Orin Keplinger wrote:
> Does anyone know if exposure to ultra-violet light or the gases used in a
> surgical OR sterilizer has been used to kill the fungus found in camera
> lenses? Of these possible remedies would have no effect on any physical
> damage done by the fungus.
-----------------------------------
I doubt that killing the existing fungus would do any good. The first
time you focus or zoom the lens you'll prbobly draw in another 1,000
spores. You can't keep them out. You can only keep them from growing.
If you have visible fungus then it needs to be cleaned out but that
won't undo any damage that they might have caused to the glass or
coatings. If you get to it soon enough, however, there may not be any
visible damage.
I have a Vivitar 90mm Series 1 macro bought from a list member many
years ago (sorry, can't remember who) which had a largish splotch of
visible fungus somewhere inside. I took a chance and bought the lens
for a very good price. As it turned out the fungus was on the back side
of the front group and was very easy to get to and clean off using a
tiny dab of my wife's cold cream followed by some alcohol or Windex. I
don't remember which, I use both.
After cleaning, even under a magnifier, there was no visible evidence of
the fungus ever having been there. I had apparently gotten to it before
any damage was done. Even when the fungus was there, however, it would
have been difficult to detect any effect on the optical performance of
the lens. Even a goodly bit of fungus takes up such a small part of the
total glass area that its effect on the optical performance is generally
nil. That's why I was willing to take a chance on the lens. I knew
that, even if the fungus had caused some damage, the lens was still
likely to be a winner optically.
Chuck Norcutt
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