Fungus

I was reading an article about lens fungus and it mentioned using UV (Sunlight) to kill it. What about taking the lens into one of those Tanning Salons? Would that put pay to the fungus or the fungus,lens etc etc.

"The surest way to make a small fortune from photography is to start with a large one"

I think it is true to say that UV light helps protect against getting fungus - i.e. let your lenses see the light of day from time to time and do not leave them stuck in drawers for years.

However, I have been reading those UV comments for years but so far have never come across anybody who has tried it with any success - there are only two ways to remove fungus IMHO:

1. Strip the lens and clean it with one of several diluted chemicals - and even then you may find that the fungus has eaten in to the lens coating and destroyed it.

2. Hit the lens with a large lump hammer and buy a new lens saving yourself a lot of grief!

Having said that - if it is a nice simple MF prime lens with minor fungus - stripping it and cleaning is not that difficult - just time consuming. I have done this to several Pentax 50mm lenses - but will not attempt AF - too many parts for me!

Carl

In my experience the usual "spiderweb" fungus doesn't eat SMC coatings, or at least it seems to be possible to clean it off without leaving any marks.

UV light will kill the fungus but as the fungus is too small to be seen by the human eye you won't notice it's gone.

The "spider's web" that you can see is the excretion that the fungus leaves behind as it wanders around the inside of your lens - no amount of UV light will remove this and you can't "kill" it as it's never been a living thing.

The only solution is to clean it off, which once you get the lens open is generally quite straightforward. No need for expensive chemicals either, a soft wipe with a little water/vinegar solution should do the trick

The residue is a little like a skeleton. It won't go away once the fungus is dead. Sunlight or UV is quite good at killing the actual organism though. Part of the reason you don't really find fungi anywhere growing in the light.