Fungus on my lenses

[MichaVandiver88]

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! 

[shadowsports]

Hi Ernie,

Happy New Year to you.  Really not sure why.  The beach probably didn't have any correlation.  It was just the last place I visited with the lens.  Young kid, first year of college.  I must have given it the right conditions or wrong ones.  ☹️

[jaewoosong]

I think Ricky was suggesting a more specific cabinet solution vs room based humidifier.  I think he's suggesting a dry cabinet. 

For portable solution to use within your pelican cases, you can use something like this (you can reuse by microwave) 

[untensan]

I just joined this community and came across this topic. Was there ever a final determination on what worked?

To give some background, I started playing with SLRs 55 years ago and went the professional wedding route for a while. I was also a camera salesperson for 25 years and encountered fungus far too often. I live in Hawaii which has some ridiculous humidities (60-80%).

My solution was to put my stuff in a China hutch with a 15 watt bulb burning 24/7/365. In addition I removed all my kens caps when storing my lenses.

As someone mentioned before, I think I solved the problem but I could have just been lucky. I’ve just ordered a dry cabinet because I’m not willing to risk my L series lens and my R5 Mark II to my luck.

[shadowsports]

Dry cabinet. Youll be very happy.🙂  I store my gear in a Ruggard 125L dry cabinet.  Comes in different finishes. I got mahogany.  😅

Perfect control of temp and humidity.  Not too expensive and is really good protection for your investment. 

[March411]

Micha, I know it won't help with you current challenge but you may want to consider picking up some Silica to add to your cases. I use these in my cases and so far they appear to do what the are indented. I use the large canisters in my dry cabinet for extra protection.

 

[shadowsports]

Marc,

Those work good too. 👍

Unfortunately  some environments are particularly challenging. 

[March411]

Thanks Rick but I should have looked at the date before responding. Nothing like responding to a post that is a couple years old without realizing it....😞

[untensan]

The information isn’t dated. I suspect many new camera enthusiasts gain knowledge from what’s been written in the past. I apply some of the stuff I learned shooting film to digital photography. Knowledge is power. 😇

[Tintype_18]

One can carry fungus spores on shoes, clothing or even hair. They could be from Costa Rica or the US. Humidity triggered growth. No way to avoid them. Ever notice algae growing around lights in a cavern? Same scenario.

[ebiggs1]

Well the OP for sure has flown the coop but for the ones of us that are still here and perhaps anyone else that stumbled upon this thread here's my two cents and worth every penny.

This like virtually everything else in life can be done to extreme. Camera lenses do not like very dry and low humidity environments any more than they like high humidity ones. Extreme dryness can and does damage rubber parts and dry up lubs. Humidity around 45% to 55% and 65 to 70 degrees is best and what Canon recommends as well as I do.

As to the use of silica gels bags they are totally useless unless they are used in an airtight case or cabinet. Silica gel bags absorb moisture and become useless unless they are dried periodically. If you are using them in a camera bag where you routinely open it, forget silica gels bags.

"One can carry fungus spores on shoes, clothing or even hair"   A fact perhaps but not a factor since the environment must be right for the fungus to thrive and multiply.

" I store my gear in a Ruggard 125L dry cabinet." If you feel you need to do something that is probably the best solution although limited access is warranted even with the cabinet. All my gear is stored on a shelve in the formerly stop bath stained darkroom converted to storage room that has a dehumidifier and is temperature controlled as is the rest of the house.

In my personal case my gear does what I want or it doesn't. I don't baby it but I don't abuse it either. If it doesn't do what you want when you want it no matter the conditions what good is it? I guess it makes nice looking interior decorations on a shelf. Not for me!