Internal fungus.

[Fruengalli]

Was going to post my old (bought 2 years ago) Sigma 50 f1.4 EX DG for sale on the AP site so I decided I'd clean it up a bit for photos. Turned it over,took off the UV filter & saw what I first thought was a speck of dust inside BUT on further inspection it is actually fungus. I pride myself on taking care of my gear so this is quite a surprise. It has lived in a bright sunny room all its life so go figure eh? So is there a way for me to rid the lens of this foul beast or is it off to the shop & if that's the case can anyone recommend a good tech.

fungus.jpg

[arthurking83]

Damn!

Sorry to see this F.
Mine is clean as a whistle. Maybe it's got to do with your location.
Do any of your other lenses have issues .. may be time to thoroughly check 'em all.

if it were an old cheapo, easily pulled apart and put together lens, I'd say have a go(I have) .. but on a more temperamental, electronic, AFing lens with coatings at stake .. it may be best to take to the shop.

[jjphoto]

The lens seems to be worth between high $200 to low $400 according to Australian Sold listings on Ebay ( http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_s...H_Sold=1&rt=nc ). I have no idea what it would cost to clean but probably a minimum of $50-100, possibly much more. It would sell for peanuts if the fungus is left on the lens so you have little choice but to have it cleaned or accept the loss as it is. Either way you loose out, unfortunately.

You might be able to clean it yourself as it appears that the fungus is under the front element. I have no idea if it is easy to remove the front element on these lenses but that's what the Internet is for. Of course you would need to buy the tools to disassemble the lens, and you might even damage the lens in the process.

Either way, that's a nice example of lens fungus and can I suggest you get a few better macro shots of it as they look pretty good IMHO.

[Cargo]

This seems to be raising its head a bit ..... I have linked my thread about the same issue and bobc163's thread about dehumidifying cabinets (hope they work)
I had no idea I had fungus/mould in anything and just sent my gear away for a clean and a service & received bad news that all my gear was infected and irrepairable.
The mould transfers through every thing so I would check the camera and other lenses, its been an expensive lesson for me and when I can afford a new set-up part of that will be a dehumidifying cabinet

http://www.ausphotography.net.au/for...estions-to-ask
http://www.ausphotography.net.au/for...fying-cabinets

I"m trying to get a photo too but not with much success yet .... I'l keep trying though
Cant help with a good tech sorry,

Cheers Cargo

[Cage]

Yep, looks like the dreaded fungus.

First up, isolate the lens from your other camera gear. This stuff spreads. I had the same experience with an old Canon FD 50mm f1.4.

[jjphoto]

This seems to be raising its head a bit ..... I have linked my thread about the same issue and bobc163's thread about dehumidifying cabinets (hope they work)
I had no idea I had fungus/mould in anything and just sent my gear away for a clean and a service & received bad news that all my gear was infected and irrepairable.
The mould transfers through every thing so I would check the camera and other lenses, its been an expensive lesson for me and when I can afford a new set-up part of that will be a dehumidifying cabinet

http://www.ausphotography.net.au/for...estions-to-ask
http://www.ausphotography.net.au/for...fying-cabinets

I"m trying to get a photo too but not with much success yet .... I'l keep trying though
Cant help with a good tech sorry,

Cheers Cargo

I've done a bit of reading about fungus and the one word that almost always comes up is :

ubiquitous

/juːˈbɪkwɪtəs/
adjective
adjective: ubiquitous

present, appearing, or found everywhere.
"his ubiquitous influence was felt by all the family"

synonyms: omnipresent, ever-present, present everywhere, everywhere, all-over, all over the place, pervasive, all-pervasive, universal, worldwide, global; rife, prevalent, predominant, very common, popular, extensive, wide-ranging, far-reaching, inescapable
"tracking stray dogs may soon be easier thanks to the ubiquitous microchip"
The above is Googles definition.

The point is that fungal spores are everywhere, including the air we breathe. The difference between a fungal growth on a lens and none is normally the presence of the other requirements for the fungus to flourish and these are typically temperature, humidity and food.

[Fruengalli]

This seems to be raising its head a bit ..... I have linked my thread about the same issue and bobc163's thread about dehumidifying cabinets (hope they work)
I had no idea I had fungus/mould in anything and just sent my gear away for a clean and a service & received bad news that all my gear was infected and irrepairable.
The mould transfers through every thing so I would check the camera and other lenses, its been an expensive lesson for me and when I can afford a new set-up part of that will be a dehumidifying cabinet

http://www.ausphotography.net.au/for...estions-to-ask
http://www.ausphotography.net.au/for...fying-cabinets

I"m trying to get a photo too but not with much success yet .... I'l keep trying though
Cant help with a good tech sorry,

Cheers Cargo

Thanks Cargo...already started looking for a cabinet.

- - - Updated - - -

Damn!

Sorry to see this F.
Mine is clean as a whistle. Maybe it's got to do with your location.
Do any of your other lenses have issues .. may be time to thoroughly check 'em all.

if it were an old cheapo, easily pulled apart and put together lens, I'd say have a go(I have) .. but on a more temperamental, electronic, AFing lens with coatings at stake .. it may be best to take to the shop.

First thing I did, the others are L so maybe better sealing??.....so I guess it's off for a clean & service. Humidity has a lot to answer for

- - - Updated - - -

The lens seems to be worth between high $200 to low $400 according to Australian Sold listings on Ebay ( http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_s...H_Sold=1&rt=nc ). I have no idea what it would cost to clean but probably a minimum of $50-100, possibly much more. It would sell for peanuts if the fungus is left on the lens so you have little choice but to have it cleaned or accept the loss as it is. Either way you loose out, unfortunately.

You might be able to clean it yourself as it appears that the fungus is under the front element. I have no idea if it is easy to remove the front element on these lenses but that's what the Internet is for. Of course you would need to buy the tools to disassemble the lens, and you might even damage the lens in the process.

Either way, that's a nice example of lens fungus and can I suggest you get a few better macro shots of it as they look pretty good IMHO.

No macro unfortunately....the gunk seems further into the lens on one of the spherical elements I think.

- - - Updated - - -

Some interesting facts from Tricky on AP back in 2008

- Fungus spores are everywhere, but they are not a problem providing humidity is below ~70%
- Where humidity is above 70% for a period greater than 24 hours straight, there is a risk of fungus developing
- If you break the 24 hour cycle of >70% humidity for a period of time, then fungus won't have started to grow and you have effectively reset the clock back to 0 hours, ie another 24 hours straight would be required for it to start to grow
- As such, having had one lens with fungus near your other equipment is not likely to have contaminated that equipment unless humidity has been high (thank god)
- keeping lenses in a sealed box or case with a silica satchel might seem like a good idea, but unless you really know what you're doing, you could be creating conditions that the spores enjoy.
- don't keep lenses in leather cases, they are particularly bad for promoting fungus growth
- synthetic bags are best for storing your equipment, or store kit out of its bag altogether
- most airconditioners keep room humidity pretty low. So the best bet for protecting your kit is to always keep it in a room that is air-conditioned regularly, in a part of the room that is relatively open (ie not a cupboard!), so the 24 hr streak is being broken daily
- I've read that you can kill fungus by leaving your lens in direct sunlight, but this just stops the progress. It won't remove fungus that's already there and etched into the glass. I'd also be concerned whether this might damage the lens.

[basketballfreak6]

sorry to see that buddy, hope you can get it sorted without having to spend too much money

[Fruengalli]

sorry to see that buddy, hope you can get it sorted without having to spend too much money

Cheers BB, my dilemma starts when I get it back & its been factory reset for all parameters. Do I keep this as my nifty fifty,sell for the price I've had to pay for repairs or give it to my daughter? Going for a quote first then make up my mind

[Steve Axford]

You seem to live on the North Coast, so even a sunny room will be damp at certain times of the year. I use a cupboard that has a good seal with the doors closed. I put a dehumidifier in it and it works like a charm.

[Fruengalli]

You seem to live on the North Coast, so even a sunny room will be damp at certain times of the year. I use a cupboard that has a good seal with the doors closed. I put a dehumidifier in it and it works like a charm.

Just ordered a dehumidifying cabinet...not gunna take any more risks

[kurra]

Hi all, I also have just discovered a small growth of fungus in my Nikkor 300mm. I live on the south coast of nsw. Can anyone tell me where I could send my gear to have it checked and cleaned?,

thanks Kim.

[basketballfreak6]

Cheers BB, my dilemma starts when I get it back & its been factory reset for all parameters. Do I keep this as my nifty fifty,sell for the price I've had to pay for repairs or give it to my daughter? Going for a quote first then make up my mind

it sucks i know, i had same dilemma with an old body that i had

from the comparison pics i've seen the new art is literally the better, improved version of the old sigma 50, renders bokeh very similarly but obviously with better contrast and sharpness so i see very little reason to keep both (another story if they render differently)

but if it's not worth selling probably best to just give it to your daughter at least someone would make good use of it and there is also back up if it ever comes to it