Could this be fungus ?

[Rudyfilm]

Hi all,

im new to photography, need help to assure whether my lens has fungus. its an old film camera and lens i bought recently. i notice it has marks inside the elements around the corner, im afraid they are fungus. i assume they are just cleaning marks and i hope so. Since I store it in a drying cabinet with new DSLR and other clean lenses, im afraid it could affect later on. thanks.

 

[greybeard]

That is what it looks like.
lens fungus - Google Search:

 

[loonatic45414]

Fungus will make geometric patterns, but not always. The orange looking stain could be brass bearings inside wearing & causing a light powder stain.

Depending on the brand of the lens, it's historical value or significance, it may or may not be worth having cleaned. You can see what comparable ones sell for on eBay.

If it is fungus, it shouldn't really affect shooting being on the outer edge. I wouldn't worry about it spreading to other lenses, but just in case, get some silica gel sachets & store the lens in a ziplock bag. A good alternative is heating dry rice grains, let them cool & put that in the ziplock bag. Rice sucks moisture from the air very well. Air doesn't travel in & out of lenses quickly but over time you'll dry the air within the lens & prevent any spreading.

Post a better picture of the overall lens & we can tell you whether we'd put money into it or not. I know more about vintage manual focus lenses made of metal, but someone could help regarding newer plastic digital camera lenses.

Sent from my 0PJA2 using Tapatalk

 

[Rudyfilm]

That is what it looks like.
lens fungus - Google Search:

Thanks for the info

 

[480sparky]

Looks more like delaminating coatings to me.

 

[Rudyfilm]

Fungus will make geometric patterns, but not always. The orange looking stain could be brass bearings inside wearing & causing a light powder stain.

Depending on the brand of the lens, it's historical value or significance, it may or may not be worth having cleaned. You can see what comparable ones sell for on eBay.

If it is fungus, it shouldn't really affect shooting being on the outer edge. I wouldn't worry about it spreading to other lenses, but just in case, get some silica gel sachets & store the lens in a ziplock bag. A good alternative is heating dry rice grains, let them cool & put that in the ziplock bag. Rice sucks moisture from the air very well. Air doesn't travel in & out of lenses quickly but over time you'll dry the air within the lens & prevent any spreading.

Post a better picture of the overall lens & we can tell you whether we'd put money into it or not. I know more about vintage manual focus lenses made of metal, but someone could help regarding newer plastic digital camera lenses.

Sent from my 0PJA2 using Tapatalk

thank u for ur info. that rice grain sounds cool. here are more pictures i took

bought from ebay, pretty reliable jap buyer i believe. he said its near mint. i havent even try it , lookin for 4LR44.

 

[Rudyfilm]

Fungus will make geometric patterns, but not always. The orange looking stain could be brass bearings inside wearing & causing a light powder stain.

Depending on the brand of the lens, it's historical value or significance, it may or may not be worth having cleaned. You can see what comparable ones sell for on eBay.

If it is fungus, it shouldn't really affect shooting being on the outer edge. I wouldn't worry about it spreading to other lenses, but just in case, get some silica gel sachets & store the lens in a ziplock bag. A good alternative is heating dry rice grains, let them cool & put that in the ziplock bag. Rice sucks moisture from the air very well. Air doesn't travel in & out of lenses quickly but over time you'll dry the air within the lens & prevent any spreading.

Post a better picture of the overall lens & we can tell you whether we'd put money into it or not. I know more about vintage manual focus lenses made of metal, but someone could help regarding newer plastic digital camera lenses.

Sent from my 0PJA2 using Tapatalk

thank u for ur info. that rice grain sounds cool. here are more pictures i took

View attachment 137279

bought from ebay, pretty reliable jap buyer i believe. he said its near mint. i havent even try it , lookin for 4LR44.

View attachment 137280

i believe that hair-line look is just a scratch

surface of the rear lens seems like old cleaning marks from wiping i guess

hope it doesnt affect anything on the picture.

 

[Rudyfilm]

Looks more like delaminating coatings to me.

thanks for your info

 

[loonatic45414]

The lens looks great. I wouldn't get too worried about small imperfections, just go enjoy it.

I do try to store my lenses in a low humidity environment. I highly recommend silica gel in a box with your camera gear. It's not very expensive & effective in summer months when humidity gets high.

Don't store camera gear in the basement or garage unless you use an airtight box with silica gel.

Remember to put the gel in the oven on low heat every 2 or 3 months to dry it out.

 

[Derrel]

As loonatic45414 says, the lens looks great. I was looking at the lens thinking, yeah, looks fine! a lens can be VERY icky inside, and still shoot surprisingly well. Google this: Ken Rockwell + The flashlight test for proof.