Is this Fungus?

nhodgkinson · Sep 9, 2014

I bought a lens

on Ebay 2 weeks ago and today when I went to use it I noticed this. I'll put some better photos up later when I get the chance but this looks like the start of the spider web fungus to me. Or am I wrong? This is new to me so any help would be of value. How long dose it take to grow? It cant of grown in the last 10 day's can it?

tirediron · Sep 9, 2014

Looks like it could be, but it doesn't seem to be between the elements; a bit of alcohol and a baby's toothbrush should clean that up nicely. Leave it in bright sun for a few hours.

nhodgkinson · Sep 9, 2014

tirediron said:
Looks like it could be, but it doesn't seem to be between the elements; a bit of alcohol and a baby's toothbrush should clean that up nicely. Leave it in bright sun for a few hours.

That's good to have a second opinion as I'm new to this but I think the picture is a little misleading. The fungus is not on the outside of the lens it's inside. Do you get fungus on the outside of a lens? I think it is on the inside of the first element but may well be wrong.
Unless you mean to disassemble the lens and clean it but this is a Nikon Ai 35mm f1.4 and from what I have read there a little tricky on the inside. Also I looked at a photo blog of a repair and it seemed from the images that the first element was the last the guy reached as he took the thing apart. I could be wrong about this and if anyone has opened one of these up I'd love to hear if it's a difficult job and how easy in particular it is to get to the front of the lens?

tirediron · Sep 9, 2014

Okay, it's the crappy monitor I'm on at the moment then; it looked like it was on the outside of the front element. No, I would NOT suggest taking the lens apart. I would put it outside for a few hours a day for a few days on bright, sunny days, and make sure the front element receives LOTS of sun. This should arrest the fungus' growth, but there's little to be done about removing it. That said, it probably won't have much, if any impact on your images.

nhodgkinson · Sep 9, 2014

Dose not sound to good. I paid quite a bit as it was from a camera shop and it was sold as "10/10 optical quality, No fungus or scratches". I will open a case I guess. I am aware that I only really first picked up the lens a week after it arrived do you think that fungus can grow in a week? It was in a well ventilated room but did have the caps on.

robbins.photo · Sep 9, 2014

Have you contacted the seller?

nhodgkinson · Sep 9, 2014

robbins.photo said:
Have you contacted the seller?

Sent some messages this morning but no answer. I guess I'll open a case. I was unsure because I thought it arrived 2 weeks ago but it's been pointed out that this one arrived Thursday so it left their shop like this. I've seen, (I think it was the 50mm) opened up and it was really easy to get to the front element so if it was the same on these 35's I'd just clean it rather than go through the hassle but I cant find any information on opening one up. I'd need to be sure before I went for it.

Derrel · Sep 9, 2014

THAT did not get to that level in "a week". No. No way.

Take a look at the optical design formula drawing of the 35mm f/1.4 here: http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/6070nikkor/wides/35mmf14.pdf

I am not 100 percent sure if that second element has any cement or not, but I am wondering if this might be de-cementing? Either way, it looks like where the second element and the front element touch is the area where this defect is located. it is a VERY regular, and circular defect, which looks exactly right for the intersecting area of these front-most two elements.

nhodgkinson · Sep 9, 2014

Derrel said:
THAT did not get to that level in "a week". No. No way.

Take a look at the optical design formula drawing of the 35mm f/1.4 here: http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/6070nikkor/wides/35mmf14.pdf

I am not 100 percent sure if that second element has any cement or not, but I am wondering if this might be de-cementing? Either way, it looks like where the second element and the front element touch is the area where this defect is located. it is a VERY regular, and circular defect, which looks exactly right for the intersecting area of these front-most two elements.

That's just what I was looking for. I was thinking from the look of the fungus that something was off. Getting into this front end looks like a nightmare and I agree about the location. Thanks's for posting, this has cleared up my options.

TheNevadanStig · Sep 9, 2014

Just send it back. Doesn't matter what it is or if it's fixable. The lens was sold to you as a 10/10, which it clearly isn't. No need to fuss correcting other's mistakes.