Old lens with what appears to be fungus

[snark]

When my great uncle quit taking photos he gave me a Kodak Ektar 135mm f/3.8 lens in an aluminum canister. It looks like it was a pretty good lens in its day, and I just saw one sold on Ebay not long ago for over $200. Not sure why. Is it a well regarded lens that has applications other than an old Ektra camera?

Mine has what is probably fungus damage on the outer perimeter of the rear glass element. It looks like spiderweb growing from the edge of the glass a couple millimeters toward the center. Does this render the lens useless?

 

[BrianV]

Hard to tell how much damage is done without seeing it. Kodak lenses were hard-coated. Damage from fungus occurs when it is dead and gets acidic. Length of time and contact with the surfaces make a world of difference. I've had it clean right off of 50 year old lenses, oters leave minimum imprints that have no effect on the images TO etched glass that cannot be cleaned.

Post a picture, best yet: send to a pro shop to have cleaned.

IF this is for the WW-II Kodak Ektar 35 RF- it would be worth it. Kodak made a lot of lenses with the Ektar label, was their trademark for the higher end lenses. Many were for movie cameras.