I just picked up a Calumet 4X5 camera! But need a bit of help.

[FITBMX]

If you are lucky, the fungus is on the outside of the rear group which you can just unscrew.

This guy that had it last got a bunch of the film and developing equipment from the high school when they sold it, so that is probably how he got this.
I also hope the fungus is just on the outs elements, I am going to order a spanner tool for lenses. I have several old lenses that need to be cleaned, so I would use one anyway.

 

[dxqcanada]

The beauty of LF lenses/shutters is that they are designed to be taken apart easily.

 

[480sparky]

Ya, I know it really needs some film to run through it to properly test it. I have a very bight flashlight, so I will extend it and then run the light over it in a dark room and see if I see anything. I really don't know what else to do.

Put the light in it, not around it. It will be much easier to see a leak if the light is coming from the inside.

 

[FITBMX]

The beauty of LF lenses/shutters is that they are designed to be taken apart easily.

I have worked on some SLR lenses, and this looks SO MUCH EASIER!! Thank for the video.

 

[480sparky]

The beauty of LF lenses/shutters is that they are designed to be taken apart easily.

I have worked on some SLR lenses, and this looks SO MUCH EASIER!! Thank for the video.

It is, but you still need the right tools. A quality spanner wrench for one.

 

[ac12]

..... fungus........ could spread to other lenses. .....

I'd love to see some empirical evidence of this.

I ain't goina risk any of my lenses.

 

[ac12]

Ya, I know it really needs some film to run through it to properly test it. I have a very bight flashlight, so I will extend it and then run the light over it in a dark room and see if I see anything. I really don't know what else to do.

Put the light in it, not around it. It will be much easier to see a leak if the light is coming from the inside.

And look at the corners where the bellows folds.
That is where the pin holes usually first appear.

If the pinhole is small, you can try some BLACK liquid electrical tape, and dab it on the hole. A couple/few thin layers, not a thick blob.
Put it on too thick, and it gets in the way of how the bellows folds.
That is a trick that the LF guys use.

 

[480sparky]

..... fungus........ could spread to other lenses. .....

I'd love to see some empirical evidence of this.

I ain't goina risk any of my lenses.

I've risked mine. I had a lens chock full of fungus.... so much you couldn't see through it. Eventually cleaned it up, too a photo that won a ribbon with it, and it now is parked right along all my other glass.

 

[FITBMX]

It is, but you still need the right tools. A quality spanner wrench for one.

I saw a video where a guy said you can use needle-nose pliers, which sounded like a really great way to slip and really mess up a lens!
I am ordering the spanner as soon as I have the money.

 

[FITBMX]

I had a lens chock full of fungus.... so much you couldn't see through it. Eventually cleaned it up, too a photo that won a ribbon with it

What did you use to clean it? It seems like everyone says something different.

 

[ac12]

It is, but you still need the right tools. A quality spanner wrench for one.

I saw a video where a guy said you can use needle-nose pliers, which sounded like a really great way to slip and really mess up a lens!
I am ordering the spanner as soon as I have the money.

eBay
lens retainer wrench | eBay

 

[480sparky]

I had a lens chock full of fungus.... so much you couldn't see through it. Eventually cleaned it up, too a photo that won a ribbon with it

What did you use to clean it? It seems like everyone says something different.

Regular lens cleaner.

 

[FITBMX]

I had a lens chock full of fungus.... so much you couldn't see through it. Eventually cleaned it up, too a photo that won a ribbon with it

What did you use to clean it? It seems like everyone says something different.

Regular lens cleaner.

Great, I even have some!

 

[Derrel]

In the past I have actually used a very small screwdriver to slide into one of the spanner wrench openings. As long as you're extremely careful to apply pressure in the correct direction, a very small screwdriver blade will fit into the spanner wrench opening,and after breaking the seal,you can use finger pressure to remove the retaining ring.

 

[petrochemist]

..... fungus........ could spread to other lenses. .....

I'd love to see some empirical evidence of this.

I doubt there is any. Lenses stored in humid conditions will usually develop fungus at some point (they almost certainly already have fungal spores inside). In dry conditions the fungus will not develop even with spores present.