There are some 1.4s with white bubbles in the black paint on the back of the
front group. This is around the perimeter. If this is the case,
replacement is probably your only option, if you can find them. If the
clear area of the element is misted, possible it can be cleaned. Sometimes,
I open a lens to find that the damage is inside a cemented group.
John Hermanson
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----- Original Message -----
From: "andrew fildes" <afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, November 17, 2001 5:40 PM
Subject: Re: [OM] Fungus in my 50/1.4 MC?
>The matter has been discussed here quite often, but I wonder whether there
>is a safe method to determine if it is infected. If it is, it must be in a
>very early stage, as the dots seem to be only tens of millimeters in
>diameter. I saw them in daylight coming into the lens at a certain angle.
>They do not show the characteristic pattern, but look like the tiny air
>bubbles on an object that has just been but into frech water. It looks as
>if they are on the 2nd lens behind the front element.
>Can it be dust or condensed oil? As I don't know the story of this lens, I
>cannot be shure if it has been maltreated, e.g. with heat that could have
>caused the oil to evaporate. It does not really look like dust, on the
>other side, and only one glass surface seems to be affected. This,
>however, is rather unsafe to determine due to the curving and the
>enlargement within the lens.
I've had a similar problem - fortunately with a Mamiya Press lens with an
easily removeable front element assembly. It was an oily mist. I can only
assume that the lens was left in the sun while standing upright, causing
lubricants to evaporate - the surface affected was directly above the
shutter and apertrure mechanisms.
Fungus often first shows itself as a misty spot and can be killed in the
very early stages by exposure to UV light - I have a 50/1.4 which had
three very small spots in the edges of an element deep inside - didn't see
them until after I bought it of course. They're still there but are dead I
think after sunshine treatment and don't affect the image. There are,
however, several fungus types so - I've also had 'spider web' infections
which spread very quickly.
Oh, and spots and fungus are never on the surface you think they are - it's
always deeper and harder to reach. Murphy's Law of Lens Cleaning.
>What shall I do? The lens only costed me 40 $ or so as it has a tiny
>scratch on the front element. Any chance to open and clean it? Don't think
>I will send it to a CLA because of the low worth.
>Any helpful comments are welcome.
>Bernd Möller
I believe the 1.4 is a hard one to clean. In my experience, elements in
front of the aperture are cheaper to have cleaned (no linkages, easier to
access) and oil condensation would be easier than fungus.
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