seems to me that it has gone beyond repair. How best to avoid such a nasty occurrence with my other lenses? I live in a damp climate (Ireland). Silica Gel is one option I suppose. Another is exposing the lenses to bright sunshine for hours on end. Are there other options? Is it worthwhile constructing an ultra-violet light cabinet in which to keep the lenses? Any advice would be much appreciated. John john: out here in the tropics we buy electric dryboxes which come in 30litre, 60, 120, 200 and up to 500litre capacity boxes. They have a built-in electric drying unit which controls the humidity between 40-70% (your choice)... lenses thrive at about 55%. They're not expensive... about US$100 for the smallest... and enough for lenses. I don't know if you can get them in ireland. There are also "room drying" units which you can use to keep a room fairly dry... but these units require you to clear the water-tray once a day or so. fungus... any competent tech. should be able to clean it... and if the fungus is not too bad, get it done... because fungus GROWS. If its been on too long, it will also scar the coating. Contrary to what is commonly believed in drier climates... while fungus is a problem, adequate cleaning is enough ... it isn't like a virus which recurs easily and infects everything in-sight once it is properly cleaned. |
#5
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How To Avoid Lens Fungus?
"Carrigman" carrigman@DEATHTO SPAMMERShotmail.com wrote in message ...
I am about to bin a 45mm Mamiya 645 lens because of fungal growth on the lens elements. If I use it at any aperture smaller than 5.6 the effect of the ugly fungus becomes obvious. It seems to me that it has gone beyond repair. How best to avoid such a nasty occurrence with my other lenses? I live in a damp climate (Ireland). Where did you store the lens? In the attic? In your garage? I would have thought that if you kept it in the cupboard in a bedroom or living room then you would not have a problem. Unless it is also damp in there, of couse. Silica Gel is one option I suppose. Another is exposing the lenses to bright sunshine for hours on end. Make sure the silica gel is not already saturated (I don't know how to "refresh" it) and keep the lens in a sealed bag with silica gel inside. Are there other options? Is it worthwhile constructing an ultra-violet light cabinet in which to keep the lenses? Any advice would be much appreciated. John |
#7
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How To Avoid Lens Fungus?
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#8
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How To Avoid Lens Fungus?
yes, but the costs of constant heating add up, and add to air conditioning loads and so on too. Zip loc baggies with lens/camera and silica gel packets are also more portable ;-) The silica gel is a few dollars a pound when you buy cat litter drying crystals (which are silica gel with a blue cobalt indicator, these crystals are larger, easier to handle, less dust). A coffee filter plus rubber band and you are in business. The under-the-bed clear plastic storage cases are also handy, often tight sealing, and you can put a few silica gel packets in there to keep them dry too. I'd use both techniques if I was someplace very humid all the time, but for non-tropical areas the silica gel seems to be enough, and if the indicator shows it is exhausted, all you need to do is put it in an oven at 200 degrees F. for a few hours and reuse. So long term running costs are very low... hth bobm -- ************************************************** ********************* * Robert Monaghan POB 752182 Southern Methodist Univ. Dallas Tx 75275 * ********************Standard Disclaimers Apply************************* |
#9
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How To Avoid Lens Fungus?
You can buy silicon dessicant (sp) at wholesale quantities and prices on
this website. http://www.desiccare.com/unitpak.htm "Carrigman" carrigman@DEATHTO SPAMMERShotmail.com wrote in message ... I am about to bin a 45mm Mamiya 645 lens because of fungal growth on the lens elements. If I use it at any aperture smaller than 5.6 the effect of the ugly fungus becomes obvious. It seems to me that it has gone beyond repair. How best to avoid such a nasty occurrence with my other lenses? I live in a damp climate (Ireland). Silica Gel is one option I suppose. Another is exposing the lenses to bright sunshine for hours on end. Are there other options? Is it worthwhile constructing an ultra-violet light cabinet in which to keep the lenses? Any advice would be much appreciated. John |
#10
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How To Avoid Lens Fungus?
You can buy silicon dessicant (sp) at wholesale quantities and prices on
this website. http://www.desiccare.com/unitpak.htm "Carrigman" carrigman@DEATHTO SPAMMERShotmail.com wrote in message ... I am about to bin a 45mm Mamiya 645 lens because of fungal growth on the lens elements. If I use it at any aperture smaller than 5.6 the effect of the ugly fungus becomes obvious. It seems to me that it has gone beyond repair. How best to avoid such a nasty occurrence with my other lenses? I live in a damp climate (Ireland). Silica Gel is one option I suppose. Another is exposing the lenses to bright sunshine for hours on end. Are there other options? Is it worthwhile constructing an ultra-violet light cabinet in which to keep the lenses? Any advice would be much appreciated. John |
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