Sorry for the long post and the 11 pics, but I think I have a serious problem here...
Just recently (about two months ago) I sold my 1DMIII so I could buy two cameras, a 50d and a 5dII, since I would like to have two bodies, specially one with a 1.6 crop and the other with a full-frame sensor, so I could use the benefits of both and, on top of that, have less lens changes.
So I had to wait for the 50d to be available at my dealer. Then I ordered it, and it got stolen during shipment (I ordered from another country). Contacted the dealer, and he most generously sent me another one without additional charges (he will later get compensation from the insurance company).
So after all the wait (without any camera BTW), I got it yesterday finally.
So I, like a kid rejoicing with a new toy, immediately went to my bag to get some lenses to test the new camera, and was suddenly devastated!
Almost all my lenses appear to have something like a fungus on the glass elements!
Here are some pics:
The most affected lenses are, unfortunately, my best lenses.
85L, 135L and 70-200 f4IS.
I have a low income. I do photography as a hobby, so affording cameras and lenses (specially of this caliber) is a major budget stretch, and comes at the expense of compromises that have to be taken elsewhere.
I live on an Island that has no canon representative, let alone a calibration center.
I would have to send the lenses to the mainland (Portugal) to have them cleaned.
However, I have never trusted the postal office before, and now even worse since someone there stole my initial 50d package. I am scared to have to send the lenses by mail and then back. Besides, once they arrive they might need calibration since the people that work at the postal office throw the packages around recklessly. Looks like they enjoy playing football with them...
I believe this is the main source of so many out-of-spec lenses issues I had in the past. Including a 300mm 2.8 IS.
This is very disturbing.
Evaluating the magnitude of the issue on the pics taken (if the fungus is affecting IQ or not) is kind of hard since I only have a new camera, and the files from it are quite different from the MIII. It\'s hard to compare, specially considering the 50d has a tendency to be somewhat soft at pixel level.
I was also saving up everymonth so I could buy a 500mm f4IS next year and a fisheye.
After this I am seriously considering stopping lenses altogehter, because this issue might be hard to avoid since I live on an island where air humidity sometimes reaches 100% in the summer. In the winter, it\'s usually lower but still rather high.
Even if I get the lenses cleaned, it\'s probably just a matter of time before the problem comes back again...
Can anyone help?
Are these fungus?
What can I do?
I already did a search on these forums for \"fungus\" and the news aren\'t very positive...
Thanks in advance
Luis Fraga
Nov 19, 2008 at 07:21 AM
Previous versions of fraga's message #6397317 « Help! Fungus? Warning: long post, 11 pics »
