Is this a dumb question.

[DES]

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I have a 560 Telyt and it works so well ( as we can see in previous posts by others) BUT it has a couple of fungus spots on the main lens. Is it possible to have this removed and if not is the lens doomed !?

[luigi bertolotti]

Fungus is a very annoying issue which can someway be prevented (keep in cool & dry locations), can be stopped (they tend naurally to grow and expand in the glass surfaces), but is very difficult to remove by yourself: someone says that UV light can "kill" them, but this isn't a definitive recipe, so as the use of some chemicals commercially available; in general, a professionaly made glass repolishing can be the only solution... but fungus tend also to "eat" the coating, making a simple repolishing not sufficient, and signing the end of your lens... .

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[lars_bergquist]

Fungus is tenacious. Pretty well the only chemical that can kill it is thymol, which is so poisonous that its use is now prohibited. Fungus is also contagious. When an infected lens or camera body arrives at Leica in Solms, the general alarm sounds, all the Gnomes pull their hats down over their faces and the item is buried in a local salt mine until the Second Coming of Oskar Barnack.

 

The old man who loves chanterelles

 

P.S. There are no dumb questions, only dumb answers. The silliest questions are often the deepest.

[gyoung]

I'm glad to say that Malcolm Taylor at least is not so panic stricken about a bit of fungus, he happily sorted out my 135/2.8 M which had a bit on an internal surface. Try a good independant repairer is my advice, but do it as soon as possible!

 

Gerry

[jc_braconi]

Extract from the US Military instructions for maintenance of the KS -15 & lenses :

 

a. Material

Hydrogen-peroxide, 3% solution

Ammonia, 28% solution

Alcohol, 180 proof

Distilled water

b. Removing Fungus.

(1) Just prior to use, mix 10-parts hydrogen peroxide with 3-parts ammonia solution.

(2) Moisten the lens surface with the solution and allow it to stand for several minutes.

(3) Wipe the lens surface with a clean piece of lens tissue.

(4) Thoroughly clean the lens surface with distilled water.

(5) If additional cleaning is required, wipe the surface with alcohol and dry with clean lens

tissue.

NOTE: Fungus which has remained on an optical surface for a prolonged period etches

the glass. In this instance, the entire lens must be returned to the manufacturer

for replacement of the damaged element.

 

[k-hawinkler]

What's the difference between fungus and haze on a lens?

 

K-H.

[luigi bertolotti]

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Afaik, and roughly said, fungus is "alive matter", hazing is a chemical process.

[pico]

Afaik, and roughly said, fungus is "alive matter", hazing is a chemical process.

 

While reading about earlier Zeiss lenses, specifically for the Super Ikonta, the author warned that some internal (or was it rear?) coatings were so soft that they were usually wiped completely off while cleaning.

 

I also read, and stand to be corrected, that some of the 'coating' we see on very old lenses (usually shutterless LF brass lenses) is actually oxidation and is relatively harmless. I have two precious old brass lenses w/o any haze or cleaning marks - because I was the first person to clean them. One had never been used.

 

OT - perhaps

[Washington]

No, not a dumb question at all!

I have never, to date, had to deal with this problem…. but I sure have read much

about it. The Ponds Cold Cream cleaning may sound strange…. but: I have run

into a lot of success stories using this very thing.

Again, I have NOT done such, but I would as so many folks say it works.

This is a good read on the subject:

biofos.com: Fungus and photographic equipment.

[ghammer]

Fungus is tenacious. Pretty well the only chemical that can kill it is thymol, which is so poisonous that its use is now prohibited. [...]

 

Do you mean »2-isopropyl-5-methylphenol«? Maybe you sleep better after reading Thymol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

 

Regards

[farnz]

What's the difference between fungus and haze on a lens?

Fungus, as discussed above, manifests itself as spots or tracks depending on the type of fungus and how long it has infected the lens.

 

Haze affects a much larger are and produces a milky appearance that lowers contrast in photos. One of the prime causes of haze is chemical changes to Canada Balsam, which is a naturally occurring clear polymer resin extracted from the Balsa fir, and was used to bond lens elements together. The polymer resin ages partly through gradual oxidation and becomes murky, which is seen as haze in a lens.

 

Ageing of Canada Balsam can also cause it to contract, which leads to separation of bonded lens elements (commonly called "lens separation"). This typically manifests itself as whitish, translucent marks or bubbles at the edges of a lens.

 

Pete.

[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Everybody,

 

As per pico's comment about oxidized lens surfaces on late 19th & early 20th century brass mounted lenses: Observation that the oxidized surfaces of some early lenses resulted in pictures w/ higher contrast, less flare & greater resoloution led scientists to investigate resulting in the development of modern lens coatings. Early lenses w/ these oxidized surfaces were often prized & sought after for their enhanced capabilities.

 

Some of the first uses of lens coatings in the 1930's & 1940's were in the optical systems of anti-aircraft guns since attacking airplanes @ the time often flew out of the glare of the sun. Lens coatings were also used in periscopes both on the land & in submarines.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

Edited May 9, 2011 by Michael Geschlecht

[k-hawinkler]

Michael,

 

Very interesting.

 

I have a Telyt-V 280/4.8 version 3, made in 1975, that had quite a bit of haze on 3 surfaces before a technician did a great job removing it. Basically, the lens sat unused at a dealership for all that time. The lens works fine now.

 

My question, what accounts for the haze buildup for that lens?

 

Thanks, K-H.

[pico]

For the adventurous, lenses cemented with Canada Balsam can be undone by placing the lens element in water and very slowly raise the heat until they separate. Cleaning them after that is very easy. Newer cements can be used to put the lens elements back together.

 

It is a very good idea to make a mold, or something to hold the lenses centered when reassembling.

 

I've done this with very large old LF lenses.

[koray]

I'm glad to say that Malcolm Taylor at least is not so panic stricken about a bit of fungus, he happily sorted out my 135/2.8 M which had a bit on an internal surface. Try a good independant repairer is my advice, but do it as soon as possible!

 

Gerry

 

Same here, Malcolm fixed my fungus infested Summicron-M 50 last year. It came back like new!

 

Koray

[farnz]

... and Malcolm did an excellent job removing the fungus from my 80 Summilux-R last year.

 

Pete.

[gyoung]

... and Malcolm did an excellent job removing the fungus from my 80 Summilux-R last year.

 

Pete.

 

and while we are on the subject, he fixed the 'haze' in my 50/3.5 Elmar which turned out to be the cementing between the rear pair giving up as mentioned earlier in this thread. He actually exchanged the pair for 'one he did earlier' as he does the separating and recementing in batches.

 

Developing into the Malcolm Taylor fan club thread here

 

Gerry

[k-hawinkler]

I think it's terrific that Malcolm Taylor takes great care of your Leica gear.

 

Over here in the US I am extremely pleased with John Van Stelten.

He successfully removed the haze from one of my lenses.

He also polished off another lens and recoated the surface.

The lenses and Visoflex III he CLA'ed now have spot on focus.

 

Many thanks to John Van Stelten.

 

K-H.

[Twotone]

Just as an aside to this question, where do people store their cameras?

 

I store my M3 & lens in an ERC but one of posters posted a link saying that you shouldn't store the camera and lens in a leather case, is this the best advice?

 

Thanks.

 

Tony

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[gyoung]

Just as an aside to this question, where do people store their cameras?

 

I store my M3 & lens in an ERC but one of posters posted a link saying that you shouldn't store the camera and lens in a leather case, is this the best advice?

 

Thanks.

 

Tony

 

In modern camera bags of various types, main one is a Loewe Pro 100AW, I have adapted the interior and it takes 2 x Ms plus 15 to 90mm lenses.

Other bags are Samsonite, various old friends, but the M3 spent about 30 years in leather bags, without any sign of problems, leather is a natural product, which breathes, whereas modern synthetics have to be 'fiddled with' so they allow ventilation.

 

Excuse the technical terms

 

Gerry