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Got my FUNGUS lens, the verdict.........

bender73

By bender73
in Leica M Lenses

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bender73

bender73

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To those that don't know, I grabbed a 50mm Summicron for 1/3 the market price. The catch? Fungus.

 

Well, I took the risk.

 

I have not had the CLA yet. Front element has a lot of fungus, but not "terrible." The inside is hazy. I was not told the hazy part. I am a little ticked off about that. There is a lot of haze inside but it will be a struggle to fight that one on eBay.

 

Anyway, here is a SOOC shot and 20 seconds in lightroom. Forgive the subject matter as I opened the box at dinner.

 

Not sure how I feel right now. CLA in 2 weeks (with Ye). I guess the verdict is still out there.

 

If there is a bright light source, it obviously gets worse.

 

SOOC wide open at f/2

afe9f1441dc84f298e8d38b99aab1637

 

 

20 seconds in Lightroom (created a contrast and blacks boost preset so now it takes 1 second)

ef2bd28e25f74c4ca62db6b032269419

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gbealnz

gbealnz

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Looks alright, especially the "20 seconds later" shot.

 

I reckon most of the 20 secs will be down to about 1 second once the haze is gone.

The fungus, well it might be harder to shift, but at the price..................

 

Often I feel fungus is more "in the mind than anything". It looks awful, but I don't think it does too much to the image.

Gary

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bender73

bender73

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Thanks. B&W is great. Color is more affected, but usable. "Usable" being the key word. I think the CLA will remove the haze and I bet what I am seeing is less fungus affect and more haze.

 

I cannot complain, he threw in a fantastic condition 1958 M3 (serial 921,XXX) with Leicameter MC, leather cases, and original user manuals for $400.

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Lenshacker

Lenshacker

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It still might be worth a trip to Focalpoint to have the front element cleaned and recoated. You might try contacting them. I've replaced front elements on Sonnars, Jupiters, and a few others. Only on one Summicron: and that one, had to bore out the front fixture for it to fit. The 1950s Summicrons were that tight, almost each one custom hand finished.

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bender73

bender73

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It still might be worth a trip to Focalpoint to have the front element cleaned and recoated. You might try contacting them. I've replaced front elements on Sonnars, Jupiters, and a few others. Only on one Summicron: and that one, had to bore out the front fixture for it to fit. The 1950s Summicrons were that tight, almost each one custom hand finished.

 

Thanks, I sent them an email.

 

I paid $300. Another $400 is totally worth it for this lens to be 100%. Anything more than that and I will try to re-sell or hope the CLA brings it back to at least 85%.

 

What is scary is how well a hazy 1950s Leica lens with fungus performs after sitting someplace damp for many years. Goes to show the initial quality.

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james.liam

james.liam

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Often seen in order lenses, perhaps a combination of degraded old lubricant and atmospheric particulates that may deposit on lens elements and kill contrast and light transmission. Leica repair guru Sherry Krauter mentions on her site that in her CLA, a special bath from Leica is used to lift off this grime.

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bender73

bender73

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Often seen in order lenses, perhaps a combination of degraded old lubricant and atmospheric particulates that may deposit on lens elements and kill contrast and light transmission. Leica repair guru Sherry Krauter mentions on her site that in her CLA, a special bath from Leica is used to lift off this grime.

 

That is my hope. I really think (hope) that the front element is all fungus and the inside is just haze. From my understanding, the front element is the least important and can produce stunning results even when pitted. Haze is what really lowers contrast.

 

If I can get this CLA'd by Ye for $80 and the haze is gone, I will be dancing with joy! :D

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christoph_d

christoph_d

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Congratulations with your purchase. I like to add a general word of caution on the matter of lens-fungus though. Fungi are a very hardy species and are difficult to get rid of. ( a few years ago there was a good article available on the Zeiss site about this topic, don't know if it still is available there). And while the views here in the forum differ, stories abound that lens fungus can be infectious, contaminating so far clean lenses if stored together. I would therefore recommend to exercise some caution when handling and or storing any "infected" equipment.

 

Kind regards,

 

C.

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Adrian Lord

Adrian Lord

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Congratulations with your purchase. I like to add a general word of caution on the matter of lens-fungus though. Fungi are a very hardy species and are difficult to get rid of. ( a few years ago there was a good article available on the Zeiss site about this topic, don't know if it still is available there). And while the views here in the forum differ, stories abound that lens fungus can be infectious, contaminating so far clean lenses if stored together. I would therefore recommend to exercise some caution when handling and or storing any "infected" equipment.

 

Kind regards,

 

C.

 

Scary.

 

Something that can eek out an existence on dry hard glass surfaces has to be pretty resilient I guess.

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bender73

bender73

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Congratulations with your purchase. I like to add a general word of caution on the matter of lens-fungus though. Fungi are a very hardy species and are difficult to get rid of. ( a few years ago there was a good article available on the Zeiss site about this topic, don't know if it still is available there). And while the views here in the forum differ, stories abound that lens fungus can be infectious, contaminating so far clean lenses if stored together. I would therefore recommend to exercise some caution when handling and or storing any "infected" equipment.

 

Kind regards,

 

C.

 

I posted before about this. I do medicine as my day job (adult internal medicine) as an NP. Fungal spores are everywhere. They are on your lenses right now.

 

The only reason why this lens has fugal over-growth is because it was placed in a perfect medium for growth over many years. It was sitting attached to a 1958 M3 in a dark damp basement. This allowed the fungus to grow.

 

I could put these spores all over my other lenses and as long as I used and stored them properly, they will be fine. Fungus does not just grow, especially if used often and light passes through the glass.

 

Fungus grows on humans in the same manner (i.e. jock itch). Warm, dark, moist place. If kept clean and dry, the fungus all over us will not replicate.

 

I wouldn't worry. Zeiss et. al. have billions of dollars invested in optics. Like anyone else, they just want the risk to be zero rather than 0.0000000001.

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bender73

bender73

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... I may not have invested billions, but I am rather safe than sorry. Others might think and act differently - which is fine by me...

 

Rgds and thx

 

Christoph

 

It's not a safe vs. sorry issue. It's science. Your lenses have fungus on them right now. ;)

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