Fungus on optics

[laika]

Have you had problems with fungus on your optics?

[steve_nova]

I saw a documentary several years ago about a species of microscopic fungus that can exist on the surface of glass. It even etches the glass in extreme cases. This site Here (http://www.chem.helsinki.fi/~toomas/photo/fungus/) should help.

[satrow]

Yes, I have a fungal growth on (or in) the eyepiece glass elements of my Optolyth Alpin 10x50's.

Andy.

[marcus]

Yuck! I never heard of this before.

[rogerk]

I was told it was called 'blooming' and it's basically when the optical coating gets a fungus growing on it. This is quite common, apparently, and if it is removed soon enough, doesn't cause any significant damage.
I believe it is due to damp though, so care of optics is essential, especially when you've been out on a damp day!

[Doug Greenberg]

Have you had problems with fungus on your optics?

Last year I purchased an expensive Nikon telephoto lens through ebay that arrived with fungus behind two of the elements. The previous owner of the lens lived in New Orleans, so I should have been warier. Since this was an expensive piece of equipment it was worth my while to spend $175 to have the fungus cleaned off by a guy in Colorado who is purported to be the "fungus-infested lens rescue master."

I was fortunate that it had not been present long enough to cause etching in the lens coatings. I was also fortunate (I guess) in that the seller was willing to pay for most of the cost of this cleaning. But this was a lens that was worth hundreds of dollars. Were it a cheaper lens or a low-priced pair of binoculars, it would not have been worth the expense of having the thing disassembled and cleaned.

I was just in Hawaii and I noticed in a local camera shop that they sold not only dessicant (which you put into the case with the optics to absorb moisture), but a kind of device that actually is purported to help prevent fungal invasion of lenses and other optical devices. If I lived somewhere "hot and sticky," I would look into this seriously. Some photo buffs in tropical areas store their equipment in temperature and humidity-controlled cabinets, as well. Fungus can be devastating.

[henry link]

Doug, Who is the guy in Colorado? I have a couple of old binoculars that need rescuing. Henry

[Doug Greenberg]

His name is John Van Stelten.

http://www.focalpointlens.com/fp_intro.html

[henry link]

Doug, Thanks for the link. Henry