Mould on Lens

benjyman345 · Jul 14, 2012

Hello,

I have a Sigma 105mm macro lens. I went to put it on my camera to find it has mould on the glass (rear of the lens). It is either mould or fungi not sure... but it has a spot in the centre with furry strands radiating out.

I don't know how long it has been there... I haven't used the lens for a while. It had lens caps attached and was stored in lens bag... obviously not enough (Lesson learnt hard way).

What are my options?

It seems everytime I try and get the camera out and take photos something goes wrong... a hobby which I use to love and enjoy and spend hours and days being creative is becoming a frustration more often then not.

Thanks!

P.S. The macro lens also has mould on UV filter attached to lens and my other zoom lens (attached to camera) also has mould growing on lens glass... who knows might even be in the camera too...
So I'm left with a camera body likely to contain mould and no lenses without mould.

molested_cow · Jul 14, 2012

Lost a great lens to mold myself too. If you don't have a dry box (that regulates humidity), store your lens in an environment where there is air flow. Storing them in the bag is the "wrong way" as I've been told recently.
If you use your lens frequently, it doesn't catch mold easily.

Garbz · Jul 14, 2012

Mould needs moisture and hates UV. The hating UV bit is where using your lens will prevent mould growth. For the rest, you can store your equipment in a bag without problem, but make sure when you do that you store it with some moisture absorbing silica gel packs.

As for the mould itself. Wipe with a cloth if it's on the outside elements. If it's on the inside elements then get it to someone who repairs lenses quickly. The longer the mould is there the more likely it is to etch through your lenses precious coatings and once that happens it's permanent damage.

KmH · Jul 14, 2012

Re-usable silica gel packs are cheap. Keep a couple in your gear bag. Check them regularly to see if they have changed color and need to be re-activated.
Dry-Packs Indicating Silica Gel 40 Grams in Sturdy Aluminum Dehumidifying Canister - No Cobalt Chloride II - DP40CAN

benjyman345 · Jul 18, 2012

Thanks for the replies. I have wiped the fungus of the back of my macro lens, the front of my zoom lens and lens filter. Unfortunately it seems that it is too late as there is a visible mark where the mould was. I have also noticed that the macro lens has fungus inside as well. The camera and lenses are only 1 year old and replaced my last camera which was damaged. This time I insured the camera + lenses but of course they wont cover, making the response that it is "natural wear and tear." However if I'm careless and drop it they will cover it.

Unfortunately, despite being a favourite hobby for me, this is the end of photography for the foreseeable future. I can't afford to buy a new/second hand camera or lenses. It seems the more care I take the more problems that occur. I have never had a problem with mould before - even with non-water-resistant DSLR, old SLR's, second hand lenses etc etc... while a brand new water resistant DSLR stored with silica gels, not used in wet conditions and taken care of (or atleast I thought I was) develops mould. Sorry about the rant - I'm extremely disappointed!

enzodm · Jul 19, 2012

1 year old, and all such damage - strange. Fungus is not such a fast animal, and needs good (for it) conditions to grow. Your fungus grew up and had also the time to eat your coating. Did you ever use it in one year?
By the way, did you try whether your camera is functioning or not? Since it is weather sealed, it is not so obvious that it has mould too.
And did you check whether fungus influences image quality? I regularly use some old (30-40 year) lenses that have some fungus with no problems.

Garbz · Jul 19, 2012

Fungus does affect image quality but not as spots rather as a loss of contrast if it gets serious enough. Think of it this way. Nikon / Canon invest millions in R&D budgets for ultra precise anti-glare coatings in an attempt to create perfect lenses. The fungus eats that right off. It may not be immediately apparent but it's not good by any stretch of the imagination.

enzodm · Jul 19, 2012

Garbz said:
Fungus does affect image quality but not as spots rather as a loss of contrast if it gets serious enough. Think of it this way. Nikon / Canon invest millions in R&D budgets for ultra precise anti-glare coatings in an attempt to create perfect lenses. The fungus eats that right off. It may not be immediately apparent but it's not good by any stretch of the imagination.

Of course. But since in this thread there aren't samples but just speculation, before abandoning photography, I would rather do some test. By the way, this has fungus, and this too

.

Garbz · Jul 20, 2012

Which makes me wonder why the second is so low contrast, but that could just be the sky haze ;-)

Of course you won't notice single photos, and maybe not at all on these photos. It reminds me of the photo someone posted of a lens with a crack in it. You can barely notice the image normally, yet shoot into the sun and you get horrendous rainbow of artifacts throughout your image.

I'd be more interested in a before and after shot of exactly the same thing with and without fungus. Given the problem will only ever get worse and not better there's really no excuse for not sending your lens out to get cleaned.

enzodm · Jul 20, 2012

Garbz said:
Which makes me wonder why the second is so low contrast, but that could just be the sky haze ;-)

Of course you won't notice single photos, and maybe not at all on these photos. It reminds me of the photo someone posted of a lens with a crack in it. You can barely notice the image normally, yet shoot into the sun and you get horrendous rainbow of artifacts throughout your image.

I'd be more interested in a before and after shot of exactly the same thing with and without fungus. Given the problem will only ever get worse and not better there's really no excuse for not sending your lens out to get cleaned.

Again, of course I agree. In my case, the moon lens went for free, the other one sooner or later will be professionally cleaned, mostly as an investment for the future.
However, I was answering to this OP rant:
"Unfortunately, despite being a favourite hobby for me, this is the end of photography for the foreseeable future. ... I have never had a problem with mould before - even with non-water-resistant DSLR, old SLR's, second hand lenses etc etc... while a brand new water resistant DSLR stored with silica gels, not used in wet conditions and taken care of (or atleast I thought I was) develops mould."

I'm skeptical that fungus developed so fast, I'm skeptical it will be in the camera too, so I'm skeptical there is the need of abandoning photography. A slightly dull picture is better than no picture, you could always tell it's pictorialism

. By the way, the previous dSLR of the OP ended this way: http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/beyond-basics/222026-dslr-got-wet-saltwater.html

godsotherson · Aug 18, 2012

I was shooting a chocolate brown bronze and noticed a near center light blue-green area which was very near the color a bronze will oxidise though no oxidation was visible on the bronze. I showed in the same area of the frame on other views alerting me to something maybe on the sensor or lens. Taking a few shots of other well lit but different colored objects showed up no discolored area. Further examination of the 60mm lens led me to find a barely visible spot of dirt which after removal fixed the discoloration. This leads to the assumption that depending on the location, color and transparancy level of the mold found, it might not create a problem on all shots.

cgipson1 · Aug 18, 2012

godsotherson said:
I was shooting a chocolate brown bronze and noticed a near center light blue-green area which was very near the color a bronze will oxidise though no oxidation was visible on the bronze. I showed in the same area of the frame on other views alerting me to something maybe on the sensor or lens. Taking a few shots of other well lit but different colored objects showed up no discolored area. Further examination of the 60mm lens led me to find a barely visible spot of dirt which after removal fixed the discoloration. This leads to the assumption that depending on the location, color and transparancy level of the mold found, it might not create a problem on all shots.

Just SAY NO to Drugs!

jamesbjenkins · Aug 18, 2012

benjyman345 said:
Thanks for the replies. I have wiped the fungus of the back of my macro lens, the front of my zoom lens and lens filter. Unfortunately it seems that it is too late as there is a visible mark where the mould was. I have also noticed that the macro lens has fungus inside as well. The camera and lenses are only 1 year old and replaced my last camera which was damaged. This time I insured the camera + lenses but of course they wont cover, making the response that it is "natural wear and tear." However if I'm careless and drop it they will cover it.

Unfortunately, despite being a favourite hobby for me, this is the end of photography for the foreseeable future. I can't afford to buy a new/second hand camera or lenses. It seems the more care I take the more problems that occur. I have never had a problem with mould before - even with non-water-resistant DSLR, old SLR's, second hand lenses etc etc... while a brand new water resistant DSLR stored with silica gels, not used in wet conditions and taken care of (or atleast I thought I was) develops mould. Sorry about the rant - I'm extremely disappointed!

Simple. Drop it on the concrete in your driveway. "OOPS! Hey insurance people, I need to file a claim."

(disclaimer: I'm completely kidding.)

scorpion_tyr · Aug 21, 2012

Get rid of it, as well as whatever you wiped the mold off with and inspect and clean your other lenses very carefully. That fungus will spread to other pieces of glass in you bag/case.

PeterAdley939 · Aug 29, 2012

jamesbjenkins said:
benjyman345 said:

Thanks for the replies. I have wiped the fungus of the back of my macro lens, the front of my zoom lens and lens filter. Unfortunately it seems that it is too late as there is a visible mark where the mould was. I have also noticed that the macro lens has fungus inside as well. The camera and lenses are only 1 year old and replaced my last camera which was damaged. This time I insured the camera + lenses but of course they wont cover, making the response that it is "natural wear and tear." However if I'm careless and drop it they will cover it.

Unfortunately, despite being a favourite hobby for me, this is the end of photography for the foreseeable future. I can't afford to buy a new/second hand camera or lenses. It seems the more care I take the more problems that occur. I have never had a problem with mould before - even with non-water-resistant DSLR, old SLR's, second hand lenses etc etc... while a brand new water resistant DSLR stored with silica gels, not used in wet conditions and taken care of (or atleast I thought I was) develops mould. Sorry about the rant - I'm extremely disappointed!

Click to expand...

Simple. Drop it on the concrete in your driveway. "OOPS! Hey insurance people, I need to file a claim."

(disclaimer: I'm completely kidding.)

If its also insured for loss (and not just damage) it would be a lot "easier" just to leave it on the bus/train/park bench then file a claim.... Then you are not technically lying as it has been "lost"....

(disclaimer: I am also kidding..)