in ANY air conditioned environment it would be highly unlikely that fungus would Ever be an issue, seeing that you live in Canada i would say that you need never ever think of it again. Just keep it upstairs in the conditioned space
Fungus can grow on a lens in just about any environment. The lens barrel is not air-tight and all kinds of spores and other contaminants enter and if not exposed to UV will grow and eat the coating and the glass. This happens more often in semi-tropical climates like southern California, Florida, and etc. but it can and does happen in N. Dakota just the same. I dunno if there is one specific way or not but you can purchase anti-fungal packets which are good for many years. If you place your lens in a zip-lock freezer baggy with the anti-fungal packet inside you should be fine for however long you need to store them.
If you're the nervous type, practiced using your lenses is dirty environments (around kept livestock, old musty abandoned buildings, etc.), and additionally live in a semi-tropical or tropical climate then you can also buy a UV emitting light and expose your lens to it for a few hours before storage. That might be extreme but it would ensure nothing was alive prior to storage.
I get fungus in my living area at work sometimes and its always airconditioned.
Use dessicants (the liquid sucker things) someone mentioned. Sore the box in a cool DRY place. (AC doesnt necessarily mean dry as temp changes can cause humidity) and out of sunlight. Throw some dessicants in the box and you should be good to go.
I remember seeing quite a few discussions here on FM about this and there was a lot of people saying (quite heatedly) that if you live in airco or central heated buildings, you are unlikely to have a problem.
I am paranoid however and when I'm in humid places for more than a few weeks I pack desiccant. I bought some 'driboxes' (check them out at sorbentsystems.com I believe). The advantage is that the silca gel pellets are impregnated with an indicator that turns blue when they need recharging. You recharge in a microwave (I found that hard) or in a cool oven (easier). I believe they were about $17 for 2 boxes about the size of a big matchbox. The website tells you what volume each of them should dry out.
You also need to pay attention to where you are storing the gear. The website above says that ziploc bags aren't great. Most recently I used a Pelicase and had to recharge the boxes every 4 weeks or so.
Bifurcator wrote:
Where does it say zip-lock baggies aren't good? I looked but didn't see any mention either way.
Here it is,
IMPORTANT: A plastic "freezer grade" ziplock bag is not a very good place to keep moisture sensitive objects. However, any of these containers, including the plastic ziplock bag, will work when used in conjunction with the DRI-BOX. BUT.... Because these are not perfectly sealed containers,you may have to re-generate the DRI-BOX more often, perhaps as much as every month.
A pro photog friend of mine uses a "Dry Box" that was made in Japan. It looks like a classic oversized microwave. To be honest, I place my lenses anywhere in the house but I do monitor the humidity and always have a dehumdifier if things aren't right.
This was a very expensive lens so it made me rethink how I store my lenses. A safe method would be to get some of these boxes (larger cannisters can also be found) and toss into a large case of some sort. I took a bunch of these with me to a trip to a rain forrest. Maybe only worry about this in certain seasons.
rjk55425,
Yep! That looks like it's still alive and growing. Here's an element from a lens I repaired a few months ago. The lens is back in service and working nicely - this is just the damaged element. I dunno if you can see it in this shot but there's two layers of damage here. One that ate the coating and one that actually ate the glass. The fungi is long dead here.
And BTW, this wasn't exposed to long periods of humidity either. All it takes is getting the right spores on and letting them get a start. Luckily the Sun's UV rays will kill it so if you shoot outdoors in the daylight once a week for an hour or two you're chances of being vandalized by these little critters slims a bit.
Also I would recommend actually using "Anti-Fungal" packets and not silica sand or gel bags. Anything that says "anti-fungal" or "fungicide" on the package will do.
Anyway, spores are everywhere already. Probably every camera lens in the field has spores on it. For the spores to begin growing they need moisture for a short period of time. (10 or 20 min.? depending on the kind of fungus.) Once started they no longer need the moisture to continue growing although for new spores to start it needs it again. This is not any guarantee tho because a single growth can be very large. Once it starts it can continue growing on it's own without moisture! In fact some fungi synthesize their own moisture from the hydrogen contained in whatever they're growing out of and the surrounding oxygen molecules. So just using silica won't work - for example if you shot on a misty or rainy day for an hour or two and then dried the lens and stored it in with the silica sand bag. In fact using too many of silica packs is known to dry out the lubricants used in lenses, so if you do use silica then you need to use your discretion with the quantity. If fungal growth has already started and if it's the type that doesn't need continuous external hydrogenation you're just as screwed with silica as without. Once those hyphae are going about their business silica sand won't do diddly squat! Something with a mild fungicide that hopefully lasts a long time is needed!
Holistically speaking thyme, oregano, and carom are all naturally occurring fungicides. If you can't find anti-fungal packets where you live a paper bag with an ounce or two taped along the seam and kept in your case will do the trick! Of course the best way to prevent it from happening is just to get out in the sunshine and shoot more often.
EDIT:
Oh wait. Here we go... the KMC-04 in this document says "fungicide" on it!
Bifurcator wrote:
This happens more often in semi-tropical climates like southern California, Florida, and etc. but it can and does happen in N. Dakota just the same.
Good advice, but to clarify your geography/climatology, California is a desert environment. Florida is semi-tropical.
Here's an element from a lens I repaired a few months ago. The lens is back in service and working nicely - this is just the damaged element. I dunno if you can see it in this shot but there's two layers of damage here. One that ate the coating and one that actually ate the glass. The fungi is long dead here.