Although I've read many forums about this I still have a question: Can fungus from an infected lens get inside the camera and affect your other lenses?
Edited by Scott Sewell on Jan 09, 2006 at 05:28 PM GMT (Reason: Moved to appropriate forum.)
fungus thrives in moist, still air. If your camera is getting a whiff of fresh air every now and then, you shouldn't have a worry. On the other hand, if your camera and lenses are stored in a damp/high humidity place for a long time together, then yes, most probably the fungus will thrive and spread and grow.
Thanks, nutek, for responding. I don't have an infected lens, but often I see lenses offered for sale "with just a little fungus," and wondered about the danger of buying one. I won't.
Do not buy a lens with known fungus. Even if it states alittle, it may get worse over time and there is danger of the spores spreading to other lenses. Mark
muevelonyc wrote:
throw a dessicant pack that eats moisture in your storage bag and you won't have an issue.
it doesn't really work. For a dessicant pack/silica gel to work properly, the container holding ur equipment needs to be airtight or sealed. The best form of fungus prevention is to take ur camera out and shoot regularly
mark1958 wrote:
Do not buy a lens with known fungus. Even if it states alittle, it may get worse over time and there is danger of the spores spreading to other lenses. Mark
You're assuming the fungus is living. There are ways to kill fungus. Unfortunately, certain kinds cannot be removed easily from glass.
I guess you can leave your lenses next to a hepa filter with UV/IR killing light if you're that paranoid about spores. Or in a silicon manfacturing clean room.
well that's interesting. The hepa filter won't hurt a fungus infected lens, but the UV might kill it! Anyone know what happens if you irradiate a lens with strong UV? I know it really messes with plastic labware.
Living in a southern climate I know all too well about fungus having lost 2 lenses which developed some. Not sure about spreading to other lenses but I agree with the others that if you use your gear a lot it should not be a problem. I now keep my lenses in an airtight container and just bought a product (Zorb It) to put in the container that is supposed to keep the moisture out. This was written up in PopPhoto and if anyone is interested their website is www.zorb-it.com
I used to work in a lab environment where we hook up HD sensors to electron microscopes to live bacteria and virii. At the end of the day, we had to put most of the equipment into autoclave, and the ones that couldn't be put in there (like the HD cameras) had to be put in a UV box. Didn't seem to affect it much other than lighten the color of the body since that was plastic and metal.
I wouldn't touch any lenses with any amount of fungus even though it may not spread... It was a lot more of problem when I was in Japan because the humidity was a lot higher there than in the US...
Khiromu ...wouldn't touch any lenses with any amount of fungus even though it may not spread... It was a lot more of problem when I was in Japan because ...
Exactly, if I have any possibility of taking/using my glass in humid areas - even for a short stretch, I won't get anything with fungus.
It may not spread, but if it does - it is real fast. I remember reading somewhere the fungus is difficult to remove completely and destroys the delicate lens coatings. Even if you get it cleaned - I doubt you get back the coating as it was.
Not sure about spreading to other lenses but I agree with the others that if you use your gear a lot it should not be a problem. I now keep my lenses in an airtight container and just bought a product (Zorb It) to put in the container that is supposed to keep the moisture out. This was written up in PopPhoto and if anyone is interested their website is www.zorb-it.com