fungus & the 6 lenses...by gus

gus

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Seamus

Humungus wrote:

Just how much risk are my L lenses re humidity ?

Our summer here is stupidly humid & closing fast...days on end over 90% humidity & stinking hot. I dont really store my lenses as they are always in use every few days but sit in a dark cupboard when im not using them.

Or are L fungus proof being that they are better made ? Im not too concerned about the other lenses.

Gus

There are little sachets of silica that you can get. Put them in the cupboard with the lens and in the crumpler bag. afaik they take moisture out of the air, no guarantees but it should stop the humidity affecting the lens.

Shay.

gus

Seamus wrote:

There are little sachets of silica that you can get. Put them in the cupboard with the lens and in the crumpler bag. afaik they take moisture out of the air, no guarantees but it should stop the humidity affecting the lens.

Shay.

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pathfinder

Is your dwelling air-conditioned?? If it is. I would not worry 'gus.

BUT if it is not, I would purchase a dehumidifier where I stored my lenses. I have a dehumidifier in my barn where I store machinery and bikes to help prevent rust, and it really does help.

Chronic heat and high humidity are to two points that contribute to fungal growth - and even L glass is not totally immune I would bet. A few cents worth of electricity will dehumidify a room easily.

gus

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Andy

Humungus wrote:

Place is air-cond mate but im out sometines for 10 hours a day. Wonder what the dehumidifier will do to the cat ? now theres a thought.

David_S85

I left my 50 f/1.4 outside one humid night...
...and this is what it looked like in the morning when I went outside to retrieve it.


EDIT: The above photo is a fake. Just a joke, folks. I did not turn a 1.4 into a perti dish, and no lens was harmed in the PS'ing of this photo.

Keep your lenses capped, and in pouches with silica gel in a cool dry place. L lenses are no more fungus proofed than a piece of turkey meat left out on the table all day.

Humungus wrote:

Just how much risk are my L lenses re humidity ?

Our summer here is stupidly humid & closing fast...days on end over 90% humidity & stinking hot. I dont really store my lenses as they are always in use every few days but sit in a dark cupboard when im not using them.

Or are L fungus proof being that they are better made ? Im not too concerned about the other lenses.

Gus

Shay Stephens

I don't have the exact specs, but if you can break either the temperature or humidity for a few hours a day, you can prevent the fungus from being able to grow. So store them in an air tight box with a rechargeable dehumidifier in there overnight and you should be good to go for a long time.

Semi-Specifics can be read here (almost 1/4 down):
http://www.cinematechnic.com/services/zeiss_lens_service.html

Rechargable dehumidifier here:
http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=14161

gus

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BigAl

Gus, don't rely too much on silica gel, especially the sachets. If you're going to use silica gel, get industrial quality which has blue colored chips. These turn pink once they're saturated and can be regenerated by heating them in an oven. Pet shops are now selling silica gel as cat litter (but of course you won't let your cat share the box with your lenses )

gus

BigAl wrote:

Gus, don't rely too much on silica gel, especially the sachets. If you're going to use silica gel, get industrial quality which has blue colored chips. These turn pink once they're saturated and can be regenerated by heating them in an oven. Pet shops are now selling silica gel as cat litter (but of course you won't let your cat share the box with your lenses )

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dwvr_photography

sunbake
i herd that giving ur lenses a bit of time on a sun bed can kill fungus! takem to a gym that has sunbeds, and giv em some rays!, i think its the uv tubes used in the beds so u may be able to buy a uv lamp also. its worth a try...

gus

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Shay Stephens

It's not necessarily what happens during the day that counts, it's what happens while you are asleep. If you can break the environment even for a few hours, you can prevent the growth. So if you can get the lenses into a dry environment at night, you may not have anything to worry about.

I have even heard just putting the lenses in a kitchen cabinet with a small wattage light bulb will change the temp/humidity enough to break the growth cycle.

Humungus wrote:

Thanks shay...in all honesty, they lay all over the lounge. No really they do..i have them out & all on at least twice a day.

I think im stuffed :uhoh

evoryware

I'm just pulling this up because I learned something today that I would have hated to learn the hard way on my new equipment.
I went to B&H PhotoVideo today to sell a Nikon F4 camera wth a SB-24 flash, DW-20 waist viewfinder, 35-135 Nikon Lens and Vivitar 70-210mm lens that I inherited when my grandfather died. B & H took everything but the lenses because the lenses had fungus on them? I proceeded to look at the lenses and sure enough. I had never heard of this before. :cry
Thoroughly stunned, I'm glad I now know lenses are like petri dishes, and I'm glad I came home and found this thread because I don't want this to happen to any of my new equipment especially my 70-200L.
I'm sure there are plenty new dSLR users on this forum that should see this thread.