topic Re: Fungus on my lenses in EF & RF Lenses

Fungus on my lenses

MichaVandiver88 — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 02:22:39 GMT

Hi, Long time Canon Pro but first time having to deal with fungus growth on my lenses. I recently bought a B&B in Costa Rica and so I am part time in Costa Rica and the States. I have a dry room where I have kept my lenses (inside a Pelican Case) while in Costa Rica and the humidity was so bad that my lenses now have fungus. Is this something that Canon will fix / can clean or am I just screwed? Hasn't affected the quality of the images... just yet but wanted to send them all in for a good cleaning anyway. Not cheap, I am sure but wanted to ask if anyone has had issues with this themselves. As a nature photographer traveling the world, I am sure I am not the only one. Thanks so much for your help!

Re: Fungus on my lenses

ebiggs1 — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 15:46:22 GMT

"Is this something that Canon will fix / can clean or am I just screwed?"

My experience is the latter. Sorry. I doubt Canon will even touch them.

"I have a dry room where I have kept my lenses (inside a Pelican Case) while in Costa Rica and the humidity"

So why did you think this was a solution? You still exposed them to the humidity when you were using them. Correct? Wasn't the Pelican case also open to the same humidity? Perhaps sealing it up and evacuating it somehow replacing it with clean dry air but otherwise it was of no protection.

Re: Fungus on my lenses

MichaVandiver88 — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 15:50:38 GMT

So why did I think that? 🤔 Well because the case has always been in the dry room and I take them out and put them back in after use. So the case hasn’t been opened in the humidity. Regardless, I asked the question here and then spoke with someone this morning. They said they would take a look when I sent them in.

Re: Fungus on my lenses

ebiggs1 — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 16:28:03 GMT

"Well because the case has always been in the dry room and I take them out and put them back in after use."

But the lenses themselves had the humid air already inside. Lenses are not airtight. Putting them in the Pelican case only trapped the humid air inside the case. You would of had to evacuate all the air in the case and replace it with dry air. At any rate, kido, it did not work!

I am glad for you that Canon said they would check them out but don't be surprised if the refuse to clean them. You see once fungus gets on the lense coating it cannot be removed and the coating can not be replaced as a repair. The coating is applied as a gas at the factory which is beyond what a repair facility has. Let's hope for the best.

Re: Fungus on my lenses

jrhoffman75 — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 16:29:11 GMT

What constituted your “dry room”?

Re: Fungus on my lenses

MichaVandiver88 — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 16:31:54 GMT

Yep, all true but when you travel and live in high humidity areas, what else should I do? I was a high end wedding photog in the Florida Keys for 16 years and never had this issue. This last few months we have had epic rain storms in Costa Rica .. more so than normal. Sometimes I let them warm up in the sun prior because that was what the last Canon tech told me to do. Let the UV light kill any spores trying to grow. Anyway… $60k worth of equipment and we shall see.

Re: Fungus on my lenses

MichaVandiver88 — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 16:35:33 GMT

Another room that is sealed off completely from the outside elements, air conditioning and humidity controlled temp. Same as I had when I lived in the states in the Florida Keys.

Re: Fungus on my lenses

ebiggs1 — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 16:42:44 GMT

"Let the UV light kill any spores trying to grow. "

I agree with the Canon tech. The case was probably not a good idea for his and my reasons.

Re: Fungus on my lenses

jrhoffman75 — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 16:46:51 GMT

That’s what I figured. Fungus can grow almost anywhere. I live in New England. Home is air conditioned in the summer. And I still had two lenses develop fungus.

If you could get a UV light source and shine it through the lens light path it might work. You can Google some discussions on the topic.
https://www.diyvideostudio.com/how-to-get-rid-of-camera-lens-fungus-prevent-it-from-coming-back/

Re: Fungus on my lenses

MichaVandiver88 — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 16:46:14 GMT

I’ve always had them in the cases back home so I didn’t see an issue. I totally understand your point but when I lived on my sailboat without ac and stored them in my case, no issues. Just a perfect storm (literally) with the elements and how I stored etc. In the 30 plus years I’ve been a photographer it’s the first time I had this happen. Funny enough my old canon film camera and lenses are still in great shape. Makes me wonder. 🤔🤣

Re: Fungus on my lenses

ebiggs1 — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 17:06:24 GMT

Well, kido, if you and I knew how this happens and how it doesn't happen we would probably be very rich and not need to work for a living. Ya just gotta do what you think is best at the time.

Re: Fungus on my lenses

MichaVandiver88 — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 16:53:31 GMT

Thank you so much for this information. I sincerely appreciate it. Definitely a lesson learned to check my cameras and equipment more often.

Re: Fungus on my lenses

rs-eos — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 20:26:00 GMT

Possibly for the future you could look at a heated cabinet or one with a dehumidifier. When I lived in Hawaii, we made a box (approx 1.5 x 1.5 x 3 feet) and installed a piano heater bar it in. This was for storing floppy disks and preventing mildew on the surfaces.

Re: Fungus on my lenses

MichaVandiver88 — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 20:45:44 GMT

We do, and that’s why I thought I was doing everything correctly. We have a 15x10 sealed room that has air conditioning and a dehumidifier temp control. Crazy but it still wasn’t enough.

Re: Fungus on my lenses

ebiggs1 — Sat, 07 Jan 2023 16:00:52 GMT

The room itself or box or whatever isn't the solution, it is the fact you used the gear out in the open.

Now sometimes something turns out to look like it works so people automatically think that they have the solution. No fungus on my lenses so the clean room works. No mold or fungus on my floppy disks occurred so the box prevented it. I wore a mask all the time and I didn't get COVID, so masks prevent COVIAD. Perhaps it did and perhaps not. Correlation and causation. Causation means that one event causes another event to occur. It is human nature to associate these occurrences but it is not any proof that they are the cause.

Re: Fungus on my lenses

shadowsports — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 17:26:58 GMT

Only 1 experience with lens fungus. I was 18 or 19. Mine was just total noob experience. I went to the beach and took photos. I don't recall getting hit with any spray. Day was calm and still. Saw nothing on the lens that would make me think it had picked something up. Came home, put it away (in a case) and took my film in to be developed.

3 months later, I take my lens out to use the camera. I am immediately horrified as I can see fungus on the inside of the lens objective. Lens coating definitely attacked. My heart sank. That was the death of my Vivitar Series 1 70~210mm Macro Zoom. My grandparents gave me that lens to take photography in HS. It served me well.

A UV light sounds like a great idea, but I'm not very optimistic. Fungus has to be caught early. Once it takes hold, the glass is done. I hope you will prevail.

Re: Fungus on my lenses

MichaVandiver88 — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 18:02:51 GMT

I think that is a very true statement! Haha! Thanks for your insight. Everyone! I figured if anyone would know or have empathy for me… it would be here. Than you again. ❤️

Re: Fungus on my lenses

MichaVandiver88 — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 18:03:29 GMT

💯 agree with this statement.

Re: Fungus on my lenses

MichaVandiver88 — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 18:10:06 GMT

Where I made the mistake… or many is that I have been a professional photographer for 16 years on the beaches of the Florida Keys. I was rough on my equipment and never did I have issues then. So I just figured I was always doing the “right” thing… which in fact I think I was just lucky. No noob or rookie mistakes here. Just a more arrogant, “it’s ok it’s how I have always done it”, response since its the first time in 30 years. 🤣 It’s kinda like in the scuba diving world… we say don’t ever go diving with scuba instructors because we ALL think we know best. Well I’m an instructor and a pro photographer and I think I thought I know more that I did. Lol 😆 Lesson learned in an expensive way.

Re: Fungus on my lenses

ebiggs1 — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 18:32:09 GMT

You see it isn't noob or inexperience or arrogant or anything. That's the point. Next time it may never happen or it could be even worse, who knows? And, Rick I have been at the beach in Florida many times and taken lots of photos. I never got fungus. Why?

What you need to take away is associating one occasion to another. In addition photo gear is a whole different situation to a pro that makes a living with their gear. They become tools of the trade and not prized possessions. No different that a wrench to a mechanic. That's not to say sometimes a certina camera can't become more that just a simple tool. My F1n with its 50mm f1.4L lens has such a place in my heart because we went through some difficult times together. Some, well let's say I never want that to happen ever again stuff. It has an honored spot on a shelf in my formerly stop bath stained walls of my no longer darkroom.