TP: How to identify fungus...?

Also read TP: How to protect Lenses from Fungus

Before anything, let me say that i did search the site for information on this.

I am aware of the general aspect of full grown fungus on a lens as i saw it once. However, i am beginning to have doubts if the dust on the inside of my beercan is dust or not.
It looks like dust...it is a lot of dust, but on my spring cleaning last week i looked harder and under better light and the "dust" seems "suspect". Some of it seems to be in orderly lines...

Can anybody direct me to pictures of fungus on lenses?

Or can you tell me the best way to take a picture of the inner element of a beercan with a 18-70 or 50/1,7 so i can post here. All pictures i took won't show it...



Edited by brettania - 27 November 2007 at 05:11

Andre

It's difficult to tell, but the thread-like nature of the problem could indicate fungus.

As a precaution before you consider getting it cleaned, 'quarantine' your beercan from your camera and other lenses. If it's fungus it has a nasty habit of spreading.

Sadly, I don't know the camera market in Portugal else I would suggest a company who could inspect your lens. Perhaps the old KM centre in Bremen, Germany may be able to help.

I did a Google image search and found this linked to the photo.net forums.



Edited by stiuskr - 29 June 2007 at 00:26

AlexKarasev wrote: Sorry, this absolutely looks like fungus. I've bought two lenses on ebay with fungus (correctly advertised as such) for cheap and took them apart. this is how fungus looks.

You took them apart for parts or did you actually repair them?

As said above, this is almost definitely fungus. If it's just on the rear of the front group, you may be able to clean it yourself by following Pete Ganzel's repair guide starting here. Otherwise, get someone else to clean it for you.

Best of luck.

Ok...UPDATE.

I went to a profissional. Is is officially fungus, not a serious case and i should have the lens back in a little more than a week (here i prefer to say "as long as it takes to be fine" as there is a national tendency to rush things...).

It should be around 30EUR...i don't know if this is too much or not, but it is way less than a new lens...

The technician claimed that, if nothing unusual appears inside, they should be able to clean all of it and the lens will be completly operational...

UUUUUffffff...that is a weight of my shoulders...or at least it will be in a couple weeks.

Thanks everybody for the inputs...will update when the lens gets back...

Update...they couldn't clean the lens fully. They claimed that the interior element was inacessible...(the potuguese word was "cravado" which i don't know how to translate but i think means that it cannot be removed from the body).
I then went to another place, told the story, and they said that access is difficult but possible. The owner claimed to have good knowledge of minolta lenses due to past experience.
The bad news...they will charge 50 EUR due to the extra amout of work required...they said that the lens elements will be dipped in a special liquid, subjected to ultra-sounds and them reassembled...

I am hoping all this is true and efficient...next time i will only buy a lens from a trustworthy source...it is cheaper on the long run.

As a side note...they told me to subject the rest of my lenses to sunrays for 30min a day for at least a week...so that it kills any evetual contamination. AND the same for the bag (without the 30 min restriction).