FUNGUS! Advice sought with Paypal claim / learnings for everyone!

[peterb666]

That's certainly more than 5 weeks fungus growth. I have lost 1 lens to fungus. It could have been repaired but the repair cost exceeded the value it would add to the lens so I sold it with the fungus declared in the listing.

I also had all my Agfa cine film damage by fungus. None of the old Kodacrome was affected.

I now store my lenses that I don't use regularly in a clear plastic box with a rubber airtight seal and have a silica-gel brick inside the box. Gives peace of mind and the setup cost less than $20.

[tim71]

G'day Peter,

yes I would say Tricky's lens has had years of growth. As an experiment I have left some old hanimex lenes (with fungus) lying around unprotected in a gargage in humid Brisbane for years and its hasn't grown that much.

You may be able to get silica gel cheaply from a compounding chemist.

Silica gel can last days or months before it needs drying, depends on the humidity, I would check it at least fornightly in summer.

I have bought lots of sistema air tight food containers to store my gear in. I would be abit concerned about storing gear (long term) in the foam inserts in a pelican case as foam attracts dust and water both favourites for fungus. You could spray scotchguard on the foam to protect against this. I live in constant humidty above 70% so am fighting an ongoing battle to keep both mould and fungus at bay. We have found that scotchguard works well to stop mould so may slow down fungus; not that I would spray it directly on your lenes.

have a look at this link for extra fungus fighting options

http://www.mypentax.com/Fungus.html

cheers,

Tim

[tim71]

Sorry Peter,

just realised that you store in plastic containers like me and that Tricky uses the pelican type case with foam

cheers,

Tim

[peterb666]

G'day Peter,

yes I would say Tricky's lens has had years of growth.

Couldn't agree more. Looked worse than what I experienced after 15 years of lens storage in Nikon cases. I couldn't imagine you would get that much growth in even the most humid environment in less than 5 years but I would be inclined to say even more.

You may be able to get silica gel cheaply from a compounding chemist.

This is what I use 40g Silica Gel Bricks I bought 2 of these and have only used the one. The other is still in it's sealed packaging. The silica gel is in a metal container with a view window. When the silica turn from blue to red, you whack it in the oven for a couple of hours at around 150 deg C. I haven't had to do that yet. I brick is good for 3 cu ft which is about 85 litres. I am using a 10 litre clear plastic box and can see through to the lid to the silica gel indicator window. Neat. I check it weekly.

I have bought lots of sistema air tight food containers to store my gear in. I would be abit concerned about storing gear (long term) in the foam inserts in a pelican case as foam attracts dust and water both favourites for fungus. You could spray scotchguard on the foam to protect against this. I live in constant humidty above 70% so am fighting an ongoing battle to keep both mould and fungus at bay. We have found that scotchguard works well to stop mould so may slow down fungus; not that I would spray it directly on your lenes.

The Sistema containers are what I am using. I just have a single 10 litre rectangular container which fits everything at the moment. That's one of the advantages of Micro Four Thirds. I will get another 10L container later if I have the need.

Last summer in Sydney was the most humid I remember, ever. I have lived in Sydney for 48 years and it was appalingly bad for humidity even though there were not that many extremely hot days. Having already lost a lens from my old SLR, I thought that prevention was better than cure. Especially as a couple of my current lenses were complex zooms with 12 plus elements and I have a bucket load of old glass, some over 50 years old and I want to keep them crystal clear.

I think the Pelican foam should be OK as the cases are purposed designed as a dry case. Note that Pelican sell exactly the same bricks that I have linked to above but at around $25 a pop rrp. I simply didn't have the $250 plus for the Pelican case I wanted and tried to by a dry box made by Wonderful which even had a built in humidity meter. The cost was about $100. I got stuffed around by the store when I tried to order it so went down the DIY path for something similar (sans the humidity meter)

My current house is relatively mold free as it is cross-ventilated, has timber floors and no leaks. I use to live in an old brick semi-detached house which had none of the above and that's where my Nikon lens suffered. The Agfa filmstock absorbs moister and was crap. I didn't know better at the time and it was much cheaper than Kodak. Cine film was pretty expensive and when I first started, you could only buy a couple of film cartridges out of a day's pay.

[tim71]

G'day Peter,

thanks for the feedback, I think I might chase down some of your silica bricks from the site you recommended http://www.silicagel.com.au/categori...Dehumidifiers/ they look good.

cheers,

Tim

[peterb666]

That's the same mob that sells on eBay. Check the postage on each. I think I bought from their web site rather than ebay as it was cheaper buying 2 that way. If buying a single unit, I think eBay was cheaper. I note they have a 'coming soon' on Humidity Indicator Cards. Might check that out in a few weeks.

[FotoHijinx]

Learn something new everyday - fungus on lenses - guess I still have a lot to learn!

Great thread - glad I read it.

[para]

I'm wondering if the fungus was not noticable to the seller and the Brisbane climate triggered the growth?
Don't know much about fungus living in Adelaide. But i assume its worse in the tropics.

I keep all my camera gear in dehumidifier to avoid fungus as it is quite common up here in n qld

[peterb666]

Coupled with one of the cheap yellow bunnings hard cases (Pelican knock-offs) you've got primo anti-fungal digs for your lenses for less than $75...

Unfortunately, Bunnings don't sell those cases anymore. It was a once-off job lot and it was a ripper of a deal. The cases are quite similar to the largest of the Kincrome cases which are around $175 but not that easy to source. Kincrome case

[Robert Horler]

I am in the South West of WA where the humidity levels are rising annually (ETS required)
Is there anyone out there in WA that has fungal experience on lens.
I can cure fungus on cabbages but fungus on Camera lens is all new to me ;-)

[Tricky]

Whaheyy, thread returns from the dead!

Unfortunately, Bunnings don't sell those cases anymore. It was a once-off job lot and it was a ripper of a deal. The cases are quite similar to the largest of the Kincrome cases which are around $175 but not that easy to source. Kincrome case

Maybe one day they'll get them in again. I think enough people on AP are looking out for them that should they come in, we'll sound the alarm!

I actually bought a genuine pelican case on eBay a couple of weeks ago. Its exactly the same dimensions as the Bunnings case, brand new, and cost me $170. Interesting to look at the two cases side by side. Not much difference, though the Pelican does seem a bit more solidly built, cushioned handle etc.

[Psneddon]

Another story on the side of fungus...

Was at a mates place playing with my camera and his dad pulled out his old Pentax film camera, the fungus was so thick you couldn't see through then lens. they were stored in an un airconditioned house in a leather bag.

[bort]

Maybe one day they'll get them in again. I think enough people on AP are looking out for them that should they come in, we'll sound the alarm!

I was out at Bunnings today (Carseldine) and picked up a couple of these. They had 2 sizes, smaller was $69, $85 for the larger.

So they definitely come in every now and then.

[peterb666]

I picked one of the cases from Bunnings 3 or 4 months ago. Mine was branded Kinchrome.

[Blackberner]

Hi Kym.

I was about to ask a question about fungus and humidity and storage of camera gear but saw this thread instead.
I also live in Adelaide, do we need to worry about dry storage here for our camera gear ??